Welcome to PSR's Environmental Health Policy Institute, where we ask questions -- then we ask the experts to answer them. Join us as physicians, health professionals, and environmental health experts share their ideas, inspiration, and analysis about toxic chemicals and environmental health policy.
This essay is in response to: What are the health hazards of exposure to fragrances in consumer products and cosmetics? How can our regulatory system effectively address such hazards?
From Halle Berry’s signature scent to JLo’s Glow, the sleek perfume bottles promise love, joy, and celebrity appeal. But what they won’t tell you is what’s on the inside: complex mixtures of undisclosed chemicals linked to asthma, allergies, hormone disruption, and other health effects.
“Fragrance” is considered a trade secret by law, so companies are not required to disclose the chemical components that add scent to a wide range of personal care products. According to the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database, an estimated 80% of products – everything from colognes and body sprays, to shampoos, deodorants, and even make-up – contain fragrance.
To shed some light on these unknown chemical exposures, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of health and environmental groups, commissioned tests of 17 brand-name fragranced products at an independent laboratory in spring 2010. The resulting study, “Not So Sexy: The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance”, revealed that the 17 products contained, on average:
The study further revealed the widespread use of chemicals that have not been assessed for safety by any publicly accountable agency, or by the cosmetics industry's self-policing review panels. Of the 91 ingredients identified in the fragrances, only 19 have been reviewed by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), and 27 have been assessed by the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) and the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM), which develop voluntary standards for chemicals used in fragrance.
The existing data and lack of comprehensive studies are cause for concern, because one thing we do know is that fragrance chemicals are inhaled or absorbed through the skin and many of them are ending up inside people’s bodies, including pregnant women and newborn infants.
A recent EWG study found synthetic musk chemicals Galaxolide and Tonalide in the umbilical cord blood of newborn infants. These musk chemicals were found in nearly every fragrance analyzed for the “Not So Sexy” study.
Twelve of the 17 products in the
study also contained diethyl phthalate (DEP), a chemical linked to sperm damage
and behavioral problems that has been found in the bodies of nearly all
Americans tested.
Targeting Abercrombie & Fitch
If you’ve been into the clothing store Abercrombie & Fitch, you’ve seen the wall-sized photos of shirtless men with six-pack abs and you’ve undoubtedly smelled the strong stench of Fierce cologne – since, as part of the corporation’s branding, the stores are sprayed down with the cologne at regular intervals via air vents.
At the request of the non-profit group Teens Turning Green, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics included Fierce cologne in the cohort of products analyzed for the Not So Sexy Fragrance study.
According to the analysis, Fierce contains eight sensitizing chemicals that can trigger allergic reactions such as headaches, wheezing, asthma, and contact dermatitis – the types of effects commonly reported by people exposed to fragrances. According to a peer-reviewed paper published in the March 2009 Journal of Environmental Health, more than 30% of the general population and up to 37% of people with asthma report these types of negative reactions from fragrance products.
The lab tests also revealed that Fierce cologne contained diethyl phthalate, which is linked in recent human studies to sperm damage in adult men, abnormal reproductive development in baby boys, and neurological disorders in children. (Studies are referenced here.)
It is ironic that Abercrombie & Fitch’s marketing efforts promote images of virile young men, while the store’s policy is to spray chemicals all over the place that may have a detrimental impact on male reproductive health. In September 2010, Physicians for Social Responsibility joined Teens Turning Green and many other groups – including Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, MomsRising, American Fertility Association, AllergyKids, and several state nursing associations, together representing 1.5 million members – in sending a letter to A&F CEO Mike Jeffries raising concerns about the health effects of the company’s fragrance-spraying practice. The company has yet to respond.
Meanwhile, Congress is poised to take action. In summer 2011, the Safe Cosmetics Act was introduced into the US House of Representatives by Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.). The bill would require companies to disclose the chemicals in fragrance, phase out the most hazardous chemicals from cosmetics, and ensure cosmetic ingredients are assessed for safety.
For more information about the Safe Cosmetics Act and how you can get involved in helping to pass this legislation, please click here.
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Another problem caused by the over-use of perfumes is contact dermatitis. About ten years ago I suddenly found the skin around my eyes all red and itchy. Nothing seemed to make the condition go away, and the first allergist to whom I went for help only made things worse. Finally I went to a dermatologist who tested me for contact allergies. It turned out my skin now reacts in this negative way to fragrances in soaps, laundry detergents, etc. I switched to a fragrance-free laundry detergent, but when the company started making that super-concentrated, I started reacting to that too.
November 29, 2012The 2012 FeBreeze Ad is quite insulting to people, too. as if we live in those environments. Is that what they think of people? didn't perfumes used to made from natural flower oils? are there any left or is it all chemicals?
November 27, 2012That's what's wrong with my stepdad!!!
August 8, 2012Heavily fragranced Las Vegas Casinos left me subjected to Migraines, Endometriosis & Asthma. (neurotoxicity, endocrine disrupting and respiratory effects)
April 13, 2012I've been operating a kiosk outside of an Ambercrombie and Fitch for 4 months and I have had terrible reactions to the perfume from watery eyes, puffy and swollen face and eyes and itchy skin. Also I'm starting to find it hard to take a deep breath not from the smell but because my lungs hurt.
November 30, 2011Very informative. Thank you
November 7, 2011It shouldn't even come to disclosure. I should be allowed to decide whether or not I want to breathe a scent or not. Elevators with heavily-perfumed people are enough to trigger an asthma attack in me. I have to literally run past fragrance counters in department stores. I love the clothes that Abercrombie & Fitch (and others) put out, but can't go into the stores because I react to the fog when I get within 15 feet of the storefronts. And these same people have the nerve to complain about secondhand smoke...
November 6, 2011Thanks for the action item!
November 6, 2011In the last century, margarine made from various oils was white. To make it look like butter it included a packet of yelow die, else it was sold pre-mixed. That die was called "butter yellow." It eventually was found to cause liver cancer and was then removed from the market. It's not just fragrances we should worry about, but all the dyes that are present in foods and drinks.
November 5, 2011I hope Florida representatives like Ander Crenshaw (my representative) will act to protect consumers from these toxic substances in cosmetics!!
November 5, 2011These "Fragrances," have an Oily Base, from Coumarin, a plant family from Central America. It is Cummulative. Damages the Liver, and maybe the Kidneys too. I believe I am Permanenly Ill from having used a Very Heavily Fragranced Deodorant Soap for 32 Years!!! Will need to have portion of Liver Biopsied where enzymes for Blood Coagultion is produced. Suffering Very Poor Health.
November 4, 2011I love wearing perfume for my own pleasure but have found that fewer and fewer perfumes are gentle enough to tolerate. I remember when most were floral or woodsy but along about 1965-1970 all that changed with the introduction of artificial musks and ambers. Perfume became stinky and harsh and the beautiful old scents were "improved" and degraded for the modern world. New scents were offered under the old names--what a cheat! Now I always wonder when I wear perfume if I am giving someone an asthma attack or a headache. For this reason I rarely use a perfume made after 1960-1970. A few can still be found on Ebay, and sometimes they even smell fresh.
November 4, 2011How do we deal with this? Seems these fragrances are ubiquitous and short of not purchasing shampoos, cleaning products, and everything else we need, how can we eliminate exposure???
November 4, 2011I particularly appreciate the spotlight on men's fragrances, because too often the issue is seen only as a "women's" issue. Strong aftershave and "fragrances" are as much of a menace as any other contaminated cosmetics and baby products!
November 4, 2011