Room Spray Safety: IFRA Category, Bases & Why TWD Often Applies

Room sprays should be simple. But they’re also one of the easiest products to get wrong because the minute you add a base, everything changes – your CLP, your hazards, your IFRA category, and even whether you need TWD.

This is the no-faff, straight-talking breakdown for makers.

1. IFRA Category for Room Sprays

Room sprays sit in IFRA Category 10B the current IFRA 51 amendment.

Category 10B tells you the maximum safe percentage of fragrance you’re allowed to use in a room spray base.

It does not:

• Give you your CLP
• Decide pictograms
• Tell you whether your spray is flammable
• Tell you whether you need TWD

Those all come from the base + SDS, not the IFRA sheet.

IFRA = safe usage guidance.
CLP = hazard classification law.

2. Room Spray Bases. Which Ones Are Hazardous, Which Aren’t?

Here’s the reality in plain English:

Some room spray hazards come from the base, not the fragrance.

A. Alcohol-Based Sprays (P&A, Perfumer’s Alcohol, SDA-40B, etc.)

These are the strongest performers, and usually carry the highest hazards.

They are typically:

• Flammable (GHS02)
• Irritating to eyes (GHS07)
• Likely to trigger TWD

If you want a strong spray that evaporates quickly and hits the air well, this is why people use alcohol bases. But the hazard classification is not optional so aquiring the CLP can be tricky.

B. Water-Based Sprays (with solubiliser)

These are usually:

• Non-flammable
• Lower hazard overall
• Gentler in terms of CLP classification

But often:

• Have weaker scent throw
• Can go cloudy if not formulated well
• Allow a lower fragrance load

If someone wants a “safer-looking” CLP, this is usually the route, but performance may suffer.

C. Cyclomethicone

Cyclomethicone is generally considered a non-hazardous base in many cases. It is:

• Non-flammable
• Low irritation risk
• Good for dry oils and light sprays
• Slower to evaporate than alcohol

It’s a great option if you want easier CLP classification and a lighter, more subtle spray. But it IS a silicone so can be very slippery. 

D. DPG

DPG is technically safe and can be used, but it’s not ideal for room sprays:

• Thicker and slower to evaporate
• Poor airborne distribution
• Better suited to reed diffusers than sprays

So yes, it can be used, but in practical terms, you probably shouldn’t choose it as a room spray base if you care about performance.

3. Before You Pick a Base... Check the CLP Templates

This is where most makers get caught out.

Not all suppliers provide a CLP template in the base you want to use.

Most oil suppliers only offer CLP for things like:

• None hazardous base (often at 10%)
  
• Augeo CLP
• 25% none hazardous base CLP

They often do not provide CLP templates for:

• P&A / perfumer’s alcohol
• Specific branded room spray bases
  
• Glycol or solvent blends made into sprays

If your supplier does not provide a CLP template in the base and percentage you’re planning to use, you have two choices:

1. Choose a different base that your supplier already supports with a CLP template, or
2. Pay a CLP re-authoring service to create a new CLP template for your chosen base and fragrance load.

Most new makers don’t realise this. They choose a base, buy everything, make the spray and then discover they can’t legally label it.

Rule of thumb: before you commit to a base, check your oil supplier’s website and see if they have a CLP template for that base and percentage. If not, factor in the cost of CLP re-authoring.

4. What Is TWD – And Why Do Room Sprays Trigger It So Often?

Let’s stop pretending everyone knows what TWD is.

TWD = Tactile Warning of Danger.

It’s the little raised triangle you can feel on hazardous products. It is required when a mixture falls into certain hazard categories; for example:

• Flammable liquids
• Eye irritation
• Some acute toxicity categories
• Corrosive products

Room sprays – especially alcohol-based ones – often trigger TWD because of:

• Flammability (H226 – Flammable liquid and vapour)
• Eye irritation (e.g. H319)

Most of the time, the fragrance is not what causes the need for TWD.
It’s the base and how the final mixture classifies when everything is combined.

Are they easy to apply, yes absolutely. Knowing when to apply them is key as they are not optional. 

5. The No-Faff Summary

• Room sprays are IFRA Category 10B under IFRA 51.
• IFRA gives you a maximum safe fragrance percentage – it does not give you CLP.
• Some hazards (and TWD) come from the base, not the fragrance oil.
• Alcohol bases = strong scent, higher hazards, often TWD.
• Water-based and cyclomethicone sprays = milder CLP, but usually softer performance.
• DPG is not ideal for sprays – better for diffusers, EASY for CLP.
• Before choosing a base, check if your supplier provides a CLP template for that base and percentage.
• If they don’t, you’ll need to pay for CLP re-authoring if you still want to use that base.
• TWD is the little raised warning triangle – and room sprays often need it because of flammability and irritation hazards from the base.

Maker Glossary

PA (Perfumer’s Alcohol): A common room spray base. Often hazardous and may trigger additional CLP elements like pictograms and TWD.

Cyclomethicone: A non-hazardous base option that usually requires fewer CLP elements. Great for “clean” looking labels.

IFRA 10B: The category that governs maximum fragrance load for room sprays. Determines how much oil you can legally use.

TWD (Tactile Warning of Danger): The raised triangle required on packaging when a formulation has certain hazard classifications. Not all bases trigger this.

Updated January 2025 to reflect IFRA 51 and current room spray practice.