A topic that is hotly debated in the skincare world is fragrance in products - is it necessary? Is it damaging? Are there certain fragrances that are ok? What if my skin doesn't show any issues? Read below for my thoughts on this
What is the purpose of fragrance? Purely to smell good and provide a sensory experience. Some skincare ingredients do not smell very good, so companies add fragrance to hide undesirable scents and make for a positive sensory experience. Synthetic fragrances provide NO benefit to the skin whatsoever. Essential oils, however, do have some beneficial properties to the skin and these vary depending on the oil, the processing, the concentration, etc. EO’s are a controversial topic so I will save the nitty gritty of this for another post.
What effects can fragrance have on the skin? In general, fragrances are very sensitizing to the skin. You might not realize it at first, but over time you will notice increased sensitivity to things that didn’t use to cause you issues. Additionally, underlying and undetected inflammation is a huge contributor to premature aging. Think about sun damage - you don’t necessarily realize that your skin is inflamed or being damaged, but after years and years you will absolutely notice the damage that was done.
Are all fragrances bad? Not necessarily - There are some essential oils and pleasantly smelling ingredients that have been shown to be beneficial to the skin such as vanilla, melon, aloe, mango, coconut, cocoa butter, shea butter, and cucumber. But it can be difficult to decipher between these in naturally occurring ingredients and those that are synthetic simply by smelling, you must read the label*
Natural vs. Synthetic fragrances - synthetic fragrances are the most likely to cause issues within the skin. Essential oils are controversial, and there are people that believe that essential oils absolutely do not belong in skincare no questions asked, and there are others that believe they are an extremely beneficial component to an effective product. So when you are looking at an ingredient label you need to be wary of words like “parfum, natural fragrance, fragrance, aroma” etc. as these are all indicators of synthetic fragrance. Notice I included “natural fragrance” in this list - that is because a lot of companies will try to confuse consumers by using the word natural. There is no regulation of what is considered ‘natural’ so anyone can use this word with no rules or regulations.
The “proprietary” issue - companies are not legally required to disclose what exactly their fragrances are made up of, because this is considered proprietary information. So because of this, a lot of companies simply won’t list the components of their fragrances. However, there are still a lot of companies that will list all of their essential oils even if these are the only ingredients making up their fragrance. This, to me, is huge because it shows integrity and transparency in a skincare company. I want to support companies that choose this integrity and transparency because I think there should be way more of this in the world.
So, do you need to stay away from fragrances completely? For the most part, yes. I recommend staying away from strong synthetic fragrances. Not only are they sensitizing to the skin but they’ve also been shown to be toxic, so thats a no from me. I mentioned earlier that essential oils are a controversial topic, so I will simply state my own opinion. I love them. I think, based on my personal research, that they have a lot of beneficial properties and I like having them in my routine. However, I do encourage you to do your own research and form your own opinion on this.
* Paula’s Choice “Why Fragrance-Free Products are Best for Everyone” (https://www.paulaschoice.com/expert-advice/skincare-advice/sensitive-skin/why-fragrance-free-products-are-best-for-everyone.html)