Fragrance-Free Skincare: What it means for your health

Fresh-cut peonies in the summer. Warm vanilla cookies fresh out of the oven. The musky smell of skin, sea air and coconut oil after a day at the beach. These tantalizing scents that light up our senses have a way of sending us through time to places we’ve traveled or back through our memories.

Today, scented lotions, cleansers and masks have become ubiquitous. Walk down the skin care aisle of your local drugstore or department store and it’s near impossible to find a fragrance-free product. And it’s not surprising — the fragrance industry dominates as a billion dollar industry with projections reaching 92 billion by 2024.

We all want to smell good, but there’s a lot that’s hidden in those delicious scents. In fact, about 4,000 chemicals are currently used to scent products, but you won’t catch any of them listed on the label. So, the next time you think about reaching for a scented product at the grocery store, ask yourself, “what’s the cost to my health?” You might just change your mind.

What exactly is in a fragrance?

From candles and cleaning products, to lotions and perfumes, we live in a fragrance-filled world. And while these everyday products may smell divine, have you ever wondered what’s powering their delicious scents?

The truth is, fragrance products are sneaky. Hundreds of chemicals can hide under the term ‘fragrance’ – but since the exact ingredients that make up any particular fragrance is considered a trade secret they don’t have to be disclosed. A single fragrance may contain hundreds of chemicals. Even worse, there is no national authority that regulates any of this – making the skincare industry essentially self-regulating.

According to the Breast Cancer Prevention Partner’s 2018 study, 75% of the toxic chemicals found in personal care products were found hidden in fragrance. These chemicals can have serious consequences for our health from cancers to dizziness to allergic skin care reactions. Also of concern is that fragrance-related health issues are much more common than you’d expect. A recent study showed that 34.7 % of the population reported health problems, such as migraine headaches and respiratory difficulties like asthma attacks, when exposed to fragranced products.

Another recent study by WVE (a non-profit focused on women’s health) found that multiple chemicals which are banned in other parts of the world from Canada to the EU are frequently used in personal care products produced here in the United States. These include known carcinogens, endocrine disruptors and chemicals that are considered toxic substances.

Along these same lines, for those of us with sensitive skin, fragrance in skincare products can be one of the most common allergens and can cause anything from mild irritation to full-blown contact dermatitis. Fragrance allergies can even cause rashes, swelling, itching or blistering – sometimes leading to chronic dermatitis.

So what, exactly, is fragrance-free skin care?

Truly fragrance-free skincare products, like the small batch skincare products we make here at Lola Arnao, are products that contain zero fragrance of any sort – this includes all synthetic fragrances as well as essential oils. Since essential oils are natural products that are derived from flowers or plants many people think that they must be safe for their skin – and while they can be perfectly safe for many people – they are also among the most common irritants in skin care. It’s helpful to understand how essential oils are made. Extracted from the flowers, roots, barks and leaves of plants typically using a distilling process – they are highly concentrated and extremely potent chemical compounds. While natural they typically contain high levels of active compounds that can wreak havoc on sensitive skin. For this reason, we choose to completely omit both synthetic and natural fragrance from our products.

How do you know if a product is fragrance-free?

So you’re convinced you need to make the switch to fragrance-free skincare. Unfortunately, finding a truly fragrance-free skincare product isn’t as easy as it should be. There’s no real regulation on the state, federal or global levels on what the terms fragrance-free or unscented mean — which can be very confusing. We always suggest reading labels carefully if your skin is sensitive or if you’re simply concerned about exposing your body to the chemicals found in fragrance. Synthetic fragrances are usually listed as fragrance; while the exact ingredients are not listed. Natural fragrances can be even more confusing. Look for essential oils with names like lavender oil, limonene or peru balsam. Since there is no true standard of labeling fragrance-free products, it can be difficult to tell if a product is truly fragrance-free. For example, a product can be marketed as unscented and have little to no smell but contain what’s known as a masking fragrance – or a fragrance designed to help mask unpleasant odors in the product.

Looking to make the switch to fragrance-free skincare products?

Start here with one of our truly fragrance-free discovery sets. Each product is hand-poured in our small workshop and contains simple healing botanicals like jojoba oil, mango butter and rose clay. It’s the perfect way to begin your journey to a cleaner, healthier skincare routine. Shop our