Why Are Fragrances Bad? 3 Points to Know

Fragrance is an ingredient used in a wide array of products, from hand lotions and fabric softener, to plugins and room sprays, to dish soap and even some toys! The term ‘fragrance’ includes a wide range of any combination of toxic chemicals as the broad use of the term allows for it to cover the actual ingredients that are used to make the scent of this fragrance.

What Fragrance Is Used For

Fragrance is used to give many self-care products, like body washes, soaps, lotions and deodorants their scent. It’s also used to mask the odor of nasty-smelling chemicals in many other products. I have smelled it myself in baby dolls, and in some children’s rubber and plastic toys. Even products labeled unscented often contain fragrance.

Why Fragrance is Bad

On a label, the term ‘fragrance’ can mean anything. Because it’s considered proprietary information, companies don’t have to disclose the chemicals that make up their “fragrances,” which means this ingredient may comprise any combination of hundreds of chemicals. These chemicals can be ingested, inhaled and absorbed through skin and include hormone disruptors, allergens linked to skin problems, phthalates linked to sperm damage and asthma, along with chemicals linked to headaches and cancer.

How to Avoid Fragrance

Read your labels! If it’s used in a skincare product, it will say fragrance. Avoid any product listing it. It is not something that has to be labeled on toys, so you have to use your nose to detect it there. If a product is 100% certified organic, there will not be any toxic chemicals used, so you can rely on anything stating such. At My Green Mattress, we take label reading seriously because we know about all of the junk and toxins used in just about any type of product on the market, including mattresses. This is why we have always pledged to use only safe, natural and organic materials in our mattresses and in the products we buy for use in our homes with our own families.