scents & sensibility

› By Angelique Anacleto

As you quickly spritz fragrance before dashing out the door, do you realize what’s in your favorite cologne or perfume? No thanks to a highly unregulated industry, harmful synthetic chemicals comprise 95 to 100 percent of countless mass-marketed brands. And their base material is often crude oil or turpentine oil. An ABCNews.com article reveals antifreeze, bacteria and urine have even been uncovered in counterfeit colognes.

Many falsely assume scents are extracted from precious flowers, plants, fruits, herbs, pu y clouds and rainbows. The reality is utilizing artisanal approaches involves painstaking, time-consuming methods like pressing organics into oils or steam distillation (reminiscent of high school chemistry class). For clearer perspective, consider that approximately 2,000 flowers are required to produce 1 milliliter of rose oil costing $15-$60. As such, cheap synthetic ingredients simulate botanical essences to keep production costs low.

Synthetic compounds can be dangerous when inhaled or applied to skin, and many have been listed on the EPA Hazardous Waste List. These include carcinogenic chemicals, neurotoxins, respiratory irritants, solvents, aldehydes, petrochemicals, phthalates, narcotics and more. Over the years, product exposure builds up in human tissue, causing allergies, inflammation, hormone disruption, reproductive problems and cancer. Extrapolating to baby care, beauty, candles, fresheners and household products, the word “fragrance” listed on labels more truthfully translates as “hidden chemicals.” Because scent is considered a proprietary, trade secret formula, companies are not required to disclose every component. Also worrisome is that fragrance can be used to mask a product’s other unpleasant chemical odors.

THE SOLUTION: Smell like you. Although perfume seemingly imparts chic polish, the boldest route to safeguarding your body’s tissues is practicing good, old-fashioned hygiene.

DIY FORMULAS: If you prefer scent for special occasions, tailor-blend your own essential oil elixirs in dark glass bottles to preserve scent strength.

For women’s mixtures, start with baseformula.com or onegreenplanet.org. For men’s recipes, consult thehippyhomemaker.com, doterra.com or draxe.com.

Beauty giants Aveda and The Body Shop consciously source their sustainable fragrances or explore small batch, handcrafted perfumes.

A tiny spritz of perfume carries larger environmental implications. According to Greentumble.com, favorite ingredients like musks can accumulate in the environment. Instead of degrading when released, substances attach to fatty tissue of aquatic organisms and bio-accumulate throughout the food chain. Aside from a ecting marine life and waterways, water treatment cannot e ectively remove these materials.

Additionally, air quality is a ected. Most fragrances classify as volatile compounds, meaning they transmogrify into worse, more menacing forms after being released.