What's The Deal With Fragrance?
We associate so much of our lives, memories and experiences with smell. I would go as far as to say that we have become addicted to the “flavor” of synthetic fragrance.
So, what happens to your feeling toward perfume and scented lotions, etc. if I told you that fragrance has been called the new “secondhand smoke”.
I might even argue that it’s worse than that. Why do I say such things?
Because we are only just starting down the rabbit hole of why it’s harmful and because of the newness it’s hard to find substantial data on the truly long term effects.
The thing is. Fragrance is deemed a “trade secret”. So it remains exactly that… a secret. We, as consumers, cannot possibly trust and be okay with that.
Fragrance (aka, parfum) is in everything.
Even unscented is scented.
Want to know the unsettling reason why? Because scent (whether blatantly flagrant or not) is often used to cover up the harsh chemical smell that would come from the product you’re using.
Yeah… not exactly something I want to cuddle up with.
So, here’s the deal. Not only is fragrance made up of over 10,000 different ingredients, of those ingredients 80% to 90% of them that go into creating a fragrance have been made using petroleum. Further, fragrance, or parfum, has often been tested to contain:
Acetone (used to break down paint & remove grease from wool)
Phenol (used as a disinfectant & surgical antiseptic)
Toluene (used in paint thinners & to make TNT)
benzyl acetate (used as solvent in plastics & oil, lacquer)
Despite the FDA having very little authority to do so, the positive is there have been some chemicals tested. Approximately 800 of 4,000 chemicals that are often found in fragrance have been tested for their toxicity towards humans. The US National Academy of Sciences completed the tests and the results motivated them to categorize fragrance in the same category as insecticides and heavy metals. That means the chemicals/ingredients in fragrance have been deemed to be a high priority for neurotoxicity testing.
The FDA has said that fragrance is responsible for approximately 30% of allergic reactions.
A large part of that is due to the smell that does come from fragrance being a result of a volatile reaction (which means how readily a material vaporizes).
You should also know that, even though your skin may not show it’s irritation, that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. The skin can be very good at hiding its true reaction. Think of sun damage. You may not immediately see the damage the sun is causing until years later when you get hit with a skin cancer diagnosis, or when you put your face in one of those sun damage black light horror boxes. Fragrance is not much different. The issues may not immediately manifest.
Companies are completely capitalizing on the power of our desire to have things that smell “nice”. Think about it. The fragrance of something can directly affect our buying decisions because of it. That just means, of course, companies will push fragrance despite its harmful side effects. All they truly care about is their bottom line. Not you. Not the consumer.
So, before I tell you what you can do, I want to tell you what kind of harm can be caused by the use of fragrance.
Respiratory reactions such as asthma & airway dysfunction
Neurological reactions such as migraines, dizziness & nausea
Skin reactions such as irritation & sensitivity
Eye reactions such as eye tearing & inflammation
Fragrance can also disrupt hormones (including testosterone). These hormone disruptions are often connected to:
Development disorders
Lung function issues
Sperm production issues
Ovarions syndrome
Trouble conceiving
Alright. So what can you do?
First & foremost, you know what I’m going to say… read the ingredients of your products & try to avoid the following:
Fragrance (especially when listed in the first 5 ingredients)
Parfum
Linalood
Citronello
Limonee
Geraniol
Eugenol
It’s also important to note that essential oils can have the same volatile reactions. A better alternative is plant oils.
The more you know, sis.
Slay on.