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Fragrance in Products
One word on a label, "fragrance," is a legal trade secret standing in for fifty to two hundred chemicals the maker never has to name. Over 90% of what a scented product emits appears nowhere on the label Steinemann 2016. It's the top cosmetic cause of allergic rash, a real asthma and migraine trigger, and the main phthalate source in lotion. Most people aren't bothered; a few percent are and never know it. Going fragrance-free costs the same and takes one round of label-reading.
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The rash is the best-documented harm. Fragrance is the top cosmetic cause of allergic contact dermatitis worldwide, and about 6.8% of people tested in dermatitis clinics react to the standard fragrance screening mix 1 โ€” second only to nickel across all allergens. In the general population, 1 to 3% of adults are sensitised, similar to peanut allergy in adults 2. Once set, it's lifelong.

Two everyday terpenes, limonene (citrus) and linalool (lavender), sit in most scented products and turn allergenic as they age in the bottle 3. That's why "natural" essential-oil products aren't safer, and a year-old bottle can react when it once didn't.

Breathing is the second harm. Almost two-thirds of asthmatics report symptoms from scented products, and they're nearly six times more likely than non-asthmatics to 4. Cleaning workers get asthma at up to 2.5 times the population rate 5.

Go by exposure, not by aisle. Start where the air is:

What you'll notice, and when.

  • If you're not sensitised: nothing you'd feel. But phthalates in your urine drop within days of switching skin products, and indoor formaldehyde falls quietly.
  • If you are, and many don't know it: over a few weeks the eczema on your hands clears, the evening eye-rubbing stops, the patch you covered with makeup is gone.
  • Asthmatics: fewer bad afternoons with no obvious cause. Malls, hotel lobbies, and cleaned bathrooms get navigable.
  • For kids: fragrance allergy is acquired from years of exposure, so a low-fragrance home lowers their odds of carrying it into adulthood.
The fine print โ€” when to skip it, and what people get wrong

"Unscented" usually still contains fragrance, added to mask raw ingredient smells. Only fragrance-free, backed by an ingredient list with no fragrance entry, is the real thing 6.

Swapping products but not categories is the common miss: people change the lotion and leave the detergent and plug-in running the household's fragrance load. Trading synthetic for essential-oil is a sideways move; those oils are the fastest-rising allergens 3.

References
  1. 1Botvid SHC, Hald M, Mortz CG, Johansen JD (2024). Contact sensitization to fragrance mix I and fragrance mix II among European dermatitis patients: A systematic review. Contact Dermatitis. link
  2. 2Cheng J, Zug KA (2014). Fragrance allergic contact dermatitis. Dermatitis. link
  3. 3Dittmar D, Schuttelaar MLA (2019). Contact sensitization to hydroperoxides of limonene and linalool: Results of consecutive patch testing and clinical relevance. Contact Dermatitis. link
  4. 4Steinemann A (2018). Fragranced consumer products: effects on asthmatics. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health. link
  5. 5Folletti I, Siracusa A, Paolocci G (2017). Update on asthma and cleaning agents. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. link
  6. 6Steinemann A (2016). Fragranced consumer products: exposures and effects from emissions. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health. link
Related in the handbook (11)
Undermines
  • โ€” Scented sprays, cleaners, and lotions are a common asthma trigger; going fragrance-free is one of the cheaper ways to cut flares.
  • โ€” Fragranced products are a steady source of indoor air pollution and plasticiser exposure at home.
  • โ€” Your daily moisturizer is one of the main ways fragrance touches skin all over. Fragrance-free versions skip the leading allergen.
Related
  • โ€” Body wash is one of the biggest daily fragrance exposures hiding in plain sight.
  • โ€” Scented candles are one more place 'fragrance' hides a mix of undisclosed VOCs โ€” and burning them makes it worse.
  • โ€” Cleaning products are a major fragrance source; the fragrance-free versions cost the same.
  • โ€” Fabric softener and dryer sheets are a major hidden-fragrance source in the home.
  • โ€” The fragrance is the part most skin reacts to โ€” picking the fragrance-free version is the whole fix.
  • โ€” Phthalates hide under the single word 'fragrance' โ€” that label is one of your biggest exposure sources.
  • โ€” The expensive 'clean' bottles mostly sell fragrance and a story โ€” the basic surfactants were re-reviewed and cleared.
  • โ€” Worn fragrance is the obvious source, but 'fragrance' is buried in shampoos, lotions and cleaners as well.
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