The effect of perfumes in skin care products
What is wrong with perfumes in skin care?
Many people like it when our skin care products smell nice - it contributes to experience and can have certain psychological effects. However, it is important that you know exactly what you put on your skin. Some perfumes can contain hazardous substances, cause allergies or other problems.
What are perfumes made in skin care?
Perfume is made from natural or synthetic fragrances, or a mixture thereof. Natural fragrances are obtained from plants and are much more expensive than synthetic. These artificial fragrances are of petrochemical origin and are made in a factory. Synthetic scents can contain harmful substances such as nitrobenzene, benzaldehyde or phenol.
Essential oils also contain allergens, but the chance of a reaction is much smaller. Certainly if the oils are of a pure (biological) quality. In some cases they have such a strong therapeutic effect that this outweighs the risk of an allergic reaction. Aromatherapy is an age -old tradition and can support our system in various ways.
Allergies and perfumes
Among the substances in skin care that you must avoid, perfumes are not always mentioned immediately. While synthetic perfumes are the number 1 cause of allergic skin reactions and more than one in four adults has a skin allergy.
A (contact) skin allergy is caused by skin exposure to an allergenic substance. If you come into contact with a certain amount of this substance often enough, your skin can give an allergic reaction from one moment to the next. This allergy is chronic and the skin can no longer tolerate this substance. Preventing a perfume allergy is therefore crucial.
Perfume in your skin
Perfume residues remain in the upper layers of the skin. If you apply products on your skin that contain perfume every day, your skin is full of remains of these substances. The annoying thing about these substances is that, in addition to the risk of contact allergy, they are often phototoxic.
This means that they react under the influence of (sun) light and embrace the skin. You probably know the summer tip not to sit in the sun with perfume, because that gives you dark spots. Perfumes can therefore promote (hyper) pigmentation. But bumps, itching and burning can also be a reaction of perfumes in the sun. A phototoxic reaction is not always so pronounced that it is clearly visible on the skin, but always leads to skin damage and skin aging.
Can perfumes in skin care cause acne?
Naturally! Too many synthetic perfumes can accumulate, causing pores to become clogged and the skin becomes irritated and can break up acne. This mainly happens if you have sensitive skin or if you know that you are allergic to other synthetic ingredients used in skin care.
Are skin products with perfume safe during pregnancy?
That depends on it. In many cases it is good to avoid synthetic perfumes during pregnancy. An article published by Harvard Medical School states that a synthetic chemical that is used in perfumes and plastic packaging, called 'phthalates', should be avoided as much as possible - too much exposure to this chemical can cause development and learning problems for the fetus in the future.
It is better to use products that use essential oils as a perfume compared to these harmful unnatural chemicals. There are, however, certain essentials that you have to avoid again at some times, because they can work as a contractor, for example, or have another undesirable effect.
If you want to know more about how you can take care of your skin when you are expecting, read our other blog about Pregnancy.
How do you recognize perfume in skin care
Unfortunately, perfume - also called 'fragrance' or 'smell of smell' - is not easy to find on the ingredient list of a product. Only 'perfume' is enough to keep the secret of the scent, so you don't know if it is natural or synthetic. Are you in doubt? Then ask the product manufacturer, they can always answer you. However, if you stop using (synthetic) perfumed products for a while, you will soon be able to smell whether something is perfumed or not. You experience the scent so strongly that you usually find it too intense and not so tasty (anymore).
Chicory uses natural essential oils
At Witlof Skincare we believe in the knowledge of science and the experience to make our products the best for your skin.
When it comes to smearing our products, the use of biological quality is essential oils and natural flower waters much, much better for you than if we used synthetic scents.
The Cleansing mousse Contains flower waters and frangipani oil for a delicious, relaxing scent and an aromatherapeutic effect.
The Nourishing Facial Cream and Gentle Cleansing Milk contain a natural mix of different essential oils for a soft floral scent.
The Balancing Toner Contains cornflower, witch hazel and rose water for a fresh, soft scent.
Our other products have no added odor and simply smell like the ingredients in it, such as rose-legted seeds or argan oil.
Do you want to know more about perfumes in skin care, or receive an extensive list of Inci names of specific allergens? Mail to hello@witlofskincare.com and receive the information that is relevant to your skin, or Plan a free online skin consultation with our skin expert Caroline.
