The Health Risks of Perfume
(and Other Scented Products)
Did you know that perfume is made of toxic chemicals that can injure your health? Many of the chemicals in perfume are the same chemicals as those found in cigarette smoke, and yet there is no regulation of the fragrance industry. Many people are "bothered" by perfumes—developing headaches, sinus problems, and even asthma from exposures. Many have gotten sick or even disabled from wearing—or being exposed to—fragrances and using other scented products (me included). Also fragrances are now used in almost every cleaning, laundry, and personal-care product on the market!
These chemicals go directly into the bloodstream when applied to our skin and are also absorbed into the skin from our clothing. We also inhale the chemical fumes, which then go straight to our brains—where they can do major harm. Many even have a "narcotic" effect, which is why some people seem "addicted" to their perfumes. Please take the time to read the articles in this section and educate yourself about the health risks to you and your family…
No Perfume Means Healthier Air! (compiled by "Breath of Fresh Air")
Fragrance-Free Encounters and No-Fragrance Spaces—Not Just a Personal Preference, but a Vital Matter of Health (written by Roberta Rigsby) – to help the lay person understand the effects of scented products
Twenty Most Common Chemicals in Thirty-one Fragrance Products – [based on a] 1991 EPA Study (compiled by Julia Kendall)
Making Sense of Scents (compiled by Julia Kendall)
Identification of Polar Volatile Organic Compounds in Consumer Products and Common Microenvironments – full text of EPA Report used in perfume studies by Julia Kendall
SPECT Scans of MCS Patient's Brain – before and after exposure to perfume
"No Perfume" Buttons – you can print these graphics and make buttons or signs to help make others aware of the health problems caused by their fragranced products!!
NEED MORE PROOF??!!
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) – Scented Products Emit a Bouquet of VOCs (PROOF from our Government that Fragrances are pollutants!!)
Smelling Good But Feeling Bad – Synthetic Perfumes, Colognes and Scents Are Turning Up Noses – article by Damon Franz and Holly Prall (Green Living E-magazine).
Colognes – Perfumes – Pesticides – Are They Slowly Killing You? – October 7th, 1999 – by columnist David Lawrence Dewey – "Reading provides knowledge… knowledge leads to answers."
Good Scents Sense – Perfumes, fragrances can affect respiratory patients.
Final Thoughts from Jacki…
Next time when you start to spray on that perfume or use some other scented product, remember all these chemicals you're exposing yourself to, as well as those around you! There's absolutely nothing "romantic" about these chemicals! Perfume as something "romantic" is merely a line fed to you by the perfume industry—don't buy into it! We've been brainwashed by the industry that we must "cover up" our natural scents with toxic chemicals—that our own scents are not acceptable. Once you make the break and get away from toxic scents, the smell of "naturally clean" is simply wonderful!
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