Perfume

[Daffodil]

Hi All. I am wondering....are people with chemical sensitivities affected by the "natural" perfumes you can buy? Like those from places like The Body Shop or something like that?

I would like to wear a light scent sometime but not sure if I should try because regular perfume and cologne make me really sick.

But if I were to smell a fruit or a flower, I dont get sick ....i also dont think i get sick from smelling essential oils...but i am not totally sure. Maybe if I smelled them all day I would...?

Thanks!
xo

 

[TigerLilea]

Some people seem to be bothered by both chemical and natural perfumes. Probably the only way to find out for yourself is to try one and see how you react.

 

[Daffodil]

Some people seem to be bothered by both chemical and natural perfumes. Probably the only way to find out for yourself is to try one and see how you react.

thanks! maybe I will be one of the ones rated 0 on the EWG site and wear a tiny tiny bit of it and see what happens.
xo

 

[Subtropical island]

Just a thought:
Changing it after a shortish time might also help. i.e. Over-exposure can be part of the problem.
That's why a flower in a vase, or the smell of rosemary in my clothes after getting tangled in the hedge, or the smell of the oranges from our tree left in a bowl, etc are all good smells
but a floral scent or a citrus cleaner might be too much.

Dosage makes the poison.

 

[Dechi]

Maybe try something vegan, it might be even softer than other natural products.

 

[Daffodil]

@Azriel i was thinking of getting something that is rated safe on the EWG Skin Deep website. also I would put like a drop on really far from my nose or something lol

i actually do have some essential oils i never use..thats an idea!

I was trapped in a cab 2 weeks ago with a man with heavy cologne on. I nearly cried. I can somehow get sick just thinking about it lol

xo

 

[Valentijn]

I would like to wear a light scent sometime but not sure if I should try because regular perfume and cologne make me really sick.

I used to use rose water. Basically it's the natural oils from roses, but not concentrated nearly as much as in an essential oil. I'd put it in a spray bottle and spray it on like a perfume or deodorant.

 

[CFS_for_19_years]

@Daffodil, I've purchased about 50 essential oils and none of the odors have bothered me. I'm very much bothered by unnatural smells such as scented dryer sheets, car exhaust and strong colognes.

I have found the following essential oils to be uplifting and relaxing: geranium, lemon, carnation ($$), grapefruit, violet, chamomile, patchouli, ylang ylang and lemon balm.

I would recommend taking a sniff of every essential oil you possibly can and zero in on two or three that make you feel the best. Some of them come blended together and maybe something like that would suit you.

I made three posts in one thread about fragrances and essential oils starting here:
http://forums.phoenixrising.me/inde...y-cologne-perfume-room-etc.46891/#post-765202

 

[IThinkImTurningJapanese]

I am wondering....are people with chemical sensitivities affected by the "natural" perfumes you can buy?

I have suffered severe MCS and never reacted to natural fragrances, but I have read of some people suffering cross-reactivity.

I have a theory that use of fragrances, (perfume, scented detergents,"air fresheners"), could lead to increased body odor as our bodies flush the metabolites of these petrochemicals. Thereby leading to a vicious cycle of using more petrochemicals.

I have been using Tea Tree Oil as an antifungal agent for many years, and even at my worst for MCS it never caused a reaction.

And my shoes never smell bad.

 

[Fogbuster]

Whenever I walk around Lush with a friend of mine, I'm immediately reminded when sniffing these jolly smells, that something in the products gives me sinusitis and induces mild/moderate allergy like symptoms. I found that this was the same with Savon de Marseille bar soaps. Not sure what to make of it really...

 

[Daffodil]

Thanks for all the comments, guys!

@Valentijn rose water is used in a lot of indian dessert recipes!

Well, I do have a couple of essential oils here that I have never used...Lavendar and ...either Vanilla or Lemon cannot remember. Online it says you have to mix that with some kind of base oil or carrier oil or something? Also says you can use Vodka and I happen to have an old opened bottle of that from when I tried to make liposomal Vit C at home years ago....hmmm sounds like a fun project lol

xo

 

[Daffodil]

@Fogbuster I also feel a hint of chemicals in Lush. There are 1 or 2 smells in there I adore, though. But I don't stay in there too long.

 

[Mij]

@Daffodil I was also 'trapped' in my home for hours with 3 workers installing new floors in my kitchen and bathroom. The smell from their cologne lingered for hours after they left, it was as though it had attached itself to my furniture.

 

[IThinkImTurningJapanese]

...but I found that Aveda products do bother me and give me the trigger headache and brain fogginess just like chemical smells.

Because of the petrochemicals, apparently.

Stacy Malkan of the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database says that for all Aveda’s efforts, they should really be focusing on safer ingredients. “A company like Aveda, with the backing of billion-dollar Estee Lauder, really ought to be at the front of the line innovating the safest products on the market,” says Malkan. “Instead, I think what we’ve seen is a trend that the major multinational beauty companies face a lot of pressure to keep costs low, and use a lot of cheap synthetic petrochemical ingredients.”

 

[IThinkImTurningJapanese]

The smell from their cologne lingered for hours after they left, it was as though it had attached itself to my furniture.

Probably because it had,

Many of the chemicals in fragrances are similar in this aspect to those added to cigarettes.

What is third-hand smoke?

Ever take a whiff of a smoker's hair and feel faint from the pungent scent of cigarette smoke? Or perhaps you have stepped into an elevator and wondered why it smells like someone has lit up when there is not a smoker in sight. Welcome to the world of third-hand smoke.

 

[Daffodil]

Most natural products don't bother me, but I found that Aveda products do bother me and give me the trigger headache and brain fogginess just like chemical smells.

I also feel that way at the Aveda store if I stay in there too long

 

[Valentijn]

Most natural products don't bother me, but I found that Aveda products do bother me and give me the trigger headache and brain fogginess just like chemical smells.

Aveda products aren't particularly natural. They use standard ingredients, then add some natural extracts to the mix.

 

[Daffodil]

False advertising on their part! I bought 2 hairsprays and I ended up giving them to my mom since I couldn't use them.

and that stuff aint cheap! in Canada at least

 

[Research 1st]

Hi All. I am wondering....are people with chemical sensitivities affected by the "natural" perfumes you can buy? Like those from places like The Body Shop or something like that?

I would like to wear a light scent sometime but not sure if I should try because regular perfume and cologne make me really sick.

But if I were to smell a fruit or a flower, I dont get sick ....i also dont think i get sick from smelling essential oils...but i am not totally sure. Maybe if I smelled them all day I would...?

Thanks!
xo

The flower isn't a synthetic chemical, you'd probably only get it smelling it if you had a pollen allergy.
The scent is made in test tubes, with heaven knows what, volatile chemicals to the CNS in people who are hypersensitive.

If you feel 'nervous' or dizzy and just really sick around scents not just tight chested or headachey, but actually like the same feeling of an impending anxiety attack and feel faint and weak, it's because your sympathetic nervous system is freaking out inhaling the chemical, e.g. a man's aftershave, or women's perfume, fabric conditioner, bleach in the toilet etc and then you get a hormonal reaction from this. A flight or fight response. Other people don't get this with MCS and 'just' get Asthma/sneeze. Next time it happens, if you can and it's safe too, check your blood pressure response to chemical that don't agree with you. Would be interesting to see if you get 'aroused' (higher BP) or it does the opposite and takes your circulation out (low BP).

I can't really see a way around this to be honest, until your illness puzzle is solved and all the evidence comes pouring out of scientists publications of how our genes and metabolism are totally trashed with your illness, and then why this all links in with our CNS being affected by the slightest signal, even scent of perfume.

 

[Daffodil]

@Research 1st lol the good news just never stops for us, does it?