The Problem with "Fragrance"

[Tall Blond(ish)]

Look at the ingredient label on almost any product in your bathroom, and you will probably find somewhere on that list the innocuous sounding word, "fragrance". Manufacturers are not required to list the individual ingredients because they claim it would violate their ability to protect trade secrets. The result is a totally mysterious cocktail of chemicals, many of which have been shown to have very undesirable effects. Here is an article if you're interested in more detail: http://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...-and-colognes/.

I am not a radical hippie by any means, but I started noticing just how many products I come in contact with list "fragrance". The average person might take a shower with some kind of soap, perhaps a separate face wash, shampoo and condition her hair, then put on some deodorant. We then put on clothes that were washed with detergent and fabric softener. That's half a dozen products with "fragrance" then add lotions, gels, sprays, powders, and all those other concoctions we use and then, just in case some molecule of human scent has escaped this mountain of fragrance, we top it all off with perfume.

I like a nice scent as much as anyone, but this seems a little ridiculous. Then we are surrounded with a house full of cleaners, most of which also contain "fragrance".

I don't think that any one fragranced product is going to kill me, it seems reasonable to be concerned about this vat of unidentified chemical fragrance we seem to be living in.

Many of the secret ingredients in "fragrance" are known to cause allergies and contact dermatitis. If you have gone out of your way to avoid sulfates, or "cones", or any other ingredient, it may be possible that the real culprit is that harmless sounding "fragrance" humbly hiding at the bottom of the list.

[schnibbles]

I definitely agree...I had contact dermatitis around my eyes a few years ago. Let me tell you, it was miserable. (Painful, burning, angry red.) I think people assume it won't happen to them because they don't have "sensitive skin" when actually, you can develop it at any time weather your skin is reactive or not. My dermatologist told me to go completely fragrance free, as contact dermatitis is nearly impossible to pin down. Once your body isn't fighting the chemicals, it can heal itself. Chronic contact dermatitis is like throwing gas on a fire, an auto immune response that becomes a vicious cycle.

Everytime I see a thread on LHC about people claiming their scalp is itchy and uncomfortable, asking what they should do, I want to yell across the internets... the first thing you should try is getting rid of the products that contain parfum. If it's not causing it, it definitely isn't helping the situation.

I read a study where they found fragrance chemicals in cord blood. This essentially means that our bodies absorb these chemicals, store them, and pass them on to fetuses. Aha, I found the article - http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=601

[Rosetta]

We then put on clothes that were washed with detergent and fabric softener.

Washing with soapnuts is one way to decrese this "fragrance overload" - no fragrance of any kind; and fabric softener is imo totally unnecessary (but marketers have brainwashed people into thinking it is necessary)...

[spidermom]

I've never been able to stand fabric softener - way too perfumey for me. It can be a challenge to find fragrance-free products; I've tried.

[Rosa Harris]

Even quite a few 'natural' products will have fragrances in them. It totally irritates me - in more than one way. I have a terrible time with lots of perfumes - often they will break out my eczema skin problem or trigger the asthma. I've started cooking up a lot of my own things using ingredients that I know work with my skin. I've spot tested the ingredients that I use before cooking up a batch of this or that.

I agree soapnuts are great! I have a site I use for getting quality ingredients (not the nuts) http://www.bulkapothecary.com/ for making cosmetics

[Tall Blond(ish)]

fabric softener is imo totally unnecessary (but marketers have brainwashed people into thinking it is necessary)...

When I started moving away from fragrance, I kept looking for a fabric softener replacement until I realized that my clothes all came out just fine without one. If I happen to leave something in the tumble dryer for too long and it comes out super charged, I just spritz it with plain water and give it a shake.

[Ocelan]

Oh boy do I know this problem! I can't use anything with a fragrance as I'm hypersensitive to them. It is a struggle to find all products as non-fragranced ones but it can more or less be done. My laundry detergent, home cleaning products, dish washing liquid, conditioner and the occasional shampoo, face washes (the rare times I use them), makeup, moisturisers and sunscreen are all fragrance free. The only things I have not been able to replace for fragrance free ones are a coney deep conditioner and my clarifying shampoo. I also do not wear any perfume.

I know I still put a lot of chemicals on myself from the products listed above, but basically I am dodging the problem above by not using fragranced products. It has also helped me tolerate other people's perfumes a bit more when I'm not constantly surrounded by them. I haven't been hypersensitive all my life though, only the past 10 years or so, so I'm sure there's something in that stuff that is bad and caused the reaction I nowadays get from fragrances.

[sumidha]

Using products with mystery fragrances was never a habit I acquired. My mom had pretty severe environmental allergies, walking by a perfume counter or down the detergent aisle was enough to trigger an asthma attack, so we bought everything non-scented and never had things like fabric softener or air freshener or perfume in the house.

Now that I'm an adult I notice that I still strongly prefer things without added artificial fragrance, and find the smell of 99% of conventional perfumes really unpleasant. If I want something that smells nice, I use an essential oil.

ETA: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ is a really cool website where you can look up information on the ingredients in cosmetics and shampoos and things like that.

[Scarlet_Heart]

White vinegar can be used in place of fabric softener. No lingering smell.

ETA: I know what you mean though. I was looking for un-fragranced shampoo so I could scent it myself with essential oils. Couldn't find any anywhere.

[xoChesleyy]

I agree 100%. Fragrances have so many diverse effects on our health. http://www.ourlittleplace.com/chemicals.html
The sad thing is, it isn't just fragrances that are harmful for your health. There are thousands of chemicals in everyday products people use that cause cancer, disrupt the endocrine system, cause brain damage, and the list continues.. These billion dollar industries do not care about your health or have your health in mind when they produce these harmful products. It's just money in their pocket. Here is a list of more ingredients to avoid, however you can find a complete list on Google. http://benaturallyou.com/information...cals-to-avoid/ I make sure that all of the products I buy are organic or completely natural.