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.
And although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
actually has direct authority to regulate harmful ingredients in
cosmetics and personal care products, it doesn't exercise it…
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) explains:1
“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 coworkers 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!
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.