I want to focus today on an ingredient that is in hundreds of skincare, haircare and household cleaning products called ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’.
Now, those words sound pretty innocent, but 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 (1evidence of reproductive toxicity and endocrine disruption). These fragrance mixes have been associated with 2allergies, dermatitis, respiratory distress and potential effects on the reproductive system. They have no functional purpose and are only added to make the product smell ‘nice’. That smell gives me an instant headache when I walk down the cleaning aisle in the supermarket and many others have more severe reactions to synthetic fragrances. We are washing ourselves and our clothes in these chemicals, spraying them around the house and putting them on our skin!
This is the reason Less Than Three – Naturally began creating natural skincare; so that I knew exactly what was in my products and what I was putting on my skin, so that I could minimise the exposure to potentially harmful chemicals.
Skincare doesn’t have to be plain and boring to avoid the harmful chemicals. I love using native botanical extracts such as Quandong (known to have great anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial properties) and wattle seed (used to soothe and calm irritated skin) and pure essential oils such as Tasmania White Kunzea for arthritis relief. Have a look in the shop for more detailed information on the ingredients used.
References:
- EWG Skin Deep – diethyl phthalate, viewed 06 June 2021 https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/701957-diethyl-phthalate/
- EWG Skin Deep – Fragrance, viewed 06 June 2021 https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredients/702512-fragrance/
Photo by Danilo Alvesd on Unsplash