Poisonous Perfume? Revealing the Dangers of Fragrance

Last week, I accompanied my mom to an appointment with her doctor who is supporting her through the challenges of a terminal illness. After the appointment, she went home and I walked around looking at skin care products -- which, as a manufacturer of skin care products, I often do. I entered a bustling, extremely popular Sephora store and I was met with a wall of perfumes, all made with synthetic fragrance. When I asked if they had many products in the store made without synthetic fragrance, I was told that they did not. As I watched consumers load products into their shopping baskets, on the heels of my sobering morning, I wanted to yell: "Doesn't anyone know how bad this stuff is for you!?" I was particularly unnerved because some fragrances have been shown to contain benzene, which has been linked to MDS, my mom's illness.

In 2010, the President's Cancer Panel published a report on cancer risks from chemicals. They concluded that: "The burden of environmentally induced cancers has been grossly underestimated" and highlighted benzene, found in synthetic fragrance, as one of the more concerning substances.

What's Wrong with Smelling Good?

A request from one of our favorite customers, who loves all our products, inspired me to take up the topic of scents, smells and fragrances once again. She wanted to know if we could somehow nudge our products towards smelling a little more “fresh” and a little less “medicinal.”  Well of course the easiest way, and the method most companies use, even when they claim “organic” status, is to use fragrance or “parfum” in their products. 

Seeing either or both of those words in an ingredients list lets you know that a synthetic fragrance (which can be composed of many parts or components) is being used.

The health hazards posed by synthetic fragrances are significant, and have been well documented. They include:

Our Guide for Selecting Skin Care Products for the Body