Fragrance- A Hidden Toxin?

For one of my assignments, I was asked to pick a personal care product that I use frequently, and research the ingredients and their toxicity. I decided to research L'Oreal's go 360 clean, which is a facial cleanser that I use nearly every day. I thought that since it was a facial cleanser it would be fairly toxin free, but I was quite surprised to learn that it contained a pretty toxic ingredient- fragrance.

The word fragrance doesn't seem bad at face value. It doesn't have a long and intimidating name like laureth sulfate or decyl glucoside, and seems to be in everything. It just means that it makes us smell good, right? Well, that's where you're wrong. Fragrance is actually composed of a lot of phthalates, which are endocrine disruptors that are linked to things like sperm damage, infertility, and early menopause. Fragrance contains this and a lot of other harmful compounds, all of which manufacturers aren't required to disclose in the US thanks to a legal loophole.

So what else makes fragrance so bad? Well, all of these chemicals contained within the term 'fragrance' can do a lot of damage to your body. They are known to cause allergic reactions, and sometimes even trigger asthma attacks, but they also can cause more lasting damage. Fragrance contains neurotoxins which can be toxic to the brain, can disrupt hormones, and even cause a higher risk of breast cancer.

Researching this product really opened my eyes to a lot of the products I use, including my go 360 clean facial cleanser. After checking a lot of my other personal care products I realized that they all have the vague 'fragrance' ingredient, which leads to the valuable question- where do I go from here? I buy all my personal care products with the intention of them helping me smell good, but using so many products that contain fragrance isn't healthy at all. So, I wanted to set a goal for myself, in order to continue to try and live a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. I first decided to cut down on the amount of fragrance containing products I use, and only limit them to the ones I absolutely can't let go of. I'm not ready to stop buying scented shampoo and conditioner just yet, but I definitely don't see a need in buying a fragrance containing facial wash like my go 360 clean. So I'm definitely willing to stop using that, along with cutting down on my use of scented lotions, body wash, and perfume. I'm hoping by implementing these changes I can stay happy and healthy while helping the environment as well.

Sources:

"Toxic ingredients you should avoid: phthalates, fragrance & dyes". Stylishly Organic. 22 Mar. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2013.
 <http://stylishlyorganic.com/2013/03/22/toxic-ingredients-you-should-avoid-phthalates-fragrance-dyes/>

"Fragrance". The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2013
<http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=222>