Breaking Down The Latest: Fragrance
With all of the buzz out there about living a more natural and holistic lifestyle, it can be challenging to understand where you stand on certain things. There are definitely extremes on both sides and finding where you fit on the spectrum of western to natural medicine takes a lot of research and understanding. In the series, breaking down the latest, I will be breaking down the latest topics in regards to the battle between natural and western, to provide you with research, information and my opinion so you can take that information and see where it fits into your lifestyle.
Today’s topic is fragrance. I have to say, when I first began my hormonal health journey, I read about the impact of synthetic fragrances on my hormones and was very apprehensive to make any changes. I have always been a huge fan of scented lotions, perfumes, detergents, candles, you name it! I was definitely one of the girls in high school with the ‘Pink’ body spray.
As I dove deeper and deeper into my research on hormone balancing and endocrine disruptors, I was met by data that suggests synthetic fragrances as a contributor. Mainly the concern stems from these fragrances being comprised of volatile organic compounds, meaning they can rapidly change in our bodies. Some of what makes up synthetic fragrances includes substances known to pose harm to our health such as formaldehyde and petroleum. The other complication with the use of synthetic fragrances is that the term fragrance can refer to “complex mixtures of dozen to hundreds of chemicals instead of a single odorant compound, and these potentially can, individually or in combination, elicit adverse effects on biological systems and human health [14,15]” (Rádis-Baptista, 2023). Research suggests that synthetic fragrance activates our olfactory receptors, basically how our brain detects scent, and our human nuclear estrogen receptor which links the reaction of fragrance to our endocrine system.
It is also shown in previous research that, “synthetic perfumes may potentially cause perturbation of the endocrine-immune-neural axis. Disease symptoms related to fragrance chemicals may include neural disturbances (e.g., headache, depression, and migraine), skin and airway hypersensitivity, breast cancer and polycystic ovary syndrome, gynecomastia, liver and thyroid toxicity, reproductive problems, and teratogenic toxicity effects [22]”(Rádis-Baptista, 2023).
So what does this mean for your health? Although the use of synthetic fragrances is common in many products, companies have begun creating fragrance-free or naturally fragranced alternatives (using plant-derived essential oils). This allows for a safe and effective alternative which will not impact your health.
When I decided to make the switch, as I ran out of products, I slowly swapped out for different brands. Certain things I did not mind going fragrance free with, while others I preferred a naturally derived fragrance.
Here are some of my favorite swaps for fragrance-free or naturally scented alternatives (FYI, switching is tough, I won’t sugar coat it. When you’re used to strong synthetic fragrances it will definitely take some getting used to. But trust me you WILL get used to it and one day the fragranced items you once used will smell so strong it will give you a headache!)
Laundry detergent: Molly’s Suds and Dirty Labs are my favorite brands for laundry detergent. Personally, I like my clothes to have a little scent, so my go-to is the Signature Scent from Dirty labs. Molly’s Suds has great options but I don’t smell it as strongly.
Deodorant: Think, Just Ingredients, Christopher’s Organics and a lemon are my favorite deodorant alternatives. Deodorant is a big struggle for me because of my sensitive skin so personally I have been using a lemon or Butter Me Up Organic’s sensitive skin deodorant. The other brands mentioned above are great alternatives that have some fun natural scent options! I will say when you switch to natural deodorant, the smell can be a challenge, but your body will adjust!
Perfume: Essential oils are a great perfume alternative! There are also brands like Just the Goods that provide perfume options without the chemicals.
Soap: Kirk’s Natural soap and Pacha are wonderful soap options that provide fragrance free or natural plant-derived fragrance options!
Lotion: Just Ingredients also has a wonderful lotion option! I like to use 100% Jojoba oil from Trader Joes as my moisturizer.
For more information on how you can make swaps to improve your health and eat to balance your hormones, send me an email to nutrikaywellness@gmail.com
Reference:
Dr. Jolene Brighten. (2022, November 1). How endocrine disrupting chemicals cause hormone imbalance. https://drbrighten.com/how-endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-cause-hormone-imbalance/
Rádis-Baptista G. Do Synthetic Fragrances in Personal Care and Household Products Impact Indoor Air Quality and Pose Health Risks? J Xenobiot. 2023 Mar 1;13(1):121-131. doi: 10.3390/jox13010010. PMID: 36976159; PMCID: PMC10051690.
Patel S. Fragrance compounds: The wolves in sheep's clothings. Med Hypotheses. 2017 May;102:106-111. doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2017.03.025. Epub 2017 Mar 22. PMID: 28478814.