When you want your house to smell fresh like Lily of the Valley, do you spray some butylphenyl methylpropional? Is your favorite jasmine-like perfume that you wear infused with A-amylcinnamal? I can barely pronounce those ingredients, either. And I had no idea how many of our household cleaners and cosmetics were loaded with ingredients like these. Even products marketed as safe for children and babies can carry scents that weren't exactly heaven-sent. They may remind us of a rose or something else from Grandma's garden. But many of them are manufactured in a laboratory, then they go into our products virtually untested for long-term safety. Many of us are becoming allergic, or sensitive, or worse.
Remember when everyone could wear whatever perfume or cologne they wanted to the office? Then someone would get a headache if she sat too close to you and your fragrance? I've been guilty of spraying on the perfume and wondering why everyone else didn't love it. Turns out that researchers have found this is more than just a difference of opinion about favorite scents. This stuff really is bothering us and our health.
Advocacy group Women's Voices for the Earth works to protect women's health by eliminating toxic chemicals in our everyday environments. As you can imagine, this starts at home with the choices we can make every day. Below is WVE's new infographic that breaks down what's happening with scents in our consumer products. You'll want to check out the new WVE blog for more on the new report out today called Secret Scents: How Hidden Fragrance Allergens Harm Public Health.
