Most people like to smell good and therefore it is not surprising that perfumes and toilet waters are among the best selling products in the world.
Your perfume smells magically, but it is very likely that it is nothing but a toxic mix of chemicals.
The ingredients of perfumes and deodorants are not limited to natural flavors and essential oils (no matter what the ad says to you!).
Perfumes, for example, contain an average of 250 ingredients, while some of them reach the dizzying number of 400 chemical substances.
The list of ingredients often includes a full range of chemicals such as formaldehyde, toluene, methylene chloride, benzaldehyde and phthalate.
Some ingredients of the classic perfumes, especially the scents, are obtained from petroleum-based materials and the strongest contact allergens. Therefore they have toxic effect on the skin, the respiratory, the nerve and the reproductive systems. Studies have shown that they contain harmful substances which have a carcinogenic effect.
Raising public awareness
Several world organizations are asked to enroll in the declaration of the perfume, the harmful ingredients contained in them because the public has the right to know what they puts on themselves.
The world organization Environmental Working Group reports that perfumes and other scented products actually contain natural aromatic essences, but in trace amounts. However they contain much more synthetic chemicals that manufacturers do not state in declarations and consumers do not know what they actually put on themselves, says Scientific American.
The campaign entitled ‘For Safe Cosmetics’, backed by more than 100 different groups, is demanding a transparency declaration on the perfume products and they require that the public knows what all perfumes and toilet waters contain. Their claims are based on already discovered hazardous contents in certain perfumes that have been tested by independent laboratories.
According to a comprehensive report which shows an alarming situation some of the ingredients found in these perfumes are associated with hormonal disorders in humans, as well as allergic reactions. Some ingredients are quite dangerous to the human tissue, and for some it is considered that can seriously damage the sperm of men. These same ingredients can be also dangerous for women’s breast.
They can damage your health
These chemicals can cause a wide variety of harmful consequences, affecting the respiratory organs, the liver, the kidneys, the nervous system and the reproductive organs.
These toxins can also disrupt the function of the endocrine system, and studies are linking them to infertility and many types of cancer.
The biggest threat these chemicals pose to young children and babies.Pregnant women are recommended to avoid perfumes, because of the possible harm they can do to the unborn child.