How Unhealthy Are Perfumes?

Circle of Wellness
Physical - Environment

Many of us use perfumes for the pleasant fragrances they give off. Yet we are largely unaware that the multitude of chemicals that are used to produce that magical smell can be dangerous to our health!

Organic compounds are chemicals used in perfumes, both to provide scent, and also to mask the odour of other substances used. We can smell perfumes because these organic compounds vaporise into the air immediately upon application. These intrinsically volatile compounds, when vaporized, can affect air quality causing many health issues.

How Can Perfumes Be Bad?

Perfumes are nothing but a combination of a number of chemicals. The number of distinct chemicals used to produce one perfume product can range up to 700. The bulk of the chemicals used to manufacture cosmetics, including perfumes, are considered hazardous to various degrees. In the absence of any worthwhile government control, and in the face of continuing public ignorance and indifference, the issue is largely overlooked.

The Hazards

The list of health complications triggered by perfumes is long. The ill effects can include skin irritation, allergies, and respiratory, neurological and psychological problems Some of the most common physiological problems caused by the chemicals present in perfumes are:

• Sneezing, coughing, watery eyes and stuffiness

• Headaches, including migraines and cluster headaches

• Fatigue, dizziness and vertigo

• Difficulty in breathing

• Double vision

• Inflammation in the respiratory tracts, including sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, tinnitus and bronchitis

• Chest tightness

• Asthma

• Aanaphylaxis

• Seizures and convulsions

• Rashes, hives and eczema

• Irregular or rapid heartbeat and hypertension

• Muscle and joint inflammation and pain, and general weakness

Psychological problems triggered by chemicals used in perfumes may include confusion, irritability, disorientation, incoherence, short term memory loss, depression, anxiety and mood swings.

Apart from the immediate health hazards, the chemicals used in perfumes also present considerable hazards to the environment. The volatile compounds leave their residues in the atmosphere, affecting the air quality, both indoors and outdoors. Not being filterable by standard water treatments, they also make their way into watercourses, thus posing considerable danger to aquatic wildlife.

Canadian Regulations

Health Canada is the agency responsible for cosmetic safety in Canada. In order to make the consumer aware of the possible hazards, current Canadian law makes it mandatory for manufacturers to label the products with relevant warnings.

A few years ago, the Government of Canada prohibited the use of chloroform, estrogenic substances, and mercury. It also laid a stipulation that products have to be certified as safe for their intended usage.

Unfortunately, whether the government followed up these rules with the necessary verification and enforcement, is open to question.

Notwithstanding a few specific bans of certain chemicals, there has been no major governmental regulation of the manufacture and use of perfume. The fragrance industry has a kind of self-regulatory system in operation, but it does not have an effective methodology to address most of the basic concerns.