Dont judge your skincare product based on how delightful it smells!

How often do we walk into a shop and try a cream/lotion on our hands and then sniff its aroma and decide the cream is good or not. Then, we take the call on whether to buy or not just based on how good it smells. 
In many Skincare products, fragrance is used to give a nice  smell or to cover up bad odors that may arise in the product. So is it really okay to have these heavenly fragrances in our products? Lets read on. 

Well, if you are one of the person who decide to buy or not to buy a certain product based on its smell, then don't worry, you are amongst the millions who do the same! But, then you are doing it the wrong  and your skin deserve better that this! 

What is Fragrance or Perfume in our skincare products ?

Fragrance is a mixture of  aroma compounds, or fixatives,or  fragrant essential oils and solvents, usually in liquid form. These are chemical compound which is highly volatile. Due to the its volatile nature, it reacts with other ingredients present in the product.

A lot of product you buy have an ingredient name as - perfume in the ingredient list. These are just added to give product a magnificent sent to lull you in. 

So, How is Fragrance not good for my skin?

From strawberry flavor fragrance in your favorite lip-balm to the blissful aroma of your newest body lotion, these fragrances or perfumes are present in all of your skincare product, to make you feel good about yourself, no matter how harmful they might be for your skin. 

These perfumes are one of the most cheapest ingredient which goes into the skincare products but are one of the most damaging for your skin or hair. A recent study by FDA, says that perfume is used nearly 60-70% of beauty and skin related products and it has a many of unknown harmful chemicals that can be very damaging to the skin or hair. These volatile small molecules of scent can wreak havoc on your skin by causing contact dermatitis, a seriously red and itchy rash, or other allergic reactions like a headache or asthma.  Fragrance have been know to irritate skin, or have toxic hormonal effects, and may even cause cancer. It may smell fabulous, but it can lead to not-so-fabulous effects on your skin and health. 

Fragrances are considered the leading cause of allergic reactions on the skin, which leads to over 5.7 million physician visits every year. 

What is the way out?

Fragrance is one of the most irritating ingredients in skincare. If you have sensitive skin or a broken skin barrier, avoid it like the plague. Everyone else, no need to be too worried about it. Fragrance might not destroy your skin, But it has no benefit, either. As it doesn’t help my non-sensitive skin, prefer to avoid it anyway!

The good news is, there is lot of discussion happening around the perfume or fragrances in the skincare, Beauty brands are also noticing that the knowledgeable  customers are staying away from products with added perfume. Now, you will see lot of brands creating products which are perfume-free or have essential oils added instead of perfume in their products. 

Its time, for everyone to respect their own skin. Instead of falling prey to the glitz and glam of perfume in the skincare product, look for natural products which are free from these synthetic chemical induced aromas. Go for products which has natural essential oils (which has its own benefits other than the scent).

What are your thoughts, on fragrances in skincare products, Share your thoughts in the comments below.