If you’re a deep reddit user or facebook beauty group administrator, maybe you know how this got started. For me, I just heard from a friend, who heard from her sister that watches a beauty vlogger tell her that products with fragrance are bad news. I’ll admit, I jumped on the bandwagon. Fragrance free skincare and hair care, and to be honest, I didn’t really even know why. I never did the research, I just thought, that makes sense I guess. And fragrance free I became. (except for my morning spritz of perfume, cause yah still wanna smell amazing!) Well, now I can say, I’ve done the research, and it turns out, I don’t have to sacrifice a fresh scent for high quality products.
Don’t be Afraid - Know the Facts:
First off, what is making everyone go crazy on fragrance? Not largely in thanks to ACDS (American Contact Dermatitis Society) for naming “fragrance” as 2007’s “Allergen of the Year”. – which is oddly vague considering fragrance can be derived from several different sources. – but it sure got people going. As it turns out, there’s 26 different EU regulated allergens, and 23 of them come from natural sources.
Another reason for the fear on fragrance - it is the leading cause of Allergic Contact Dermatitis. We have to remember though, fragrance can be made of many different ingredients or a combination of them. Fragrance in itself, is too general to pinpoint the true source of an allergic reaction. Instead of assuming all fragrance is bad, take a closer look at the label and you may notice a lot of natural ingredients. Many of which are essential oils, fruits and flowers. And just like peanuts or shellfish, there’s a chance of an allergic reaction with these fragrance agents as well. Check out the full list of EU Allergens here and see for yourself if you have any sensitivities that match up.
The LOMA Take on Fragrance:
Cosmetic Chemist and Founder of LOMA, David Hanen designed LOMA to be organic, aromatic products without harmful chemicals such as parabens and phthalates. While many brands may rely on synthetic fragrances, David explains here how LOMA gets its fresh scent from pure essential oils and aromatic botanical extracts. With their EU compliant status, LOMA lists every ingredient on our packaging, including the EU Allergens. As a brand, we pride ourselves on transparency and want you to know exactly what you’re getting in each of our products. Don’t let a long list of natural aroma ingredients scare you away.
Is there any reason to steer clear of natural fragrance? Perhaps. If you’re someone that struggles with super sensitive skin or saw some of your allergies on the EU list, you may need to stick with unscented products. But for most of us, we’ve got nothing to worry about, especially with naturally-based fragrances. Check out this insta reel as David dives deeper into the fragrance conversation.
The bottom line, we live in a world with information at our fingertips, especially when you consider how quickly information spreads across social media. Regardless of where we get our information, it’s important to do our own research and rely on credible sources – not just a random person in a facebook group or our own assumptions.
by: leslie berlin, guest writer