At our house, we are fragrance-free (except for our shaving cream, peppermint essential oil and rosemary essential oil). This is due to my husband's horribly asthma/allergies to the scents that are in many products. This was hard life to adjust to but I have done it because I love him.
Before I met him, I would use scented hair and skin products. I loved smelling a certain way just like a lot of people do. At first, giving all of the products up and looking for fragrance-free alternatives was annoying. Now I wish that other people would look into not wearing a lot of fragrances as well!
Since a lot of different chemicals are not good for us, I wanted to look more into what makes up fragrances and what they may do to our endocrine systems. For this post I will be talking about what kinds of chemicals are in fragrances, what effects they may have on our hormones and fragrance-free products that are good alternatives.
Chemicals found in fragrances
The fragrances that are added into lots of different products can be comprised of a variety of chemicals. To be more exact, there are around 3,000 chemicals that are used in fragrances (see here: https://sciencing.com/chemistry-perfume-6869966.html). So when you see the word, "fragrance" on the list of ingredients in a product, it really isn't just one thing.
According to current and past laws, disclosure of the chemicals that make up fragrances is unnecessary. This means that people don't actually know what all is in the products they use or are going to use. Some don't care or are completely unaware.
Out of the thousands of chemicals that are in fragrances, some are more well-known than others. These include phthalates, musk, benzyl acetate, ethyl acetate, camphor, limonene and formaldehyde (see here: https://www.leaf.tv/articles/what-chemicals-are-in-perfume/).
What these chemicals do to our hormones
Some of these chemicals in fragrances are considered by some studies to be endocrine-disrupting. This means that they can change our hormone levels, mimic our hormones and change the way our hormones are produced ( see here: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/endocrine/index.cfm). This is not a good a thing if true.
Here is a list of chemicals found in fragrances and what they potentially do to our endocrine system:
1. Benzophenone and derivatives: Studies show some estrogenic activity.
2. Butylated compounds: Studies show changes in testosterone levels
3. Parabens- Studies show it can do a variety of things to our endocrine system. This is includes mimicking estrogen, reducing testosterone levels and increasing sensitivity to estrogen.
4. Bronopol (Formaldehyde-releasing preservative)
5. Benzyl Benzoate- Might trigger estrogenic responses.
6. Ethanol- Dysregulates hormones and the reproductive system
It is important to note that the studies done on chemicals found in fragrances are still limited. There needs to be more conducted so that we can have a definitive answer as to whether or not these chemicals are messing with our hormones.
Alternatives that are truly fragrance-free
A lot of products that are supposedly fragrance-free actually have a masking fragrance in it. This is still a fragrance! It is just masking the ingredients in the products that could potentially smell unpleasant. It is also good to know that some ingredients do naturally have a scent.
You really want to make sure and pay attention to the ingredients list if you indeed want to go fragrance-free. Here are some ideas of products to try that truly have no fragrances in them:
1. Body wash: Honest Company Fragrance Free Shampoo & Body Wash, Vanicream Gentle Body Wash, CerAve SA Body Wash
2. Hand soap: Seventh Generation Free and Clear hand soap, Vanicream hand soap
3. Shampoo and conditioner: Vanicream, Earth Science Fragrance-Free shampoo and conditioner
4.Deodorant- Dry Idea Unscented anti-antiperspirant & Deodorant, Vanicream Deodorant
There are probably other good ones than the ones listed but these have worked really well for us.
Do you use a lot of products that have fragrances? Let me know! Thanks for reading.
Comments