Perfume

Fragrance allergy is one of the most common causes of contact allergy in Denmark today. According to the Danish Asthma and Allergy Association, 4% of the Danish population is allergic to perfume and an unknown number of Danes report that their airways are bothered by fragrances. Yet, in spite of this, the cosmetics industry reports that the consumption of scented products is rising steadily and that consumers are demanding increasingly stronger scents.

Fragrances are either based on plant extract or synthetically made, and a fragrance formula may consist of 10-300 different fragrance ingredients. Plant-based fragrances may be just as likely to cause allergy as synthetic fragrances. Fragrances and scents are e.g. used in cosmetics, cleaning agents, laundry detergents and food.

All cosmetic products sold in the EU today must be declared in accordance with the new European INCI Declaration, the International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients. This means that all leave-on products (e.g. creams and lotions) or rinse-off products (e.g. soap) must declare fragrance contents of more than 0.001% and 0.01% respectively.

The INCI Declaration has identified all the allergenic fragrance substances making it easier to steer clear of the products we cannot tolerate. It is important to know, however, that lotions or creams may contain allergenic fragrance substances even though they are not listed on the list of ingredients. This is because manufacturers do not have to declare fragrance substances if they stay within the percentage values. Products may consequently contain troublesome and allergenic fragrances – we just don't know it. All Neutral’s products are free from perfume and unnecessary additives.