무향료 vs unscented: not the same claim

Fragrance-free (무향료) means no fragrance was added. Unscented is a claim about how a product smells, and it can be achieved by adding a masking fragrance — so unscented does not mean fragrance-free, and neither term is regulated in Korea or most other markets. For reactive skin, look for 무향료 and check the list for essential oils, which are fragrance by any other name.

The difference that matters

Fragrance-free is a statement about what is not in the formula. Unscented is a statement about how it smells, which can be achieved by adding a masking fragrance. The two claims sound alike and mean different things.

Essential oils count as fragrance

A product can claim to be free of synthetic fragrance while containing lavender, tea tree or citrus oils — all well-documented contact sensitisers. If your skin reacts to fragrance, the botanical version is not a safe harbour.

The allergens Korea makes you declare

Korea requires designated fragrance allergens to be named individually above threshold levels. Names such as limonene, linalool, citronellol and geraniol appearing at the end of a list are fragrance components, whatever the front of the box says.

What to do if you react

Choose products marked 무향료, read the end of the ingredient list for the named allergens, and treat a genuinely odourless product with suspicion only if unscented rather than fragrance-free is the wording used.

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✍️ Written & reviewed by the KoreaPlus Editorial team — dermatologist-informed, cosmetic-science researched & source-cited. Last reviewed: 2026-08-23.

General educational information using cosmetic structure-function wording — not medical advice. Always patch-test new actives. © KoreaPlus.