Fragrances That Causes Allergic Reactions

Every now and then, my mail includes a letter or two from women who’ve gotten perfume from different occasions – followed by an allergic reaction.  They want to know which ingredients are to blame so they can avoid them in the future.

Fragrance is fun to wear, and makes you feel loved, lovely, even glamorous.  But research studies show that fragrances cause more allergic reactions than any other cosmetic.

It takes at least two exposures, maybe more and perhaps as many as 40 to set off the reaction, and there is no way to know which ingredients in the culprit because the ingredients are not required to be listed on the label.

Testing to pin point a specific ingredient proves difficult because fragrances are complex mixtures of essences and fixatives.  A fragrance may commonly contain 50 ingredients and as many as 1,500 of the 5,000 ingredients possible.

In addition, an allergic reaction can result from a particular combination of two or more ingredients.  The number of potential ingredient combination is so large that testing is unrealistic.  At the same time, if you find yourself allergic to one ingredient, you will be vulnerable to any ingredients that are similar to the original culprit.

Many women feel they can avoid allergic reactions by purchasing only the more high-quality, high-priced perfumes.  However, reactions are actually more common with these products.  It is thought that essential oils more frequently found in expensive perfumes are responsible for allergic reactions.  Known allergens commonly used in fragrances include fumo coumarin, cinnamon bark oil, oil of gergamot, clove oil, vanillin, eugenol, hydroxycitronellal, citral, fennel oil, diethyl maleate, and Peru balsam.

Only the most professional noses can detect individual ingredients by smell.  Since the ingredients are not listed on the label, it is impossible for the average individual to detect and avoid even a known allergen.  If you develop an allergic reaction, you simply may have to change your fragrance.

Another course of action suggests the avoidance of highly concentrated perfumes.  While you may be allergic to perfume, you may not be allergic to cologne.  It has been found that many people can wear their favorite scent when diluted with enough alcohol.  The amount of oil then stays below the level of irritation.  Here lies a good reason to buy cologne instead of perfume.  Other forms of a favorite scent-powder, sachet, lotion-may also be tolerated without irritation.

Regardless of the form of fragrance you buy, you should never wear scent on areas of skin that will be exposed to bright sunlight for any length of time, assuming we ever see the sun again.  Photosensitive reactions result when the sun changes fragrance ingredients into chemicals that will case a burn or a rash, and ultimately a darkening of skin, which appears after the rash has been cleared up.

This darkened marking is commonly seen around the neck and cleavage in women who dab perfume on those areas and then sun themselves.  It is called “Berloque dermatitis” – Berloque meaning “necklace” in French because it looks much like a necklace.

You can avoid this type of irritation and marking by simply not, wearing fragrance when you’re going to be out in direct sunlight.