Welcome to the World of Fragrances and Perfume! This world has become a Multi-Million Dollar Market and is growing yearly. It seems nothing is going to stop this trend. Despite the writings on the wall, and the warnings, and the statistics that prove that THESE SUBSTANCES ARE DANGEROUS for HUMANS.
So why are we hearing these warnings about fragrances that are part of so many different products that we can find in our local super markets? If it is in the store it is supposed to be safe, you may ask. It's like "if the doctor is prescribing this drug, it must be safe."
In fact there is nothing wrong with any scent that is derived from a NATURAL source. This article is NOT against all scents.
Fragrances are used since eons on this planet. Even the Egyptians used them. And on TV we see that they have remarkable benefits: They remove bad odors. They make us feel sexy! They keep us fresh the whole day, and cozy, and comfy, and... so on. The list of supposedly benefits is long.
But let's get back to the warnings. We took a glance behind the scenes.
WHAT ARE SYNTHETIC PERFUMES OR FRAGRANCES?
Synthetic fragrances/perfumes are high performance scents and 95% are made out of synthetic - NOT natural - materials that are chemically created mostly from petroleum (crude oil). In many cases a natural substance is taken, and its chemical structure is modified so the scent can be matched somewhat.
Natural Fragrance are Categorized in these Groups:
- Florals,
- Botanicals or Musks.
These scents fade due to lack on fixatives.
Synthetic scents can be categorized into an INFINITE number of variations. They also last much longer.
HOW TOXIC IS SYNTHETIC PERFUM AND FRAGRANCE
T H E F A C T S
Common Ingredients Found in Synthetic Fragrances/Perfumes
Acetone, ethanol, benzaldehyde, formaldehyde, limonene, methylene chloride, camphor, ethyl acetate, linalool and benzyl alcohol.
Phthalates and synthetic musks are also commonly used and are potentially hazardous ingredients.
These Chemicals are Linked to Cause
- Cancer,
- Infertility
- Birth defects
- Central nervous system disorders
- and allergic reactions.
In 2014! a committee convened by the National Academy of Sciences confirmed a federal interagency group’s conclusion that STYRENE, a chemical building block used to produce a wide variety of everyday products, can cause CANCER!
In 2019 these toxic ingredients are still on the market, and are used on a daily basis, and are not removed from the list OR must be labeled at all!
Another VERY BAD PART of these chemicals is that some are known or suspected to be endocrine disruptors.
These substances mess up the hormonal health which can cause infertility, they can trigger weight gain and even set you up for diseases that are just starting to be on the rise.
In 2016 a study was published by veteran fragrance chemical researcher Anne Steinemann, PhD, and the result was surprising and shocking the same time:
"More than 50% of the population would indeed prefer fragrance-free public spaces such as workplaces, health care facilities and other professional spaces, including, hotels and airplanes."
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found an average of 14 chemicals in 17 name brand fragrance products. The BAD PART is none of these chemicals were in fact listed on the label.
Let's take a popular and simple scent. The Lavender scent that is derived comes from the lavender plant, and has a specific scent. But the chemical version of it can be something completely different, even it is called Lavender scent. It is created in a laboratory of the fragrance industry and they have a stock of 3100 chemical ingredients to choose from. This synthetic blend that shows up on your product label is kept under the name "Parfum or fragrance". That's it. You won't know what chemicals are used to make it.
Sources
https://draxe.com/health/detox/dangers-synthetic-scents/
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/toxic-perfumes-and-colognes/
https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/
https://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2014/08/expert-panel-confirms-fragrance-ingredient-can-cause-cancer
The Netflix Movie "STINK" was an inspiration for writing this article. The documentary shows every detail and explains very well why it is unhealthy and indeed dangerous to use products with synthetic fragrances or perfume.
