Your Perfume Choices Impact Your Hormones & Your Fertility: Here's What You Can Do
The majority of mainstream perfumes, body sprays, and fragrant body lotions contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
I don’t know about you, but I loved a good body spray when I was younger — and yes, I admit I’d regularly spray far more than the recommended amount of the signature Bath and Body Works Cucumber Melon and Sweet Pea Spray back then (please tell me I’m not alone in that one).
As I got older, I traded in the body sprays for more sophisticated perfumes. To this day, I feel so put together when I have a spritz of a heavenly scent. Smelling good always makes me feel good!
But over the years, I’ve started to learn more and more about how fragrances challenged my health — my hormones and fertility specifically. If you’ve been here, reading The Haven, or doing research on hormone health independently, you won’t be surprised to learn that the majority of mainstream perfumes, body sprays, and fragrant body lotions contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).
I’m going to be real with you: I heard about these hormone-disrupting chemicals making their way into these products several times before I gave the issue any attention. After all, I’d think, what’s a little perfume here and there? I mean, it really can’t be doing all that much.
I’m telling you now, it is doing that much.
Think about it this way:
How often do you wear perfume, lotion with fragrance, or a body spray?
What are the “best” places on our bodies to apply fragrance so they pop?
How quickly and efficiently does your skin absorb anything it comes in contact with (hint: it’s fast)?
Women’s hormones are naturally in a delicate balancing act in the best of circumstances, and the smallest things, like synthetic parfums and phthalates found in perfumes, over an extended period of time, can really tip the scales.
The moral of the story? For the sake of your health, please do not dismiss the phrase “endocrine-disrupting chemicals,” especially when it comes to what you spray on your body.
What can you do?
Avoid synthetic fragrances, parabens, phthalates, and sulfates.
Explore non-toxic brands and scents made with natural oils, extracts, and ingredients, rather than synthetic parfums (Ethos Magazine compiled a list of 25 non-toxic perfume brands to explore, which is a great place to start).
If you’re not ready to let go of your long-time favorites, try spraying those perfumes on your clothes rather than your body (as long as they’re non-staining, of course). While this isn’t a perfect solution, it will reduce the perfume’s direct contact with your skin, and in turn, mitigate some adverse effects and hormonal disruptions.
Remember: always do your research when it comes to recommendations to make sure they align with your needs.
As I’ve said hundreds of time and will say again and again: Health, long-term health in particular, comes from your small, consistent changes and choices over time.
Don’t discount this recommendation; you can support your health in this small yet effective way.
And let me know if you find a non-toxic fragrance you love! I may have to add it to my arsenal.
In the meantime, and until next time,
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Moonlight Path from Bath and Bodyworks also had me in its clutches back in the day!