FRAGRANCE FYI 👀👀👀

It’s that time of year when I’m conflicted – I love burning scented candles – pumpkin spice, banana bread, toasted marshmallow 🕯️😍 but…. I am also KNEENLY AWARE that candles (and other scented household or beauty products) can introduce harmful chemicals into my home and body.

BACKSTORY -I have worked on reducing my family’s exposure to toxins since the birth of Mallory in 1991 👶. It started with very SIMPLE changes that I SLOWLY implemented over time. I started with “Bang For My Buck” changes such as air and water purifiers.

Over the years I have made a lot of  progress but…. up until about 3 years ago I continued to burn candles that I knew were probably full of chemicals (the fact is it’s often hard to know since all the ingredients in a “fragrance” are not listed). 

I justified my exposure by using an air purifier in the room or opening windows to let fresh air in. Fast forward to today – I’ve finally committed to reducing this toxin in my home. 

I don’t burn candles as often as I used to and when I do it is an unscented beeswax candle or it’s scented with “safe essential oils” (I am not going to muddy the water in this newsletter but even essential oils can cause adverse reactions) – see this article. 

I’m the first to admit that these candles do not “throw” their scent like the synthetic fragrances candles do (and I miss that ☹️) but since my young grandsons are often at my house – I have been very happy to make this change. 

IF YOU HAVE BEEN PROCRASTINATING …

When it comes to reducing synthetic fragrances in your life – I feel you. I see you. I was you!!! 

Let me lay out my rationale for reducing my exposure to synthetic fragrances in the hopes it will resonate with you and help you take action 💪

WHERE DO YOU FIND SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES? 

Synthetic fragrances abound (they may also be listed as parfum) they are present in candles, bath and beauty products, laundry detergents and household cleaners etc etc.

 Due to their volatile nature fragrances can end up widespread in an indoor environment. THINK OF THEM AS THE NEW SECOND HAND SMOKE!🚭

By law manufactures can protect their trade secrets (or avoid drawing attention to harmful ingredients) by lumping any number of harmful chemicals into a category that is just listed as fragrance or parfum on the label (over 3,000 chemicals are allowed to be listed in this way).

🧠WHAT’S WOTH REMEMBERING

 Exposure to harmful chemicals in fragrances is actually VOLUNTARY – unlike some toxins in our environment (industrial pollutants) in which we have no control.

 For motivation I like to remind myself that newborn babies already have over 200 chemicals in their umbilical blood, not to mention that as adults our toxic load steadily increases. If we want optimal health for ourselves and our family, reducing exposure to synthetic fragrances is a worthwhile goal⚽️🥅 see this article.

When I embarked on my journey to reduce my exposure to fragrances I felt overwhelmed. To make the task more manageable  – I started  with eliminating one fragranced product at a time. When I was running out of that product I switched to a cleaner option. Over time as I eliminated more and more products I actually found the process to be very fun and rewarding.🏆Now I’m so used to avoiding fragrance that I have to hold my breath if I walk past a Bath and Body Works!!

HOW CAN SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES AFFECT OUR HEALTH?

Well it’s the typical harmful chemical bad actors. Synthetic fragrances are composed of chemicals (from a few to hundreds of chemicals can be used to make a fragrance) and some of the chemicals are known to disrupt hormones, activate the immune system, tax our body’s detoxification systems, cause skin and respiratory irritation, be detrimental to the brain and nervous system and there are even chemicals that can cause cancer and birth defects.

 See this article and this article.

 The body is a very complex machine that requires precise instructions.CHEMICALS DUE TO THEIR SPECIFIC SHAPE ARE LIKE BARCODES that the body reads. If it’s a chemical from nature – when the body “reads the message” it usually initiates or facilitates a normal function in the body. Unfortunately, artificial chemicals can send the WRONG MESSAGE to the body, resulting in interference with its functions or even stopping its normal functioning

LETS LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE- SEX HORMONES

Estrogen and progesterone have specific chemical  shapes that the body RECOGNIZES AND KNOWS HOW TO USE.

 For female health it is important that estrogen and progesterone are present in the RIGHT amounts at the RIGHT time. 

Some chemicals in synthetic fragrances can:

🌀FOOL THE BODY into thinking it is a hormone or

🚫DISRUPT HORMONE FUNCTION  by blocking the action of a needed hormone. 

One sneaky chemical that can disrupt the body’s delicate female hormone balance is phthalates. Phthalates as I just described can imitate female hormones or they can block female hormones. See this article. Either way the body is in hormone imbalance. Hormone havoc such as PMS, PCOS and infertility can be the end result. It is not just female hormones – hormone interference can also occur in males. 

❤️✨HEALTH YOURSELF ACTION – AVOID PRODUCTS THAT HAVE “FRAGRANCE OR PARFUM”  LISTED ON THE LABEL.

Currently – “fragrance or parfum” is a loophole that many companies use to hide harmful chemicals in their products. It’s best to just avoid products that contain UNDISCLOSED chemicals. Luckily, due to consumer concerns – more and more products are now fragrance free or the company voluntarily lists ALL ingredients instead of hiding them under the fragrance umbrella.

🔁SOME OF MY FAVORITE PRODUCT SWAPS 

🫧HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS

TRULY FREE laundry and home products – This has been my favorite lifestyle change – since I was using so many household products that were problematic it was great to find a company that had solutions. Truly Free has unscented options or if products are scented it is with plant based scents or essential oils and they voluntarily list all ingredients. Use CODE MONEYTALKMAL at the link above for a great discount.

FYI – My Healthy Living Amazon Store is a great resource for low tox living. Many of the products  listed below can be found there. 

🕯️CANDLES:

Beeswax candles from Bluecorn Candle Company. These candles have no added fragrance. They provide a warm glow and have a mild natural honey scent due to their beeswax origin. 

Recently I learned about another great beeswax candle company produced in Kansas City Luca + Grey Candle company – I plan to try them soon.

Fontana Candle Co – Candles scented with essential oils. As I stated previously, essential oils do not have the strong scent found in synthetic fragrance candles but since I reduced my use of synthetic fragrances I prefer the mild scent. 

🧴BODY CARE:

Native or Primally Pure Unscented deodorant  

Pretty Farm Girl Unscented Milk + Honey soaps

Perfume – I have tried many low tox brands (It’s actually hard to formulate a perfume to be toxin free) but I eventually just settled on dabbing a little of an organic essential oil on my clothing if I wanted to use a perfume (you should not apply undiluted essential oils directly to the skin). I use Garden Of Life Organic essential oils – my favorite are lavender and peppermint.

💧MOISTURIZERS:

 I like using squalene oil for my face and jojoba oil for my body. Both are SINGLE ingredient moisturizers that work great and are fragrance free.

👩‍🦳HAIR:

Shampoo and conditioners – here I must admit I have not found my perfect solution (we all have different hair needs) so I am still trying to find the perfect ones but there are many products now available that are fragrance free or use essential oils.

🌬️ROOM SCENTS:

Plug in scents – I just don’t use these but you can find companies that use only low tox ingredients or essential oils such as Enviroscent or Scent Fill. I have used Primally Pure room sprays which are nontoxic/low tox.

FINAL THOUGHTS

To all those women out there trying to live a low tox lifestyle – PAT YOURSELF ON THE BACK 🖐️It can be daunting in this toxic world but each little step you make is PROGRESS 🫶🏻

In November‘s newsletter I plan to do a low tox lifestyle “Holiday Gift List” 🎁🎁🎁I think the holidays are a PERFECT TIME to give and receive healthy-living gifts. I am legendary in our family for doing this. 😇

Your Health Is Wealth Advocate,

Dr Brenda Smith