Why Fragrance-Free Skincare Products are Best for Everyone
It’s well known from extensive research that fragrance, whether natural or synthetic, is a common sensitising ingredient for all skin types. Yet despite this information, fragrance components are present in more skincare products than you can imagine. It can be difficult to understand exactly why fragrance is a problem for skin, so we'll take a deeper dive into what the concern is all about.
How Skin Reacts to Fragrance
The way most fragrance ingredients impart scent is through a volatile chemical reaction. Unfortunately, this natural reaction almost always causes a sensitising reaction on the skin. In fact, research has established that fragranced skincare products are among the most common causes of sensitising, negative skin responses. Common facial skin problems faced by women, such as sagging skin and loss of skin elasticity, are sometimes made worse by fragranced skincare products. This is true for all skin colours and types, not just those with sensitive or redness-prone skin.
Is Fragrance-Free Skincare Better?
Fragrance-free products are better for the skin’s health overall. As board-certified dermatologist Dr. Corey L. Hartman explains, “Fragrance has taken centre stage in the skincare conversation lately because of its link to inflammation and its effect on premature skin aging. Like exposure to ultraviolet light, chronic inflammation through exposure to sun, heat or fragrance can increase oxidative stress, free radical formation and degradation of collagen and promote a skin texture that is not as firm or even as it should be.”
You might think that because your skin isn’t showing signs of being irritated by the fragranced products you’re using, then it must not be a problem. We wish that were true, but it’s still a serious concern because the skin is very good at hiding when it’s being irritated. You might not see the damage on the skin’s surface, but it can silently occur every day, causing minor problems for your skin in the short term and more serious problems, such as loss of skin firmness, in the long term.
Think about it like sun damage from not wearing sunscreen. Research shows that sun damage begins within the first minute your unprotected skin sees the sun. Sun damage is cumulative and potentially deadly, yet separate from a sunburn or tan, you don’t see the full repercussions right away. The visible signs of that damage don’t show up on the surface of the skin until years later.
Why do so many Products contain Fragrance?
That’s a great question, and the answer is simple: It’s because most people like it when their skincare and hair care products smell nice. Cosmetic companies understand the power of a pleasingly fragranced product. They realise how fragrance affects a consumer’s purchase decisions and their experience with the product at home.
Another reason fragrances make their way into the products you use is that lots of cosmetic products naturally don't smell very good without the help of fragrance. A beautiful, wafting scent helps cover up the product’s less-than-pleasing normal smell. But there are ingredients and formulary steps to take that result in a neutral-smelling or non-objectionable fragrance-free product. In other words, adding what’s referred to as a “masking fragrance” to products isn’t a necessity.
Added fragrance also helps hide the unpleasant aroma of a jar-packaged skincare product you’ve kept too long, especially if the ingredients are all natural. Jar packaging causes such skincare ingredients to degrade faster because once you open it, the delicate ingredients are exposed to air and bacteria from your finger repeatedly dipping in.
What does Fragrance-Free mean?
For a skincare product to be truly fragrance-free the formula must not contain any volatile fragrance ingredients, including those of the synthetic or natural variety. Wonder how essential oils factor in and if they are good for your skin? Essential oils are no exception to this rule. While many essential oils and fragrant plant extracts can offer benefits in some capacity for skin, their volatility as they release their aroma also has a negative effect in other ways on skin.
You might see commonly-used fragrances, perfumes (parfum) or aromas on ingredient lists, but not all of them are skin-restoring ingredients or skin-replenishing ingredients. Here's a list of some of the other more typical plant oils and fragrant ingredients that show up in personal care products with research showing they are problematic for skin. (There are many more, but this is a helpful starting point to familiarise yourself with.)
- Linalool
- Citronellol
- Limonene
- Geraniol
- Eugenol
- Lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia)
- Rose flower extract (Rosa damascena)
- Bergamot oil (Citrus bergamia)
- Ylang-ylang oil (Canaga odorata)
- Lemon (Citrus limon)
- Lime (Citrus aurantifolia or Citrus medica)
- Orange (Citrus sinensis)
- Tangerine (Citrus tangerine)
- Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
- Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
- Eucalyptus
- Cinnamon (Cinnamomum)/Cinnamal
To help identify other fragrances in your skincare products, use our Beautypedia Ingredient Checker. This research-based tool helps you quickly identify and rank the ingredients in your skincare products, from best to worst.
Is there a Difference between Unscented and Fragrance-Free?
“Fragrance-free” generally means that fragrance materials or masking scents are not used in the product, whereas “unscented” means that the product may contain chemicals that neutralise or mask the odours of other ingredients.
However, it’s not so clear-cut for consumers. Because the terms “unscented” and “fragrance-free” really comes down to how each brand chooses to define and use those terms. This is where things get tricky. A brand could decide to label their product as fragrance-free because it does not contain synthetic fragrance ingredients, yet it may still contain natural fragrance ingredients, like essential oils that are harmful to the skin. Or a brand could claim a product is unscented because it does not carry a strong wafting odour... yet sensitising forms of fragrance may still be present in the formula.
Can your Nose Know?
Unfortunately, you can't just rely on your nose. Some natural ingredients have a pleasant fragrance but cause no irritation and are great for skin. Examples include melon, vanilla, cucumber, aloe vera, almond, mango, coconut, cocoa butter, and shea butter.
Other times, a product may have no aroma because the fragrance is included to mask the disagreeable odour of other skincare ingredients in the formula. Ironically, the fragrance is added so the product has no discernable scent!
This type of information isn’t easy to decipher just by looking at an ingredient label, which is why we suggest using our Skincare Ingredient Dictionary to look up any ingredients you’re uncertain about. If the ingredient contains fragrance components that irritate skin it will be clearly noted, along with other helpful information about the potential benefits and/or cons.
We want to assure you that here at Paula’s Choice Skincare, we never add volatile or masking fragrances of any kind to our products and never have. There are too many amazing ingredients that impart brilliant results for skin that are completely non-irritating to ever bother with the problematic ones.
It’s part of our mission to rely on what scientific research has shown to be true so you can take the best possible care of your skin—and that means avoiding or at the very least minimising your skin’s exposure to fragrance.
Explore the best types of ingredients for your skin or shop Paula’s Choice EARTH SOURCED line, which contains only natural ingredients.
References for this information
Biochimica and Biophysica Acta, May 2012, pages 1,410-1,419
Molecules, January 2021, pages 1-24
Allergologie Select, August 2017, pages 190–199
Medicines, December 2016, pages 1–16
Environmental Protection Agency, October 2016, ePublication
Biochimica and Biophysica Acta, May 2012, pages 1,410-1,419
Aging, March 2012, pages 166-175
Chemical Immunology and Allergy, March 2012, pages 77-80
Experimental Dermatology, October 2009, pages 821-832
International Journal of Toxicology, Volume 27, 2008, Supplement pages 1-43
Food and Chemical Toxicology, February 2008, pages 446—475
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2008, issue 4, pages 191-202
American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2003, issue 11, pages 789-798
Skin Pharmacology and Physiology, 2008, issue 4, pages 191-202
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