What is it?
An essential oil from the peel of the bergamot orange, Citrus bergamia. It gives perfumes, colognes and skin care a fresh citrus scent and is also used to flavor Earl Grey tea. Ordinary cold-pressed bergamot oil contains bergapten, a compound that can cause burns and dark patches on skin exposed to sunlight. The ingredient listed as Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Fruit Oil is the psoralen-free (furocoumarin-free) grade intended for products used on skin.
Key information
- Regular cold-pressed bergamot oil contains about 0.2 percent bergapten (5-MOP), which reacts with sunlight on the skin.
- Furocoumarin-free bergamot oil, made by vacuum distillation, contains no 5-MOP and is the type used in skin products.
- IFRA limits expressed bergamot oil to 0.4 percent of most finished products when its furocoumarin content is unknown.
- The EU now requires bergamot oil to be named on labels above 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products.
More information
Bergamot oil is made by rasping and cold-pressing the fruit peel. Its main constituents are limonene (25 to 53 percent), linalyl acetate (15 to 40 percent) and linalool (2 to 20 percent). Cold-pressed oil also contains about 0.2 percent bergapten, also called 5-methoxypsoralen or 5-MOP. Vacuum distillation of the peel yields an oil with no 5-MOP that is otherwise chemically comparable, and this furocoumarin-free oil is the kind used in preparations for the skin.
The sun reaction is well documented. A 1916 report described intense patches of pigment in people who used eau de Cologne before going into the sun, a pattern later named berloque dermatitis, and under ultraviolet light psoralens can also bond to DNA. Because of this phototoxicity, IFRA caps expressed bergamot oil at 0.4 percent of most finished products unless its furocoumarin level is known. Health Canada lists this ingredient for topical use only in psoralen-free form, with total furocoumarin-like substances in the finished product not to exceed 1 ppm.
Bergamot oil can also cause skin allergy. In 2023 the EU added it, along with its constituent linalyl acetate, to the fragrance allergens that must be named on labels of products placed on the market after July 31, 2026, when above 0.001 percent in leave-on or 0.01 percent in rinse-off products.
Reality check: bergamot’s reputation for sun reactions is deserved for regular cold-pressed oil, not for the furocoumarin-free grade used in skin products. If you buy bergamot essential oil for home use, look for “furocoumarin-free,” “FCF” or “bergapten-free,” and keep regular bergamot oil off skin that will be in the sun.
Sources: Frontiers in Pharmacology (2015): Citrus bergamia essential oil, from basic research to clinical application; IFRA: Standard for bergamot oil expressed (Amendment 49); Health Canada: Natural Health Products Ingredients Database, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil; Official Journal of the EU: Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 on labelling of fragrance allergens
