Sere says…Hi Brains! I’m an Italian girl who’s trying to do her best to understand something in the complicated world of skin care. I read Paula Begoun’s opinion about fragrance, and from what I could understand, she’s quite severe. I mean she says we should definitely go for truly fragrance-free cosmetics, since fragrance, both synthetic and organic, cause irritation. Even when we cannot actually see skin reactions (like redness etc..), still it’s taking place underneath the skin’s surface, leading to long-term skin damage. So..that is what i wanted to know from you..is it true we should avoid fragrance in cosmetics such as face creams etc, even if we’re not allergic to any of the components of fragrance?
Left Brain smells something fishy
While we love the Cosmetic Cop, I think in this case Paula is overstating the fragrance problem here. You can safely use products with fragrance as long as you are not allergic / sensitive to the components.
What’s wrong with fragrance?
The truth is many people are sensitive to different ingredients found in fragrances. Fragrances can be made up of from 75 to over 100 ingredients so manufacturers aren’t required to list all the component materials. However, they are supposed to list the ingredients that most commonly cause allergic reaction. Here is that list.
Most common fragrance allergens
1. Amyl cinnamal
2. Amylcinnamyl alcohol
3. Benzyl alcohol
4. Benzyl salicylate
5. Cinnamyl alcohol
6. Cinnamal
7. Citral
8. Coumarin
9. Eugenol
10. Geraniol
11. Hydroxycitronellal
12. Hydroxymethylpentylcyclohexenecarboxaldehyde
13. Isoeugenol
14. Anisyl alcohol
15. Benzyl benzoate
16. Benzyl cinnamate
17. Citronellol
18. Farnesol
19. Hexylcinnamaldehyde
20. Lilial
21. d-Limonene
22. Linalool
23. Methyl heptine carbonate
24. g-Methylionone
If you happen to be allergic to one of these ingredients and it is in your product, then you may experience inflammation at the skin surface and below. This isn’t because the ingredient is penetrating the surface, rather it is triggering a chemical response at the surface of your skin.
However, most people are not allergic to the ingredients in fragrances at the levels they are used. So, if the fragrance doesn’t contain an ingredient to which you are sensitive, then there is no proof that it will cause you problems.
Marketing Strategy
It certainly isn’t wrong to tell people that they should buy products that are fragrance free because even if you are not allergic to a particular compound, less exposure to chemicals is better. Sometimes repeated exposure to a compound can cause you to become allergic.
However, the advice for everyone to avoid all fragrances is not based on science. It’s being overly cautious. It’s a bit like when doctors tell pregnant women they shouldn’t drink any alcohol even though there is no proof that drinking a small amount is in any way harmful.
It also seems strangely coincidental that one of the marketing claims for Paula’s Choice products is that they are “100% fragrance free”.
Beauty Brains bottom line
While many people are allergic to fragrance ingredients and would do well to avoid products with fragrances in them, there is no reason that everyone should avoid fragranced products. Fragrances make the product experience more enjoyable and if they don’t bother your skin, feel free to keep using them.
Are you allergic or sensitive to fragrances? How do you feel about them in your beauty products? Leave a message and tell us what you think.
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Thanks for this informative article! I’m actually not sure if I have issues with fragrance. I do get migraines sometimes though, and think they are triggered when I were perfume. But I don’t think fragrance in face products really cause me any issues unless it’s a really really strong scent.
I think the Docs say don’t drink any alcohol because they don’t trust you to quit after one.
Also I’m sure I can find a fragrance made of less than 75 ingredients…
“Also I’m sure I can find a fragrance made of less than 75 ingredients…”
No doubt you could but it certainly isn’t the norm in the fragrance business.
If that’s the case then you should say, “Fragrances can be made up of 75 to over 100 ingredients.” Adding the “from” means you’re saying that there are no <75 fragros.
I tend to choose a brandname product when I find the generic's scent unpleasant. It seems stupid if they have all the same other ingredients, but a bad smell can really depress-up your morning ritual.
Isn’t it also true that even unscented products have ingredients used to mask the smell of the chemicals? So wouldn’t that mean that virtually no product is actually “fragrance free” anyway? And although Paula B. does offer some good info, some of it is very self serving.
@Emily – Using the word ‘can’ in the sentence implies that there are other possibilities not covered by the sentence.
@Susan – It is true that unscented products have “fragrance” ingredients however, when something says “fragrance free” this usually means it has no masking ingredients.
paula’s products are not ‘coincidentally’ fragrance free…for years this is how she has felt regarding fragrance in products, when she developed her line she did it according to her gathered evidence to what is good and what is harmful in skincare. for years she’s felt fragrance is harmful so it makes sense that, when she developed her line, she made her products fragrance free. it just drives me bonkers when people find something ‘ominous’ in paula developing a line that meets her criteria AFTER her years of reviewing products without her own product line! it seems like a logical progression…hey, what i like isn’t on the market, let me create it.
@jc – no offense was meant to Paula or her philosophy. She does great work and has excellent products.
However, her extreme position on fragrance is not supported by science but rather her own personal philosophy. Making fragrance-free claims implies that the product is superior to those without fragrance and this is not necessarily true.
And when someone sets themselves up as an authority, they open themselves up to legitimate criticisms. It seems fair to question how someone who sells a skin lotion can remain unbiased when reviewing or criticizing a competitor’s product. I personally don’t think they can.
@leftbrain,
i’m sure paula gets criticized all the time, and i don’t want anyone to think i’m a drop dead paula begoun-ite. i think she provides some good information and her products are not too bad either. i guess what i feel people forget is she continues to judge products on the same criteria she had before she made her own line. she created her own line following those very same stringent ideas of what was good and what wasn’t. i don’t see any hypocrisy there. i apologize if i come across argumentative, i just don’t see that subject in that light. now if someone created a line with, say, no parabens, then harped on the internet myths of how dangerous parabens are, i would call that person out with no shame!
again, i apologize for seeming argumentative, i guess i have trouble seeing things from that other perspective…but thank you for taking time to reply to my post!
Don’t agree, but this isn’t a grammar blog. Happy Friday!
Another reason for buying and using fragrance-free cosmetics is that there are many people (like myself) who do have allergies/intolerance for fragrances. By not using fragrance, you are showing compassion for your fellow woman/man. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to leave a movie or a concert because the person next to me or directly in front of me is wearing fragrance so powerful that I can’t breathe.
Thanks for the informative article ! I do find that my face fares better with fragrance-free products, though I can get away with ‘minimally-fragranced’ products where the fragrance appears low on the ingredient list and isn’t really detectable [I'm guessing to mask the scent of other ingredients]. On my body I’ve found I can get away with certain fragrances as long as they’re not too heavy. Citrus oils high on the ingredient list, for example, always seem to cause an irritation reaction for me, but a very-lightly citrus-fragranced product [notice I like citrus ? -_^] where the fragrance components are further down the list, seems to cause me no issues. I still do try to monitor my skin for any signs of a reaction any time I introduce a new product or fragrance, though, just to be safe. When I wear colognes [yes, usually with a citrus base LOL] though, I find that my skin ‘prefers’ me to mist them lightly on the outside of my clothes rather than apply directly on the skin, since they’re a more-concentrated form of fragrance.
I do agree with Sara, though: a combination of too many strong fragrances can be impolite to surrounding people -_^
I know this is controversial, so here goes. Paula has had philosophies for years now. She made a line of products based on her philosophy, which i not always grounded in science, because we all have our own view of the world and what is acceptable in it.
What I find disturbing is that she started a line and still calls herself the, “Cosmetic Cop.” When she started her line, the books should have been passed on to another author and she should have been hands off, or she should have dropped them altogether. Why? Because no matter how much she’s capable of standing back she’s not so capable she’s altruistic. Sure, someone else is reviewing her stuff, but that person was handpicked by Paula. She’s policing herself and that is a conflict of interest. End of story.
I’ve had a lot of hate over this opinion. People will look for her name on the Internet and bash anything negative anyone has to say. It’s unbelievable, but I’m a published author and there are lines. When she became the cop and the possible criminal, and yes, she paints some companies as criminal (Lush), so her products go into the stew of suspects, she became the fox who guards the hen-house. No matter how well she does both. No matter how well meaning, or how much she is trying to please her fans, she is not in a position to be detached enough to do reviews of head to head competitors.
It’s out there, it’s a legitimate concern and all the screaming about how wonderful she is, won’t take away my concern. It’s truly a turn-off for me. I get her companies e-mails and it’s all sales, sales, sales now. It’s not one woman against the world. It’s a human with power and handlers.
Power corrupts, most of the time.
@Nancy – you make an excellent point.
I wouldn’t say its wholly unsupported by science, there are some examples of problematic ingredients. Allergic reactions and such, I wouldn’t necessarily stop using them but its fair to say that more research should be done.