We all love to look great, feel great and smell great. But did you know the flowery citrus warm scent in your favourite lotion or perfume could trigger irritation on your skin? Let’s find out more how this happens.
Synthetic Fragrances
Synthetic fragrances are produced in laboratory and factory environments that yield consistent and stable results. The benefits are :
- Consistent Results : The fragrance compounds are very specific, isolated, pure and do not contain other compounds.
- Minimal irritants : The production process ensures that only certain compounds are created. The producers can control the output to ensure that known irritants are not produced at all.
There are some known highly-sensitizing synthetic fragrance compounds such as :
- Lyral
- Lily of the Valley scent
- One of the most common causes of severe allergic contact dermatitis. Banned from usage in cosmetics by the European Union.
- Lilial
- Smells like white flowers
- Banned from cosmetic formulations as a potent skin sensitizer and potential reproductive toxin.
- Cinnamaldehyde and Amyl Cinnamal
- Cinnamon-like scent
- Cinnamaldehyde can be extracted naturally or produced synthetically. It is a strong irritant that can cause redness and burning sensations.
- Isoeugenol
- Clove-like scent
- Highly sensitizing. It is used as one of the constituents in standard clinical dermatology patch tests.
- Synthetic Nitromusks
- Deep, heavy, powdery musk scent
- Older generation of synthetic musk cause photoallergic contact dermatitis because they break down after exposure to sunlight.
Natural Fragrances
While you may think natural fragrances or essential oils would trigger less or no inflammatory responses, the truth is they have an equal chance to cause such reactions as well. Not all of these natural compounds have been studied and there is possibility that some of them can irritate the skin in certain conditions.
Natural plant oils contain many complex naturally occurring compounds. Unlike synthetic fragrances which are standardized formulas imagine these plant oils as a cocktail of active ingredients. Furthermore, because plants are living things, there can be slight variations in the compounds they produce compared to synthetic fragrances that are produced in controlled processes and environments. Natural compounds also oxidize and deteriorate faster than their synthetic counterparts.
Let’s study the constituents of Lavender Essential Oil :
- Linalyl acetate – about 25% -45%
- Sweet, floral, slightly fruity, woody
- Highly volatile ester which breaks down when exposed to oxygen and light
- Linalool – about 20% -35%
- Fresh, floral, herbaceous, subtle citrus edge
- This is a monoterpene alcohol that is a widely regulated fragrance allergen. In its pure form, it is a mild allergen. However, after it oxidizes when exposed to air, it creates linalool hydroperoxides, which are strong skin sensitizers that are know to cause skin irritation.
- Lavandulyl acetate – 2% – 5%
- Floral, herbal
- Low irritancy, gives unique signature of lavender
- Eucalyptol – 1% – 3%
- Camphoraceous, mint-cool
- Can cause skin warmth and tingles
- Camphor – <1% – 2%
- Sharp, medicinal, pungent
- Possible irritant at high doses
- Limonene – < 1%
- Bright, citrusy
- Very prone to oxidation into hydroperoxides which are strong skin sensitizers
Recommendation
The best solution is to use fragrance-free skincare to completely eliminate the possibility of fragrance compounds causing skin flare-ups if you have sensitive skin.