Fragrance makes cosmetics smell good. It doesn't make your skin or scalp healthier.

Dermatologists and cosmetic scientists have known for decades that fragrance, whether synthetic, natural or from essential oils, is one of the most common causes of irritation, sensitisation and allergic reactions to cosmetics.

Despite this, fragrance is still found in the majority of skincare and haircare products.

Why? Because fragrance sells.

Humans are wired to love fragrance, which is why it can be difficult to understand why something that makes a product so enjoyable to use could be a problem for our skin. Marketers know that a beautifully scented product creates an emotional connection and helps sell more products, long before any negative effects may be seen. And because fragrance sensitisation can develop over time, it can be difficult to connect a reaction back to the product or ingredient causing it.

We'll decipher what decades of research say about fragrance, why your skin can become sensitised even after years without a reaction, which fragrance ingredients are worth knowing, and why we believe fragrance doesn't belong in skincare or haircare.

Fragrance at a glance

• May appear as fragrance, parfum or aroma, as well as individual fragrance compounds and essential oils
• Primarily added to make a formula smell good or mask the smell of its ingredients
• Provides no necessary skin or scalp-health benefit
• Fragrance is a well-established cause of contact sensitisation and allergic contact dermatitis
• Natural fragrance and essential oils can contain many of the same fragrance allergens
• You can become sensitised after previously using a fragrance ingredient without a reaction
• Fragrance-free doesn't necessarily mean smell-free
• Read the ingredient list rather than relying on the smell of a product or the claim on the front
• Our position: the healthiest approach to skin and scalp care is fragrance-free

In this article:

How does skin react to fragrance?

Many fragrance ingredients are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that transition from liquid to gaseous states at room temperature, travelling through the air to bind with olfactory receptors in our nose. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are also known skin sensitisers. In fact, research has established that fragranced skincare products are among the most common causes of sensitising, negative skin reactions. This is true for all skin colours and types, not just those with sensitive or redness-prone skin.

Can you suddenly become allergic to fragrance?

Yes. It is possible to use a fragranced product for years without any obvious reaction and then develop an allergy to it.

This is because fragrance allergy is acquired through sensitisation. With repeated exposure, your immune system can become sensitised to a particular fragrance allergen.

Your immune system has a memory. You can be exposed to the same fragrance allergen repeatedly without an obvious reaction, until your immune system learns to recognise it as a threat. Once sensitised, it remembers, which is why something you've happily used for years can seemingly start causing a reaction out of nowhere.

So the fact that your skin tolerates fragrance today doesn't mean it always will.

Is fragrance-free better for skin?

A well-formulated, fragrance-free product is better for skin and scalp health overall.

Fragrance serves one primary purpose in skincare and haircare: to make the product smell good. It provides no necessary benefit to the health or function of your skin or scalp, but fragrance can cause irritation, sensitisation and allergic contact dermatitis.

Inflammation is also one of the processes involved in skin ageing. Chronic, low-grade inflammation associated with ageing is known as inflammageing. Inflammation and oxidative stress can activate enzymes that break down collagen and elastin, contributing to the structural changes we associate with ageing skin. On the scalp, inflammation can contribute to itching, flaking and shedding and interfere with a healthy environment for hair growth.

You also can't necessarily judge what's happening in your skin or scalp by whether it looks red or feels irritated today. As we've already seen with sensitisation, a lack of an obvious reaction doesn't necessarily mean your skin will continue to tolerate an ingredient indefinitely.

If fragrance provides no necessary benefit to your skin or scalp, but introduces a known potential source of irritation, sensitisation and inflammation, why put it there?

Is fragrance bad for sensitive skin?

Yes. Fragrance is one of the most obvious ingredients to avoid if you have sensitive or reactive skin or scalp. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends fragrance-free skincare for people with eczema, while the Eczema Association of Australasia identifies fragrance as a common trigger for sensitive and eczema-prone skin.

Fragrance allergens are taken seriously by regulators too. The EU requires certain fragrance allergens to be individually disclosed on cosmetic ingredient lists above specified concentrations and recently expanded these requirements to include 56 additional fragrance allergens known to have caused allergies in humans. These include familiar ingredients such as linalool, limonene, citronellol and geraniol.

As we've already covered, fragrance can cause problems even in people who don't consider their skin sensitive, so there's even more reason to avoid it when skin is already reactive or its barrier is compromised.

If your skin or scalp has suddenly become more sensitive, take a look at the ingredients in the makeup, skincare and haircare products you use every day. Look for fragrance, parfum or aroma, as well as individual fragrance compounds and essential oils. Tools such as INCI Decoder or an AI ingredient checker can also help you decipher a long ingredient list.

Is fragrance safe during pregnancy, postpartum and perimenopause?

Fragrance isn't automatically unsafe during pregnancy, postpartum or perimenopause. However, hormonal changes during these life stages can affect how your skin and scalp behave, including changes in dryness, sebum production and sensitivity.

If your skin or scalp becomes more reactive, removing unnecessary potential irritants such as fragrance is a sensible place to start.

This is one of the reasons we don't formulate fragrance-free products only for people who already identify as having sensitive skin. Skin changes, and what you've happily used for years may not always suit it.

What about fragrance and hormones themselves? That's a bigger and more complicated question. We'll cover what the science actually says about fragrance ingredients and potential endocrine disruption in a separate article.

Is fragrance bad for acne-prone skin?

Yes. Acne is an inflammatory skin condition, so avoiding ingredients that can unnecessarily irritate or inflame the skin makes sense.

Fragrance doesn't directly cause acne or clog pores, but it can irritate the skin and contribute to the inflammatory conditions that can make acne flare-ups worse.

Instead, look for gentle, fragrance-free products that support the skin barrier and are suitable for acne-prone skin. A well-formulated facial oil, for example, can absolutely have a place in an acne-prone routine. Look for one that is non-comedogenic and dermatologically tested for sensitive skin, with ingredients such as bakuchiol, which has anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, and Totarol™, a botanical antioxidant with antimicrobial activity.

What does fragrance-free mean?

For a skincare or haircare product to be truly fragrance-free, the formula should not contain fragrance ingredients added to create or mask a scent, whether synthetic or natural.

Fragrance-free doesn't necessarily mean the product has no smell. Cosmetic ingredients have their own natural aromas, so a fragrance-free formula can still smell faintly of the ingredients used to make it.

Is natural fragrance better than synthetic fragrance?

Essential oils and botanical fragrance materials contain naturally occurring volatile fragrance compounds. Many of these are the same fragrance allergens you'll see individually listed on cosmetic labels, including linalool, limonene, geraniol, citronellol and eugenol.

Lemon, lavender, rose, bergamot, ylang-ylang, citrus, peppermint, eucalyptus and cinnamon may sound considerably more appealing than synthetic "parfum", but their natural origin doesn't make them any less capable of causing contact allergy.

But I heard essential oils are good for the skin?

Some essential oils contain compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial or other potentially beneficial properties. But essential oils are also concentrated mixtures of volatile aromatic compounds, and some contain established fragrance allergens.

So while an essential oil may have potentially beneficial properties, that doesn't automatically make it a good choice for a leave-on skincare product, particularly when the same formulation goal can often be achieved with non-fragrant ingredients.

In fact, nearly 80 essential oils have been reported to cause contact allergy in dermatological literature.

Natural describes an ingredient’s origin. It doesn't tell you whether it benefits your skin or scalp.

Is there a difference between unscented and fragrance-free?

Yes. Unscented and fragrance-free don't necessarily mean the same thing.

A useful distinction comes from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

• Fragrance-free: Neither fragrance materials nor masking scents are used.
• Unscented: Has little or no noticeable smell, but may still contain fragrance ingredients used specifically to mask the natural odour of the formula.

The nuance is that there isn't one universal definition used everywhere in the world. A brand may describe a product as fragrance-free because it contains no synthetic fragrance, while the formula still contains naturally derived fragrance or essential oils.

Likewise, a product labelled unscented may contain fragrance ingredients specifically added to disguise the smell of other ingredients. Yes, you heard right! Something can contain fragrance specifically to make it smell like nothing. Ironically.

So it can be surprisingly difficult to know whether a product is truly fragrance-free from the claim on the front of the bottle alone.

But my fragrance-free product has a scent, what does that mean?

It is worth noting that many ingredients can have a pleasant natural aroma and provide great benefits to the skin without being fragrance ingredients. Cocoa and shea butters, coconut, some forms of vanilla and many plant oils, for example, can all contribute their natural scent to a formula while being used for their beneficial properties.

So fragrance-free doesn't mean smell-free. A truly fragrance-free product can still have a faint natural aroma from the beneficial ingredients used to make it.

Why do skincare and haircare products contain fragrance?

Because most people like it when their skincare and haircare products smell nice.

Cosmetic companies understand how fragrance impacts a consumer's purchase decisions and their experience of using the product at home. That makes fragrance an extremely powerful marketing tool.

Scent influences how we perceive a product before we have any idea how well it performs. It can make a formula feel luxurious, fresh, relaxing, expensive, botanical or "clean".

Fragrance can also be used to mask the natural smell of a cosmetic formula. Functional ingredients don't always smell beautiful, and adding fragrance can make the finished product more appealing.

Fragrance can also mask rancid odours. If a cosmetic product has been sitting open in your bathroom cabinet for too long, some ingredients can begin to oxidise or degrade and develop an unpleasant smell. Added fragrance can make those changes harder to detect. This is particularly relevant to products packaged in open-mouth jars, where the formula is repeatedly exposed to air and bacteria from your fingers every time you use it.

None of these reasons has anything to do with improving the health of your skin or scalp.

But what if I love fragrance in my skincare and haircare? Surely that is a benefit?

I know, sweetie. Sometimes it feels like the internet has cancelled everything.

Scent can make a product feel luxurious, relaxing and rewarding, and that sensory experience is one of the reasons fragrance is so powerful in beauty.

But fragrance isn't the only thing that makes skincare and haircare a pleasure to use. Texture, feel, ritual and, most importantly, great results matter too.

We're not the fun police! We believe your beauty routine should be something you genuinely look forward to, while every ingredient earns its place in the formula for what it brings to your skin, scalp or hair.

Beautiful care doesn't need to smell beautiful to make you feel beautiful.

And if you love fragrance, you don't have to give it up. You can still enjoy perfume and fragrance in other parts of your life without needing it in your skincare and haircare.

How to tell if fragrance is in your skin care and hair care products

For all the reasons above, don’t rely on the scent of a product or blanket ‘fragrance-free’ statements on labels to tell if harmful fragrance ingredients are in your skin and hair care.

Instead, start with the ingredient list.

Some fragrance allergens are also more complicated than they first appear. Linalool and limonene, for example, can oxidise when exposed to air, forming hydroperoxides with greater sensitising potential than the original compounds.

Look for terms such as fragrance, parfum or aroma, essential oils and individually declared fragrance allergens such as the ones listed previously. Common names worth recognising include:

• Benzyl benzoate
• Benzyl salicylate
• Bergamot oil (Citrus bergamia)
• Cinnamon (Cinnamomum)/Cinnamal
• Cinnamyl alcohol
• Citral
• Citronellol
• Coumarin
• Eucalyptus
• Eugenol
• Farnesol
• Geraniol
• Hydroxycitronellal
• Isoeugenol
• Lavender oil (Lavandula angustifolia)
• Lemon (Citrus limon)
• Lime (Citrus aurantifolia or Citrus medica)
• Limonene
• Linalool
• Orange (Citrus sinensis)
• Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
• Rose flower extract (Rosa damascena)
• Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
• Tangerine (Citrus tangerine)
• Ylang-ylang oil (Canaga odorata)

An ingredient database such as INCI Decoder or an AI tool can help you identify unfamiliar ingredients and understand why they're in the formula.

Our position on fragrance

FYI, at San Margo, we don't add synthetic fragrance, natural fragrance, essential oils or masking fragrance to our skincare and haircare. Nothing is added just to make a product smell good.

We formulate meticulously, choosing ingredients for the benefits they provide to your skin and scalp. It's part of our commitment to following the science and minimising unnecessary exposure to fragrance or other irritants, so you get the best result possible.

We aren't anti-fragrance. We just don't think it belongs in products whose job is to care for your skin and scalp.

Wear the perfume. Light the candle. Buy the flowers. Skip the fragranced products.

That makes more scents to us.

Shop fragrance-free skin + hair care

Ready to take fragrance out of your routine? Explore some of our fragrance-free skincare and haircare, formulated without synthetic fragrance, natural fragrance, essential oils or masking fragrance.

• Bakuchiol Super Elixir Facial Oil
• Noche Balancing Scalp Serum
• In-Residencia Shampoo
• In-Residencia Conditioner

References

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This article is for general educational purposes and is not medical advice. Persistent or severe skin reactions should be assessed by a qualified healthcare professional.