Three compelling reasons not to wear perfumes
3 min read
(NaturalNews) Our cultural fascination with fragrance has spanned back thousands of years. Our ancestors did not spray a multitude of new-era chemicals on their body to achieve an appealing scent though. Instead, they often used plant materials to achieve desirable scents. Modern times have spawned literally thousands of chemicals for use in fragrance.
When you apply anything labeled with a “fragrance” ingredient today, you can be assured you are subjecting yourself to anywhere from tens to hundreds of various chemicals. This includes lotions, which you may apply to your entire body, facial skin care products and other beauty and self care items that you may use every single day, multiplying your exposure exponentially. None of these chemicals need to be directly disclosed in labeling since they are considered proprietary in nature.
Today, the perfume industry is worth an estimated 5.1 billion dollars as consumers continue to buy fragrances and perfumed products. Why should you not partake in using these synthetic fragrance products?
1. At least 900 of the 3,000 fragrance chemicals used are toxic
There are somewhere around 3,000 chemicals that have been identified as being used in today’s modern fragrances. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has identified at least 900 of these chemicals that are known toxins.
This means that these chemicals can cause problems at the cellular levels once your body absorbs them transdermally (through the skin). Some popular brands of perfume have been found to be toxic to the respiratory tract when inhaled and the nervous system which occurs both through inhalation of airborne particles and transdermal absorption.
2. Perfume linked to depressive disorder in chemically sensitive individuals
More and more people are being diagnosed with chemical sensitivity these days. This is likely due to our near-constant exposure. Chemically sensitive individuals may have more than allergic reactions and toxicity at stake. Studies have linked perfume use with severe depressive disorder and anxiety in individuals who exhibit sensitivities to chemical fragrances.
Since these chemicals can have varying effects on the nerve cells, it is no surprise that they also may impair brain function. Scents evoke emotions since our emotional center is closely tied to our olfactory sense. Those who are chemically intolerant may have extreme reactions to the multitude of scents they are bombarded with every day.
3. Thyroid and hormone disruption, respiratory toxicity and headaches
Many of the top selling fragrances on the market today, used by literally millions of women worldwide, contain unregulated and largely unstudied chemicals. The most recent study was commissioned by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
It found several chemicals in the top selling perfumes that can cause damage to the thyroid gland. The thyroid regulates several important metabolic processes in the body. Thyroid disorders can cause obesity, problems losing or maintaining a healthy weight, serious hair loss, mood disorders and feelings of lethargy.
Chemicals that interfere with healthy thyroid activity may also promote cancer of this important gland. Since it is the largest of the endocrine glands, it has some very important processes to control and therefore, it is utterly important that we keep this gland healthy and in top operating condition.
The thyroid is responsible for controlling how fast our body goes through our energy stores. It also plays an important role in producing much-needed proteins and controls how sensitive our bodies are to the plethora of other hormones that are present at any given time.
Many of the chemicals in perfumes present a dual problem for the thyroid in that they can add more synthetic hormones (in the form of synthetic and harmful estrogens) to our system. In addition, they often can cause damage to the very gland that helps control our sensitivity to these excessive hormones which only compounds the problem.
Related links
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_perfume
- http://www.preventcancer.com/consumers/cosmetics/fragrances.htm
- http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=644
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