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The Best Skin Care Products Don't Use Fragrances Made in a Lab

09/26/2008

It’s surprising that with all the information out there about the dangers of fragrances we still walk into elevators and are immediately inundated with the scent of about seven different perfumes; all made in a lab. Sometimes the scent is from perfumes or colognes; sometimes it’s from deodorant, shampoo, soap or other skin care products. All in all, it can get a little overwhelming. Worst of all, each of these, unlike fragrance-free natural skin care and other products, is probably causing damage to the skin and the general health of the people wearing them and smelling them.

Check out these natural fragrance options.

Years ago, the National Center for Environmental Health Strategies published a press release that cited the following symptoms caused by fragrances: watery eyes, double vision, sneezing, stuffiness, allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, tinnitus, dizziness, vertigo, coughing, bronchitis, difficulty breathing, chest tightness, asthma, anaphylaxis, headache, migraine, cluster headaches, seizures, convulsions, fatigue, confusion, disorientation, incoherence, short term memory loss, anxiety, irritability, depression, mood swings, rashes, hives, eczema, flushing, muscle and joint inflammation, pain and weakness, irregular or rapid heartbeat and hypertension.

These symptoms apply no matter what the product; everything from perfumes to personal and skin care products to air fresheners and household cleaning and laundry products. There are about 5,000 chemicals used to make us, and our stuff, smell good. Traditional soaps use about 50 of them; perfumes about 700. But only about 20% have ever been safety-tested. And it’s not just the person wearing the scent who suffers; like second-hand smoke, second-hand fragrance affects everyone.

Okay, but we still want to smell good. Right? So, how do we do it? Our best options are essential oils - highly concentrated extracts from plants, leaves, flowers, roots, buds, twigs, rhizomes, heartwood, bark, resin, seeds or fruits. They’re natural, obviously, but you also have to make sure they were grown without chemicals and processed by steam or water distillation instead of with chemical solvents.

There are hundreds of scents available with essential oils. In fact, that’s where the first perfumes came from and that’s how skin care products were initially scented. At the time, they were expensive and consequently, only wealthy people could afford them. When someone figured out how to produce some of these scents in labs, they became affordable. And those affordable but synthetic and dangerous products are what we use, for the most part, today. Even in the most expensive perfumes. But if we’re going to buy the best, why not pay for what only the ‘best’ could afford?

Today, many perfumes, colognes, household cleansing products, soaps and natural skin care products made with essential oils are on the market. They’re largely available in health food stores and online. Check them out. They’re safe for you, for those around you, and for the environment. And you’ll smell great!

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