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 It takes an average of 500 to 600 chemical substances to create a perfume (besides water and natural ingredients such as flowers, spices, wood or leaves).
Some of these chemicals are harmless, such as ethanol, a solvent which helps dilute the oils (natural or synthetic) that would otherwise be too strong, resulting in allergic reactions, and too unpleasant smelling. Ethanol, also called ethyl alcohol, or drinking alcohol, is a safe ingredient. But many aren’t. Over 90% of the chemicals used to make perfumes contain a petroleum base and are listed on the EPA list of hazardous wastes. Many other chemicals used to make perfumes are toxic, such as synthetic musk and coal tar. Those are fixatives used to reduce the evaporation rate and make the scent last longer while keeping its original fragrance. Scientific evidence shows that synthetic musks are endocrine disruptive (they can disrupt the balance of hormones in the human body) and can even cause cancer (such as nitro-musks). Other chemicals used for fragrance, among many, are toluene, benzaldehyde, formaldehyde, linalool, and methylene chloride, which are all toxic and are potential respiratory allergens. Other effects include skin reactions or nausea. Phthalates, which can trigger asthma attacks, can also find their way in your perfume. Hormone-disrupting chemicals, phthalates can affect testosterone levels and lead to reproductive abnormalities.
How can this be? The way the FDA controls the safety of perfumes is through their ingredients: those are tested to the extent that they are Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). But companies rarely give the full list of the ingredients used, regardless of their effects on health: that’s the dirty secret of their “trade secretâ€. So pretty much anything goes.
Some natural ingredients, found in plants, flowers or trees, such as oak moss absolutes, contain allergens and carcinogenic compounds. So it’s not just the synthetic chemicals in perfumes that are the problem: the fact that perfume manufacturers can put virtually anything they want in their creation with impunity is.
It’s also important to be aware that animals are still being killed for the manufacturing of perfumes. For example, the creamy substance and strong odor of the beavers’ and muskrats’ genitals are used as a fixative. Musk, a gland located in the male deer’s belly, is still used for perfumery purposes, although much less nowadays with the existence of synthetic musk.
If you are in disbelief over these shocking facts, visit Skin Deep, EWG's cosmetic database and enter the name of your favorite perfume in their search box. The romantic idea you might have associated with perfume might be destroyed now, but that might be for the better, at least until consumers can trust that what they put on their skin and clothes to smell nice is neither harmful to their health (and others’) nor detrimental to the environment.
In the meantime, you can go natural and select perfumes made like 4,000 years ago in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, (or close). We have selected a few such natural perfumes, but there are many more out there. You might also want to start out at your local farmers’ market.
If after reading this article, you’ve decided to throw away your perfume, please dispose of it responsibly and check with your solid waste agency or health department for local disposal guidelines.
Sources and further reading:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume
Happy Cow: http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-ingredients.html
Answer.com: http://www.answers.com/topic/perfume
Washington Toxics Coalition: http://www.watoxics.org/homes-and-gardens/factsheets/cosmetics
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