The average fragrance product contained
14 chemicals that were not disclosed on the label (along with another 15 that
were listed).
Laboratory tests found a total of 38
chemicals not listed on the labels in 17 name-brand fragrances (such as Chanel,
Giorgio Armani, Bath & Body Works, Old Spice, Calvin Klein, and more).
Fragrances commonly contain parabens,
phthalates, and synthetic musks that may cause hormone disruption, reproductive
problems, or possibly cancer.
IS YOUR PERFUME POISON?
By Dr. Mercola
Spritzing on perfume or cologne is a daily ritual for many, not to mention
that the vast majority of personal care products – shampoo, lotion, deodorant –
contain fragrances of their own.
There’s a dirty little secret the fragrance industry would rather you not know about, however, which is the extreme
toxicity of many of these products. Hidden behind their pleasant scents are
typically chemicals linked to hormone disruption, reproductive problems, and
even cancer.
Many perfumes sold at department stores, big-box retailers, and virtually
everywhere else can aptly be described as
poison – and this means that you could very well be sacrificing your health by
wearing them.
- ‘Fragrance’ Can Contain Virtually
Anything
I caution against using any synthetic perfume or cologne, or any other
synthetically fragranced personal care product, as they're almost always loaded
with synthetic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, reproductive
toxicity, allergies, and more.
“When you see ‘fragrance’ on a personal care
product's label, read it as ‘hidden chemicals.’ A major loophole in FDA's
federal law lets manufacturers of products like shampoo, lotion, and body wash
include nearly any ingredient in their products under the name ‘fragrance’
without actually listing the chemical.
Companies that manufacture personal care
products are required by law to list the ingredients they use, but fragrances
and trade-secret formulas are exempt.”
What does this mean for a health-conscious person like yourself? When you
purchase a fragrance, it could contain any number of the 3,100 or so stock
chemical ingredients used by the fragrance industry. What blend is in most
products you buy, exactly, is virtually impossible to ascertain, aside from
testing it in a lab – and this is actually what the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
did.
- 14 Secret Chemicals Found, on Average, in Fragrance Products
Laboratory tests commissioned by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and
analyzed by EWG, found a total of 38 chemicals not listed on the labels in 17
name-brand fragrances (such as Chanel, Giorgio Armani, Bath & Body Works,
Old Spice, Calvin Klein, and more).2
The average fragrance product contained 14 chemicals that were not
disclosed on the label (along with another 15 that were listed!). The report
noted:
“Among them are chemicals associated with
hormone disruption and allergic reactions, and many substances that have not
been assessed for safety in personal care products.
Also in the ranks of undisclosed ingredients
are chemicals with troubling hazardous properties or with a propensity to
accumulate in human tissues. These include diethyl phthalate, a chemical found
in 97 percent of Americans and linked to sperm damage in human epidemiological
studies, and musk ketone, a synthetic fragrance ingredient that concentrates in
human fat tissue and breast milk.”
- Who’s Looking Out for the Safety of
Fragrance Ingredients?
The Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973 requires cosmetics
companies to list ingredients on labels, but it exempts fragrance, leaving
consumers in the dark about what’s in such products.
The FDA, however, is equally in the dark about fragrance ingredients, and
has not assessed the vast majority of such chemicals for safety when they’re
used in spray-on personal care products – and certainly not their much
enhanced, synergistic toxicities when blended together.3 So if the FDA isn't doing the job of investigating the safety of these
ingredients, who is?
The fragrance industry is allowed to regulate itself, through a trade
association known as the International Fragrance Association (IFRA). This
association is responsible for conducting safety tests to determine the
ingredients safe for use for their own industry – but this association has not
evaluated the majority of the chemicals either!
According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ report, 66 percent of the
secret chemicals, and 19 percent of the listed chemicals, found in product
tests have not been assessed for safety.
Making matters worse, even for the chemicals that are tested, there are serious
questions about whether the industry's research institute is really as
"independent" as IFRA claims it to be. Dr. Samuel Epstein,
M.D., chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, and author
of Toxic Beauty, warns:
"This testing is minimal and restricted
to local effects on human skin, and short-term toxicity tests in rodents."
- Which
Toxic Poisons May Be Lurking in Your Favorite Fragrance?
The term “fragrance,” under US law, actually means a combination of
chemicals that gives a perfume or cologne its distinct scent. These ingredients
may be derived from petroleum or natural raw materials, or they may be produced
synthetically. Perfume manufacturers typically purchase fragrance mixtures from
companies that specialize in developing fragrances (known as fragrance houses)
and then combine them to create a unique scent.4
It is this chemical combination that is typically kept protected as a
“trade secret,” while other chemicals in the products (solvents, stabilizers,
preservatives, dyes, and UV absorbers) may be listed on the label. So what is a
typical fragrance actually made of? Some common offenders include:
·
Parabens: Synthetic preservatives known to interfere with hormone production
and release.
·
Phthalates: Another synthetic preservative that’s carcinogenic and linked to
reproductive effects (decreased sperm counts, early breast development, birth
defects) and liver and kidney damage.
·
Synthetic musks: These are linked to hormone disruption and are thought to persist
and accumulate in breast milk, body fat, umbilical cord blood, and the
environment.
According to EWG:5 “An analysis of the chemical contents of products reveals that the
innocuous-looking ‘fragrance’ often contains chemicals linked to negative
health effects. Phthalates, used to make fragrances last longer, are
associated [with] damage to the male reproductive system, and artificial musks
accumulate in our bodies and can be found in breast milk. Some artificial musks
are even linked to cancer.
And if you've got asthma, watch out --
fragrance formulas are considered to be among the top 5 known allergens, and
can trigger asthma attacks.
The same kinds of chemicals are often used for
fragrances in cleaning products, scented candles, and air fresheners. To avoid
those unpleasant side effects, choose fragrance-free products, but beware
labels that say ‘unscented.’ It may only mean that the manufacturer has added
yet another fragrance to mask the original odor.”
- Fragrances Impact More Than Just the
Wearer
Have you ever gotten a headache because someone sitting next to you is
doused in perfume? Or felt dizzy, nauseous, irritable, confused, or fatigued
due to fragrances worn by co-workers at the office? These are signs that you
likely have a chemical sensitivity to fragrance, and it's more common than you
might think. So anytime you or someone else wears a fragrance, it not only
poses a health risk to the wearer, but also potentially to anyone around him or
her, who will be exposed to the scent whether they like it or not.
Our powerful attraction to fragrances is now being manipulated by
advertisers and marketers to sell products, as well, raising some serious
health and ethical concerns. Your sense of smell is one of your most primitive
senses and is hard-wired deep into primitive areas of your brain. According to
Dr. Stuart Firestein of Columbia University,6 your olfactory system is very closely connected to your limbic system,
which is said to contain your most basic drives. So it's not surprising that
scent is powerfully connected to both emotion and memory.
Product manufacturers know this, and as a result fragrances are added to
far more products than you may realize, often to mask the odor of noxious
chemicals but also to appeal to your emotional side. Fragrances are even added
to medications (inhalers and sports creams), furniture polish, dental floss, nail
polish, paper, some disposable razors, and even construction materials such as
paint and varnish. Many stores now use "scent branding" to draw
people in, like bees to honey—and KEEP people in. Customers in ambient-scented
stores have been found to shop for 20 to 30 percent longer.7
- Non-Toxic Fragrances Are Available
Avoiding toxic fragrance does not mean that you must forgo all pleasant
scents in your home or personal care products, as truly natural options are
available (although if you are sensitive keep in mind that botanical extracts
can also cause reactions in some people).
Organic essential oils are one option (you can even add them to your own
non-fragranced lotion, for instance), and may be found in some safe fragrances
that are 100 percent naturally derived. This includes essential oils and
isolates that come from botanical ingredients such as flowers, fruits, seeds,
bark, leaves, wood, and other natural raw materials.
They may cost more, and the scent may only last a couple of hours after
each application, but they won’t pose the health risks of synthetic fragrances.
Another option, of course, is to forgo fragrance entirely… in fact, a woman’s
natural scent has been found to be more seductive than perfume,8 scoring another point
for the power of nature!
