Before you buy fragrances this holiday...

Why can walking through the perfume counters of a department store bring a person into a sneezing, wheezing tail spin? Not to mention, a laundry list of other reactions that can and do happen.

Fragrance is a combo of chemicals that give cologne and perfumes their scents. I recently overheard a conversation at my doctor’s office where a woman had to start working from home due to the overwhelming symptoms and illness that her bosses cologne was causing. Crazy right? Not really, unfortunately.

As intoxicating and beautifully packaged as perfumes and colognes can be, they are not regulated by any organization or held to any safety standards. Which means when we see the word fragrance on perfumes or on the back of a product package, companies are not required to list what the ingredients are. There can be as many as 200 ingredients that make up a fragrance! Many ingredients have been deemed a mystery or pose major danger to the body such as kidney damage, asthma, central nervous system disorders, cancer and the list goes on…

What can you do as a consumer to protect yourself from buying products that do not respect health amid safety? Only buy from companies that list all ingredients or use essential oils. It can be a tough pill to swallow for some, but there are amazing companies globally that fit that bill. Many countries have product safety seals and standards. Consumers can also look to such organizations as www.ewg.org to score the safety of manufactures listed, and www.thinkdirtyapp.com to download an app that can look at the safety of your existing beauty cabinet.