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!
Jo says
So glad to read all the useful information that makes me not feel like such an odd person out. Perfumes on others trigger migraines. I am going to an event and need to communicate this to those who I will be hugging or sharing a room with and don’t know how to communicate this without offending. The other issue I am having is taking a Lyft or Uber. They spray the cars with Febreeze and other air “fresheners” in between riders and it gets on my clothes and it is a real struggle to make it through the day. Any advice about these two problems is much welcome! Thanks!
Elana says
Jo, I’m in the same boat with you and haven’t figured out how to tell people that the chemicals they choose to wear are not something my body can process or tolerate. I have heard that Uber has some sort of feature where you can request an unscented car. I hope you’ll stay in touch with me :-)
Jan-Marie says
OMG!!!! Thank you for this article! I have had fibromyalgia for 30 yeas and suffer with hydro-carbon sensitivities, of which this is…..I no longer can shop in Norstrom’s or Neiman’s because of the smell in the store and the clothes! My right to be able to go into a store is no longer important, as upper management at both stores tell me that no one else complains about it. I have shopped at Nordstrom’s South Coast Plaza since 1979, and in the last 3 years I no longer can go into the stores. The smell is so pervasive that when I have purchased clothes from them and taken them home, and they smell so bad that I have to take them out in the garage will the next day when my husband will return the items. I have been talking with Pete Nordstrom for 3 years about this and he tells me no one else complains about it. I know that’s not true because one of the sales girls has told me differently! I also called Neiman’s in Dallas and no response and even called and spoke to the manager in Newport Beach and she said that no one else is affected by it! I am 73 and many older people have heart and lung problems or compromised immune systems. They use to love to go to the mall and take a walk if it was to hot or cold outside and now they can’t because of all the obnoxious smells in the mall! It’s just awful! I even picked up one of the manager’s cards at the customer service desk and put it in my purse and a couple of hours later had to get in my purse for something and I about passed out from the smell. If I have to go into the store for anything I can stay for 10-15 minutes and then I have to leave and use my inhaler when I get into the car….Something is wrong with this picture folks, and they wonder why the brick and mortar stores are closing…..It’s not just about the internet, it’s about the unhealthy environment and clothes that they are selling that smell. I have had to start ordering from the manufacturers direct to not have scents in my clothes. Rebecca Taylor’s clothes have been fine, but I ordered direct from Eileen Fisher and theirs had a scent. I don’t know if it’s from the plastic they’re putting the clothes in that come from China or chemicals on the ocean liners or some new fragrance in the stores, but 3 years ago there was no problem. It seems like if the clothes are in the stores they smell but if they come from the warehouse I usually don’t have a problem. I love to shop in the stores and now I can’t….Everything has to be ordered online! Very sad…..
Elana says
Jan-Marie, thanks so much for sharing your experience here! We already have a fair amount of comments on this post! Send it to all of your chemically sensitive friends and ask them to comment. When we have a couple of hundred comments echoing yours and the others, I bet they’ll start to listen :-)
Marilyn Potter says
Any suggestion for detergent? Or dishwasher soap? I changed my hair products some years ago when I was doing a lot of exercise and sweating. I realized my body was emitting the heavy scent of my hair products, happy with the change!
Elana says
Marilyn, yes! I provide a link to that in the paragraph titled “Traveling Scent Free”.
Deborah Howard says
I am also sensitive to synthetic scents and “fragrances.” After years of unscented products, I was introduced to plant essences or essential oils. I find that although I don’t always like some of the over 200 oils, I don’t have a reaction to them. And at times using an oil like peppermint in a personal inhaler blocks some of the synthetics for me. I know that this too is controversial and that for people who are sensitive to synthetics and the myriad of smells in today’s products, any smell is uncomfortable for them. I’m so fortunate that I’ve found pure plant essences that I am able to use and enjoy. It opened the whole world of smell up for me again I know that there are a variety of brands and types of essential oils and that they are not all created equal. I’m still sensitive to many scents and have found that they are the synthetics that I can’t tolerate Thanks for listening and thank you for bringing up this topic.
Elana says
Deborah, I couldn’t agree with you more! Although I don’t like the smell of every single essential oil, they don’t make me sick like artificial fragrances.
Yvonne Goodman says
So So True……….to my nose most fragrances smell like fly spray. But, I do wish one could get a proper smell free deodorant.
We can’t just smell like humans because sweat and perspiration—stink–even if you shower daily.
Elana, I so enjoy following you and I have learned a lot too.
Thanks for being so open about sharing. We love it.!!
Elana says
Yvonne, thanks for your wonderful comment! I have a recipe for homemade deodorant here:
https://elanaspantry.com/homemade-deodorant/
And if you don’t want to make your own, at the bottom of that post is a link to a wonderful scent-free magnesium based deodorant you can buy.
Elana
Renee says
Thank you! Thank you! This is a surprisingly controversial subject in the workplace. My request to eliminate air “fresheners” from bathrooms and desks has nearly cost me a job several times. Even upper management and HR seem perplexed as to why it is an issue. At one time, after my pleading for months, my team lead once rolled her eyes and said the “American government” wouldn’t let anything be sold to us that is harmful… and that was the end of the discussion. It is excruciating to have to ask coworkers to please not use the hand sanitizers from a certain bath and body store, which carries notoriously toxic products that can knock me out of commission for the rest of the day with one whiff. I hope more people will speak up to raise awareness. Thanks for this post.
Elana says
Renee, OMG I laughed out LOUD, when I read that someone at your office said, “the “American government” wouldn’t let anything be sold to us that is harmful.” I wonder if this person is familiar with cigarettes, asbestos, and BPA. Let’s stay in touch and hopefully if we all work together we can make progress on this issue :-)
linda says
Here’s some info on air effers that you might be able to make use of:
Ten questions concerning air fresheners and indoor built environments
Air fresheners and indoor built environments: why air fresheners impair rather than improve indoor air quality, and pose health risks
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132316304334
Kim Comstock says
Thank you Elana. Today I was seen by a neurologist specializing in dementia. I have decreased small and taste. Also, Probable Levy Body Dementia and poassibly Parkinsonian Dementia, with moderate Parkinsonian muscle/nerve problems. I have always had serious trouble with smells triggering my asthma. I the past 6months smells have seemed to trigger my dementia problems (anxiety, anger, confusion, and night terrors. Are you aware of any know connection with Small’s and dementia? Kim Comstock
Elana says
Kim, thanks for your comment and for sharing your story here. The endocrine disrupting chemicals contained in artificial fragrance are also neuro-toxins, so it totally makes sense that they would impact brain function. I hope you’ll stay in touch here and keep me posted on how you’re doing. ❤️❤️❤️
Karyl says
This is one of the biggest problems I face! It’s more socially isolating even than my diet. Finding a hotel that is capable of providing unscented sheets and towels is difficult – and I CANNOT spend any time in a room with scent. What will it take for endocrine disrupting scents to be viewed as the poisons they are, and be restricted like smoking materials?
Elana says
Karyl, I love your comment! And couldn’t agree more with your statement saying: “What will it take for endocrine disrupting scents to be viewed as the poisons they are, and be restricted like smoking materials?” Thank you so very much :-)
Bev says
Yes, yes, and yes! You are so correct. I get migraines with all the fragrances that both women and men wear and all the cleaning products out there. I had to send out an email to my fellow workers because 2 came in daily smelling like they used a whole bottle. Afterward, several others quietly thanked me for speaking up. Church is harder to deal with. Ours has made announcements about being sensitive to the health of all members but I’ve had to leave the building on Sunday morning when the smell permeates the whole room. Also, be aware that no-VOC paint is not chemical free. After painting a room with fans blowing, windows open and no VOC paint, I still got a migraine! I think folks whose body does not react really don’t understand what is happening to us and themselves.
Elana says
Bev, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Folks whose bodies do not react really don’t understand what is happening to us and them in terms of all the chemicals they’re choosing to slather on their bodies, and in the process, expose us to.
Jan-Marie says
Hi Bev!
I had to stop going to church 30 years ago because of all the scents. I would sit in the back of the church and then someone would sit down by us. Moving all the time is hard from pew to pew and the priest even spoke about it, but people just don’t care. There needs to be a sign posted outside the church saying “Please No Fragrance beyond this point!” Powder lightly applied doesn’t seem to bother me as there is no petroleum products in powder.
Elana says
Jan-Marie, I hope some folks will read this and think about what you said. It would be so nice if everyone who wants to go to church could go :-)
Kitty says
YES to everything you said. I have been sensitive since childhood but it seems like I’ve become far worse in the last several years, especially since my autoimmune diagnoses. I have a graveyard of products with mild scents I could tolerate then something changes in me and I’m highly offended by them. I keep them because I can randomly tolerate them again later. Who knows? Many products claiming to be unscented are the ones that are the worst offenders sometimes. Don’t even get me started on phantom smells ha! (:
Elana says
Kitty, when I worked with IFF (International Flavors & Fragrances) I was told that even conventional unscented products have a scent!