Fragrance or Parfum on an ingredient list is not an individual ingredient or chemical but rather an umbrella term that refers to all the compounds and chemicals that comprise a products 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. Fragrances are used in many products as a perfume, including cosmetics, toiletries, household, laundry, air fresheners, candles, and incense products.
Here are some key points about fragrance ingredients:
Positive:
- Fragrances can provide a pleasant smell to products.
Negative:
- Some fragrance ingredients are toxic chemicals that can cause a range of health harms, such as cancer, reproductive and developmental toxicity, allergies, and sensitivities.
- Many fragrance chemicals lack substantial research and safety data.
Ingredients or materials:
- Fragrance ingredients may be derived from petroleum or natural raw materials.
- Fragrance chemicals are composed of a mix of any of more than 3,500 chemicals.
- Fragrances can be made up of natural compounds derived from natural sources (often plants) or synthetic methods.
- Five classes of compounds make up most fragrance ingredients: alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, and lactones.
If youre concerned about the ingredients hiding in your products, there are many beauty brands to choose from that do not use Fragrance and disclose every aspect of their products ingredients. Using plant-based ingredients in fragrances can help to reduce the carbon footprint of the product by minimizing the use of synthetic ingredients, which are often derived from petrochemicals.
