What’s in my fragrance?
Top-selling fragrance oils, perfumes and colognes were found to contain a dozen or more secret chemicals not listed on labels, multiple chemicals that can trigger allergic reactions or disrupt hormones, and many substances that have not been assessed for safety by the beauty industry’s self-policing review panels. In summary, products contained:
- An average of 14 secret chemicals (i.e., chemicals that were not listed on labels) An average of 10 sensitizing chemicals that can trigger allergic reactions such as asthma, wheezing, headaches and contact dermatitis. All of these chemicals were listed the labels.
- A total of 12 different chemicals that can disrupt hormones, with an average of 4 chemicals per product. Some of these chemicals were listed on product labels, some were not.
How can some harmful substances still be found in fragrances?
While the Government of Canada has a list of restricted and prohibited ingredients in Canadian cosmetics that should help manufacturers make sure that they are not selling products that will cause harm (Health Canada 2009a), it is not clear how this list is enforced. Another problem is that any prohibitions do not apply to impurities or byproducts of the manufacturing process. For example, while lead is not allowed to be intentionally put in personal care products, lead can, and does, appear as an impurity. The Canadian Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist also has substantially fewer prohibited substances than the European Union where there are more than 1,000 chemicals, including carcinogens, mutagens, and reproductive toxicants, that are legally banned in European cosmetics.
How can the substances making up fragrances be secrets?
Fragrance secrecy is legal due to a loophole in the Canadian Cosmetics Regulations which allows intentional fragrance ingredients to be lumped together and listed as “parfum” (or oftentimes “fragrance”) alone. All other intentional ingredients must be listed individually on product labels. Additionally, non-intentional ingredients (e.g., impurities or by-products) do not have to be listed on product labels. Unintentional ingredients can include hazardous substances, such as lead.
Are natural fragrances or essential oils any safer?
We don’t know. It’s possible that these substances may also contain added synthetic chemicals and unlisted ingredients with toxicity concerns.
“‘Hidden chemicals’ linked to a large range of health effects, including allergies, immune system toxicity, headaches, dizziness, and suspected carcinogenic activity.” – Gill Deacon, “There’s Lead in Your Lipstick” page 299.
“Thanks to trade-secret laws, this can mean anything from natural essential oils (many of which are skin irritants) to synthetic cocktails containing as many as five hundred chemicals at a time (many of which are skin irritants or worse). Fragrance can be inhaled, ingested, and absorbed through the skin. It’s used in almost everything you use – perfumes, makeup, deodorant, hair dyes, face wash, lotions, foot scrubs, cellulite creams, shampoo, conditioner, you name it.
Fragrance ingredients can cause unpleasant-looking dark and reddish patches, skin discolouration when exposed to sunlight, rashes and breakouts.
Risk factor: High, because of all the unknowns. Some fragrance ingredients are known neurotoxins; many are allergens or skin irritants; others exacerbate asthma. There is also a concern about synthetic musk’s bioaccumulation, both in the tissue of the body and in the world. Fragrance also often disguises the presence of hormone-disrupting phalates.” – Siobhan O’Conner and Alexandra Spunt “No More Dirty Looks” page 41-42.
The word “fragrance” or “parfum” on the product label represents an undisclosed mixture of various scent chemicals and ingredients used as fragrance dispersants such as diethyl phthalate. Fragrance mixes have been associated with allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential effects on the reproductive system.
from: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient.php?ingred06=702512#
No comments:
Post a Comment