It’s no doubt that we love a product that smells good, that’s why we added a zesty orange scent (derived from natural food flavouring) to our Natural Shampoo & Bath and Natural Daily Lotion! It’s always a joy to snuggle your baby when they smell nice, skin-to-skin contact is also an excellent way to bond.
However, these days when it comes to our baby, more of us are opting for products that are natural, mildly-fragranced, fragrance-free or unscented. But do these terms have the same meaning? Let’s dive in to find out more!
Fragrances
Fragrance: Putting a scent to a cosmetic product using any natural or synthetic substance or substances.((Gao, X., & Simpson, E. L. (2014). Market trends in baby skin care products and implications for clinical practice. Pediatric dermatology, 31(6), 734-738.))
Fragrances are found in almost every consumer product, especially in detergents, scented candles, essential oils, perfumes, personal care products, and more. Now as more of us are aware about the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which could pose as potential hazardous air pollutants being emitted by the fragrance, we tend to avoid products with fragrances. ((Steinemann, A., & Goodman, N. (2019). Fragranced consumer products and effects on asthmatics: an international population-based study. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 12(6), 643-649.))
Moreover, fragrances are also one of the main causes of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). ((Douglas, J. D. (2010). Allergic contact dermatitis: fragrance and Myroxylon pereirae: allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is a common problem. Fragrance and Myroxylon pereirae are two of the top three most common causes of ACD. Synonyms, purpose, exposure sources, occupation impact, diet restrictions, and allergen avoidance tips are discussed. Dermatology Nursing, 22(1).)) One way to get an estimation of the amount of fragrances is there in the product is to look for the position for the parfum or the essential oils at the ingredients list. The closer it is to the top, the higher the amount, which means it could cause irritation to sensitive skin.
Certain essential oils could also be sensitizing to your children’s skin but we will explain more about that in another post.
Fragrance-free
Fragrance-free: Not adding any additional fragrance-based chemicals to the cosmetic product, so the original scent of the formula will be present.((Gao, X., & Simpson, E. L. (2014). Market trends in baby skin care products and implications for clinical practice. Pediatric dermatology, 31(6), 734-738.))
Fragrance-free is a suitable alternative if your children has an allergic reaction to fragrances. The only caveat is that the original scent of the formulation might not smell as pleasant as you think. Plus, if you find essential oils in the formulation, it could be used as the fragrance component of the product so it can’t be considered as a fragrance-free product either.
Unscented
Unscented: Fragrance-based chemicals added to a product to mask the original scent of the formula, making the product unscented.((Gao, X., & Simpson, E. L. (2014). Market trends in baby skin care products and implications for clinical practice. Pediatric dermatology, 31(6), 734-738.))
From here we can see that, unscented products are not as safe as you think. Most brands in the market would not state the ingredients used to mask the scent to make the product seem ‘unscented’ and these could be potential allergen to your children’s sensitive skin.
All in all, as parents, we can choose the products that suit our baby the best. Based on our research, either go for products that are fragrance-free or that uses food-grade natural scents like our Natural Baby Shampoo & Bath and Natural Baby Daily Lotion. Read more about our non-toxic formulation philosophy here. and why we use food-grade flavouring to scent our products.
Calmelon’s products are made with effective, safe ingredients that are suitable for dry, sensitive skin and are free from harmful ingredients such as Parabens that could cause cancer and endocrine system related issues((https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rahul-Tade/publication/327498041_Safety_and_Toxicity_Assessment_of_Parabens_in_Pharmaceutical_and_Food_Products/links/5b92085492851c78c4f3e75c/Safety-and-Toxicity-Assessment-of-Parabens-in-Pharmaceutical-and-Food-Products.pdf)).