Nevertheless have you ever thought about the effect that your personal and home fragrances may be posing? Whilst it is lovely to have a beautiful scent wherever you go, is it worth the expense to you, your loved ones and the environment? When you walk in to a room, does everybody really need to smell you? Does your fridge really need to smell like vanilla?
There are literally thousands of perfumes, artificially fragranced bath, body and skin care, candles, aroma reeds, air fresheners, room fragrances and household cleaning products that promise to leave your living spaces smelling clean and fresh. But do they? Every day many of us squirt, spray, light, burn and diffuse a number of fragrances onto our bodies and into our home. However, how many of us read the fine print and know just exactly what it is that we're filling our lungs and environment with?
Just how clean and green are fragranced products?
The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database is recognised as a world authority on ingredient listings and states that many synthetic fragrances pose a wide range of immediate and long-term health hazards, with links to:
- Immunotoxicity, or harm to the immune system, a class of health problems that manifest as allergic reactions or an impaired capacity to fight disease and repair damaged tissues in the body; and
- Neurotoxicity, or harm to the brain and nervous system, a class of health problems that can range from subtle developmental delays to chronic nerve degeneration diseases.
The good news is that today we have options:
- Choose naturally fragranced bath, body and skin care products – products scented the old-fashioned way with flowers and leaves, stems, and other plant parts, and pure essential oils.
- Burn candles that are made from sustainably sourced soy wax or beeswax and scented with pure essential oils only and not a mixture of natural and synthetic fragrances. Many candles are made with paraffin wax, a petrochemical by-product that is often bleached to make it aesthetically pleasing and which, when burned, releases toxic chemicals into the air. The cleaner and greener choices are beeswax and soy wax.
- Scent your living spaces by diffusing a 100% pure essential oil blend via an oil burner.
- Avoid air fresheners.
- Open your windows and doors to allow fresh air to fill your environment.
- Ditch the conventional toxic household cleaning products for natural alternative brands or use good old-fashioned vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.
- Use fewer, and simpler products.
- Don't trust claims like 'dermatologist-tested', 'natural' or 'organic'. Read the ingredient label instead.
- Take all label warnings seriously. They indicate hazardous chemicals.
- Go online to look up product reviews at EWG's Skin Deep cosmetics database or the Guide to Less Toxic Products.
The most important thing to remember when choosing any product is to read the label – and not just the front either – check the small print. When you see the word 'fragrance' or 'parfum' on the label it should be a big warning sign that the product is not truly natural.
To connect with fabulous eco friendly businesses that can help you locate the best green and environmentally friendly beauty products take a look in the Beauty Section of the Green Times Business Directory.
Written by Sam Sample
Additional research by Suze Chalmers
