The Smelly Truth About Fragrances and Why They Might Be Killing Us

The vast majority of perfumes-from the cheapest drugstore brands to the most famous and expensive designer names-are mostly made by just eight international labs, and each brand of perfume typically contains dozens of synthetic chemicals derived from coal tar, petroleum distillates, and pine resin.

Don't get me wrong: I like perfume. But the larger issue is that today there are synthetic fragrances added to virtually every household and personal-care product on the market. You can't escape it. Try to think of a single thing you use on your body that doesn't come with a fragrance. Many of us are almost as wedded to the smell of our favorite products. The fragrances we use every day are inextricably entwined with our identity.

The American Academy of Dermatology reports that there are some five thousand fragrances used in cosmetics and skincare products, and no one knows what all these chemicals are because fragrance manufacturers are not required to list their ingredients. In fact, they're protected from doing so because the mix of ingredients is considered by law to be a trade secret. The FDA can't compel them to reveal this information.

This strikes me as slightly crazy. Among other things, fragrances are the leading cause of allergic reactions from cosmetics. Fragrances can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat. Many of the individual chemicals in perfumes and other fragrances such as acetone, benzaldehyde, benzyl acetate, benzyl alcohol, camphor, ethanol, ethyl acetate, limonene, limalool, methylene chloride, a-pinene, and a-terpinene, to name just the most common-can potentially cause damage to the liver, kidneys, and immune and reproductive systems. Some have been classified as neurotoxins, meaning they could cause damage to the brain and nervous systems.

What's more, virtually all fragrances are stabilized with phthalates. The principal phthalates used in cosmetic products are dibutyl phthalate (DBP), dimethyl phthalate (DMP), and diethyl phthalate (DEP). They're in nail polishes, where they keep polishes flexible; in hair sprays, where they keep your hair from stiffening too much and-more important-in the vast majority of fragrances, where they help to stabilize, or "fix" perfumes in products. They make fragrances last longer, and they're in virtually everything that has a smell.

So what? Here's what the EPA's top phthalate researcher has said: "For twenty-five years we've known that phthalates disrupt the production of testosterone critical for the masculinization of the male species. Some phthalates appear to cause low sperm counts, testicular atrophy, a higher incidence of undescended testicles, and hypospadias, a condition that affects the male urethra. Is that what you want for your son? Findings like these have spurred the European Union to ban several of the most commonly used phthalates in cosmetics. But the United States has not.

There are companies that strive to make perfumes and fragrances that do not carry the risks associated with the synthetic chemicals in most conventional perfumes. Here are just a couple:

Aveda Pure-Fumes, aveda.com

Dropwise Essentials Room and Body Spray, dropwise.com