First off, what even is fragrance? If you are like most people, you probably haven’t really thought about a product's fragrance past the decision of if you like a particular scent or not. Scent is so closely tied to our memory centers in our brains that it's often a huge decision factor when choosing any products to use in your home or on yourself. However, what many of us don’t realize, many fragrances in our everyday products may also contain ingredients that have been linked to allergies & health concerns.
If you read a lot of product labels to see the ingredients list, you’ll notice fragrance is often just listed as well…”fragrance,” while all other ingredients are listed in full detail. Fragrance is synthetically man-made, therefore often made up of multiple ingredients, however the industry standard allows for brands to just list “fragrance” or “perfume” rather than listing all the raw materials that make it up. This is because the FDA considers fragrance as a trade secret and permits companies to shield potentially hazardous, cheap ingredients from the public. This phenomenon is referred to as the Fragrance Loophole.
Following the EU’s example we disclose every single ingredient in our product list (This is a lot easier for us to say when we only have 4 ingredients). The scent of our product comes from the natural scent of our 2 active ingredients, castor oil & batana oil, as well as Vanilla & Sweet Orange Essential Oil. We carefully screened our essential oils for allergens, knowing they are impossible to avoid completely and our fair trade vanilla extract is food grade. The result? Our product has a sweet and warm scent of vanilla, orange and fresh ground coffee that is delightful while also being safe for you and your body. No bad stuff here.
For more information about our product, Repair Hair Mask, click here.
The Fragrance Loophole
If you read a lot of product labels to see the ingredients list, you’ll notice fragrance is often just listed as well…”fragrance,” while all other ingredients are listed in full detail. Fragrance is synthetically man-made, therefore often made up of multiple ingredients, however the industry standard allows for brands to just list “fragrance” or “perfume” rather than listing all the raw materials that make it up. This is because the FDA considers fragrance as a trade secret and permits companies to shield potentially hazardous, cheap ingredients from the public. This phenomenon is referred to as the Fragrance Loophole.
The Bad News
- Fragrances could be made of a cocktail of more than100 different chemicals and many of the chemicals often used in fragrances are linked to health risks. Chemicals like Acetaldehyde, Benzophenone and many more are classified as allergens, hormone disruptors, asthma triggers, neurotoxins, & carcinogens. (link: https://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/fragrance/)
- Fragrances also commonly contain phthalates, which are chemicals that help make scents last longer or give cosmetic products a soft and flexible texture. There are many health risks associated with Phthaltes, including cancer, human reproductive & developmental toxicity, endocrine disruption, birth defects & respiratory problems. (link: https://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/phthalates/)
- Natural Fragrances, or essential oils, are often time considered safer than synthetic ones however they can also trigger allergic reactions or cause someone to develop an allergy over a long period of time.
Our Approach
Following the EU’s example we disclose every single ingredient in our product list (This is a lot easier for us to say when we only have 4 ingredients). The scent of our product comes from the natural scent of our 2 active ingredients, castor oil & batana oil, as well as Vanilla & Sweet Orange Essential Oil. We carefully screened our essential oils for allergens, knowing they are impossible to avoid completely and our fair trade vanilla extract is food grade. The result? Our product has a sweet and warm scent of vanilla, orange and fresh ground coffee that is delightful while also being safe for you and your body. No bad stuff here.
For more information about our product, Repair Hair Mask, click here.