Should I Throw Out my Synthetic Perfumes?
Should I throw out my Synthetic Perfumes?
This is something I have considered after reading and listening to so many examples of harm that synthetics in grooming products like perfumes and lotions and also home cleaning products cause. Perfume is used in so many day-to-day items, it made sense to take some time to figure this out.
Why are synthetics in Perfume even an issue?
Some synthetics have been found to cause cancer, hormone disruption and an assortment of harms that cannot be simply dismissed as allergies. Not that we should dismiss allergies, given they can be life-threatening too. It’s just that some people dismiss dangerous products' impact by saying (hoping) they won’t be harmed if it’s simply an allergy very few people experience.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ site listed some big-name perfumes that were found to have dangerous synthetics in specific perfumes. They can’t test everything though, but it demonstrated the importance of transparent labelling.
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has paid for testing some big name perfumes. They are composed of over 100 groups seeking changes to the Cosmetics, Perfumes and everyday products to have truth or full disclosure in labelling so people can know what is in the products they buy. Their focus includes educating people about the harms of certain chemicals.
What are 3 ways to help me decide this?
The nose knows…sometimes.
Some things are easier to decide on. Smell test. If you are picking up an “after scent” or “edge” to the perfume or perfumed product that doesn’t smell quite right, why use it? If you notice, others will too.
The more you use products that are all natural and scented with all natural ingredients, the more your nose will become accustomed to knowing which products are synthetic.
More recently on my hunt for the “just right” summer sandals, I noticed a sick feeling while walking through the shoe section of a major department store. At first I ignored this, then noticed over a period of months, each time I walked through the shoe section, I felt sick. It was the scent from some shoes that had plastic in them. Yikes!
Body awareness
Become attuned to what is different on the day before and day that you used a scented and even an unscented product. Let me give you an example.
I used to use an amazing overnight cream from one of the world’s most well-known companies. It worked very well. It cost a lot. It seemed for good reason. However, overtime, I kept wondering why I was having occasional days where I felt flu-like. Keeping track it turned out the only consistent factor was that I used that very effective cream. It became easier to notice the pattern as I always used it the night before big events. No choice. I had to stop using it. The thought of other people getting sick from it led me back to let the cosmetic department to let the cosmeticians know, but it was removed from the market. Relief!
So while we can use our nose to guide us, some dangerous products don’t have a scent we would notice.
Guess? Yes, Google, of course!
Recently a salesperson dropped a perfume sample from a big designer in with my purchases. Thanking her, I opened it up and smelled it. Uh oh! My nose picked up a synthetic edge. It was such a big designer; I doubted my nose. I Googled the ingredients and was astonished as there were studies on one of the ingredients about how damaging that ingredient was to women’s hormonal health. No need to check the rest of the ingredients. I’m not signing up for that.
We can use Google in reverse too, to find out if something has exclusively good ingredients
Many all-natural products use botanical names making it hard to know if it’s natural or synthetic. If you Google the word, you can find out. I tested myself when buying a soap as the salesperson did not know if it was all natural or not. A few of the ingredients had names I’d never seen. My nose said, “all natural” and luckily so did Google’s search engine. The soap used very unique herbs not typically used in soaps. Sold!
It’s important to know that even with the most in-depth research we might not find out about many of the risky and dangerous synthetics. This is because Perfume and other Scented Products can use the term “fragrance” in place of listing some synthetic ingredients. While the definition of fragrance is the same as scent or perfume in everyday life, in labelling it means you are not being told what is inside. Occasionally natural perfumes use the phrase to keep the ingredients secret, but it is a term normally intended for synthetics and even for ingredients some people might not feel comfortable with.
So, should you dump all your synthetically scented products?
You know the answer – it depends.
If something is making you feel ill – of course. Either way, it’s definitely worth it to learn more.
Have I dumped all my synthetics? No. I still have 2 really gorgeous perfumes that smell great. One is retro and no longer manufactured, so I’m keeping it in it’s lovely near empty bottle. However, over the years I have gradually let go of and yes, sometimes just dumped products, especially when I noticed a synthetic edge to the scent of a product.
The thing is, the more I learn, the more I realize I did not know as much as I thought, so gradually, I’m learning more and more about synthetics in perfume. If something says “fragrance”, my personal choice is to say “no thanks.”
Viva Essensual Elixirs are all natural. We’re transparent about what’s in each of our perfumes and perfumed products, listing them all. For me going forward, I just keep checking ingredients, trust my nose and become more body aware. When in doubt; check it out ~ the ingredients that is. Google it, YouTube it, read & listen to your body's reaction to learn more.
Are you concerned about synthetics in your perfumes?, cosmetics? air fresheners? There is always more research needed, but we can all learn from tracking and trusting our responses to synthetics.
In the picture below, you can see the woman sitting at the table, enjoying a morning coffee with sun shining through the window, with a pot of violets and Viva Essensual Elixirs Violet Verses Roll-on Perfume is in front of her. Sometimes it's those simple pleasures in life that start your day off right!
