What is fragrance?
Fragrance is a substance that possesses strong-smelling organic compounds that have characteristic, pleasant odors. It is a combination of chemicals that gives each perfume or cologne (including those used in other products) its distinct scent. Fragrances are used in many products as a perfume, and they are part of the products in our everyday life unless we actively avoid fragranced products.
Positive aspects of fragrance
Scents are reported to enhance health and well-being by improving mood, reducing anxiety and stress, increasing cognitive function, and improving sleep. A link has also been identified between pleasant scents and improved pain tolerance through the activation of opioid pathways.
Negative aspects of fragrance
While most fragrance chemicals are not disclosed, some are linked to serious health problems such as cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, allergies, and sensitivities. Fragrance chemicals can become major sensitizers through air oxidation, photo-activation, or skin enzyme catalysis or cross-sensitizing – a process by which a person becomes sensitized to substances different from the substance to which the person is already sensitized. Once sensitized, the only way to prevent the development of a severe, irreversible allergy is to avoid further exposure.
Ingredients or materials
Fragrance is not technically an individual ingredient or chemical but rather an umbrella term that refers to all the compounds and chemicals that comprise a product’s fragrance. Typically, this is dozens of ingredients, and companies are not required to disclose the individual fragrance elements as the fragrance “blend” is considered proprietary information. In addition to “scent” chemicals that create the fragrance, perfumes and colognes also contain solvents, stabilizers, UV-absorbers, preservatives, and dyes. These additives are frequently, but not always, listed on product labels. In contrast, the chemical components in fragrance itself are protected as trade secrets and described on the label only as “fragrance” .
In conclusion, fragrance is a substance possessing strong-smelling organic compounds that have characteristic, pleasant odors. It is used in many products as a perfume, and we encounter it in the majority of cosmetics, toiletries, household, laundry, air fresheners, candles, and incense products we use frequently. While fragrance has positive aspects such as enhancing health and well-being, it also has negative aspects such as being linked to serious health problems such as cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, allergies, and sensitivities. Fragrance is not an individual ingredient or chemical but rather an umbrella term that refers to all the compounds and chemicals that comprise a product’s fragrance, and companies are not required to disclose the individual fragrance elements as the fragrance “blend” is considered proprietary information.
