Things You Didn’t Know Could Mess Up Your Hormones - PART 1 - Perfumes
In Naturopath language: Fragrance / Perfume on ingredients lists actually translates to “a chemical sh*t storm”
Some 3000 unregulated chemicals are used as fragrances and perfumes. Fragrance and perfume recipes are actually considered trade secrets so manufacturers are not required to disclose the chemicals in the list of ingredients.
Most perfumes are chock full of Phthalates.
Phthalates have been linked to early puberty in girls, reduced sperm count in men, and reproductive defects in the developing male foetus (when the mother is exposed during pregnancy).
In human studies of adults phthalates have been related to decreases in sex steroid and thyroid hormone levels, poor sperm quality, endometriosis, insulin resistance, obesity, and possibly breast cancer.
If this doesn’t make you want to get rid of every single phthalate containing item in your life then keep reading...
About 1 in 3 people report having health problems when exposed to fragranced products. Those problems include asthma attacks, hay fever, headache, migraine, dizziness, breathing problems, rashes, congestion, nausea.
Did you know that smells and memories are so closely linked because the olfactory bulbs (smell centres) are right near the amygdala (memory section of the brain). Therefore, people often relate smells / perfumes with good memories and this creates a dopamine release in the body.
Dopamine = feel good hormone. So why wouldn’t we want to spray that yummy smelling stuff EVERYWHERE?!
Can I just spray perfume on my clothes so it’s not sprayed directly on my skin?
Sorry to be the bearer of more bad news but unfortunately no.
The chemicals in perfumes will still be absorbed through the skin via the clothes and inhaled into the body which has a similar uptake into the body.
Removing perfume from your life can be a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people.
I would highly recommend swapping out for good quality essential oils to keep your body and hormones safe.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2726844/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3572204/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30998239/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32435260/
