Perfume, deodorant, laundry detergent, hand lotion, soap, shampoo, dryer sheets, hand sanitizer, potpourri, scented candles, air freshener. What do these products have in common? Artificial fragrance made from endocrine disrupting chemicals.
Olfactory Trespassing
For those of us with autoimmune disorders or Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), the products above can do more than just ruin our day. They can ruin our health.
The Toxicity of Everyday Products
Most of these chemical fragrances contain endocrine disrupting chemicals which may lead to cancer and interfere with immune system function too.
I’m a Hugger
I love hugging people. I’m a hugger! But there’s nothing worse than hugging someone and having the chemical fragrance from their perfume of cologne stay with you all day. It stains my clothes and doesn’t come out in the dry cleaning. The stuff has staying power.
Losing our Sense of Smell is Making us…
All of these scented and perfumed products are so strong that we are losing our sense of smell. It’s like listening to loud music blasting through a speaker. Soon one cannot discern softer sounds.
Lose our Sense of Taste
What is the most integral component of our sense of taste? It’s our sense of smell. If you can’t smell, you basically can’t taste your food. This can lead to food cravings, a lack of satiation, and unsatisfied hunger.
Solutions for Scented Times
The soap provided in most, if not all, of the alternative practitioners’ offices, that I go to is perfumed with artificial fragrance. Even the exercise studios I go to do not provide unscented soap. Because of this, I carry a bottle of hand sanitizer with me.
Traveling Scent Free
When we travel and stay in a rental, I bring my own hand soap, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, laundry detergent, and cleaning products. This provides my family with a scent free environment.
Why Can’t We Smell Like Humans?
I’m trying to figure out what our cultural obsession is with not smelling like humans –what do you think?
Is Your Home a Scent-Free Zone?
What’s the point of eating all of this organic food while slathering our bodies in layers of chemicals? Leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!
Jackie McMillan says
I’m in my 50’s, diagnosed autistic, and I’ve reacted badly to synthetic fragrances for my entire life. If any of you are looking for ways to get fragrance OUT of fabrics that have been “hugged” (or laundered) with synthetic fragrances, I have to recommend Nature Clean’s “Stink Bomb” sachets (I haven’t tried the spray, yet).
I cannot enter malls or most clothing stores because the fabric finishes are so toxic with formaldehyde finishes, so purchase most of my clothing used… which pretty near guarantees it arrives with a load of endocrine and neuron-disrupting synthetic fragrance. A friend put me onto Stink Bomb a year ago, and it’s been a God-send.
No, I’m not an affiliate; I get no rewards from Nature Clean. I’m just so deeply grateful there’s now an easy and non-toxic way to get the toxins OUT!
Elana says
Jackie, I LOVE this recommendation. I’m going to buy Stink Bomb sachets today!
Nancy says
Endocrine disruptors are associated with the alarming increase in the onset ofpremature puberty. It is now not unusual for girls as young as 7 or 8 to experience menarche. The long term health consequences are unknown, but the psychological effects upon girls that young are apparent, and difficult.
Elana says
Nancy, thanks so much for pointing this out! Very grateful for you :-)
Margaret says
I have chronic intractable migraines and triggered by smells. I don’t understand bathing in perfume. Fear of smells can keep me home.
Elana says
Margaret, thanks for sharing your story here! I cannot tolerate any chemical fragrance when I have a headache, it’s just pure torture.
Corky says
We are facing such a toxic overload be it in our foods as well as our environment. The disrupters to the human body is immeasurable beyond comprehension. As an educated biologist, I’ve said time and time again the hand sanitizers are not our greatest invention. It’s important that one’s natural antibodies are not stripped away. Yes, certainly okay once in awhile ( especially when out & about ) but people who use daily are stripping themselves of their own natural antibodies… which isn’t a good thing. Almost like taking too many antibiotics as we’re all going to mutate ( I’ve been saying that for 3 plus decades)…good old fashion washing hands will suffice.
On another note, thank you for your lovely recipes and posts. I’ve gone GF/dairy free for last 2 years. So frustrated with “conventional docs”….finally did outside and food testing and I’m off the charts for gluten, wheat, soy! I should have been adamant years ago. Finally, on the right path with a lot of persistence. I thank you for sharing your journey too.
Xo Corky
Elana says
Corky, I love everything you wrote! In essence, we need to protect our skin microbiome from destructive agents as much as we need to protect our gut microbiome! Love that you’re a biologist and have been saying this for over 30 years!
Adelaide says
We do essential oils – no artificial fragrances. Since we don’t have a washing machine in our apartment, I got a laundry alternative type hand washer, and an electric wringer. I tired of the smells in the laundry room, the residue of which ended up on our cloths anyway; we use unscented detergent – shampoo and soap, too. Everything is hung up to dry, and I get a bit of a workout turning the handle (as you pointed out in an earlier post, housework is a workout). So worth it to keep those unnatural smells out of our living space! When we were ready to to get a carpet for our living space, we went with a hemp one…no off gassing, and our cat spends sooo much time on it…it’s nice knowing he’s on a natural surface, as well as us…
Elana, do you have any suggestions for good places to buy mattresses and or furniture that doesn’t have unhealthy smells/off gassing as well?
Elana says
Adelaide, same here! Essential oils only, no artificial fragrances. Yes, housework = exercise. For organic mattresses go here:
https://www.suitesleep.com/ (use the coupon code elanasleep and Angela will give you 10% off!)
I buy all of our mattresses from there and they are amazing! Organic and no off-gassing.
Elana
Lori says
I have worked in an odor lab for 20 years as an odor assessor, and I can say that rarely do offensive odors like fecal bother too much, but the coverup odors like air fresheners, fragrances in laundry detergents, etc, can be truly sickening. Most of us have become quite sensitive, avoiding the laundry detergent aisle at all cost! Yeah, odor free here, too.
Elana says
Lori, I totally agree! Odors like fecal matter actually do not bother me nearly as much as chemical coverup odors like air fresheners :-)
Annette says
I have been fragrant free for most of my life as heavy scents trigger migraines. I am also a parrot owner and odors, chemicals, solvents, oils, candles, Teflon’s and perfumes are deadly to a parrot. I am very careful so when I painted my kitchen cabinets, I used a low odor VOC free paint. I will go out of my way to avoid people with heavy perfumes. Unfortunately most people don’t understand how their heavy perfume choices affect other people. Second hand smoke is another problem as well.
Elana says
Annette, thanks for your great comment! Now that you’ve mentioned it in the same sentence, I think chemical fragrance kinda equals second hand smoke for those of us with compromised immune systems :-)
Jamie says
Interesting the different takes on the effects of fragrance. My experience has been very clear…some essential oils like lavender for goodness sake make me sick. Others, like peppermint make me feel better. I’ve been doing fragrance free for years.
Elana says
Jamie, thanks so much for your comment!
Donna says
There’s definitely truth in this.
I have been in hospital numerous times over the past 20 years for surgery to remove cancer tumours from my abdomen.
Each time, for a short period following the major surgery, I have become completely intolerant to smell of perfume, fabric conditioner etc. To the point where I have had to ask the nurse looking after me not to wear perfume as otherwise I could not stand her being anywhere in the room.
It was so bad this last time that I couldn’t wear my nightie from home because of the smell of fabric conditioner.
I’m sure this is my body’s way of protecting me.
We do indeed need to listen to what our body’s are telling us.
Thanks Elana for sharing your knowledge with us xxx
Elana says
Donna, I’m so sorry to hear about all you’ve been through. I’m also a bit shocked to hear that nurses wear perfume. I hope you’ll keep me posted on how you’re doing. ❤️
Judy says
I’m sitting here nodding in agreement. If you are an asthmatic, those folks who slather themselves in perfumes can set off some serious respiratory reactions. I, for the most part, do scent free everything. I will add a few drops of lavender essential oil to our shampoo and cream rinse as it is a great bug repellent (lice). Plus lavender is a calming scent in vary small quantities.
I wonder if the desire for fragrances that cover up our scent as humans is the same as a dog rolling in some of the stuff they are known to roll in?
Elana says
Judy, thanks for your comment! That is a great question, but dogs are making themselves smell like the earth, etc. and we are rolling in toxic chemical fragrances. I love essential oils and use them therapeutically the way you do. I think they’re totally different than chemical fragrance. For one thing, they wear off and don’t stick around for ages, and they’re healthy, not toxic :-)