Have an unidentifiable skin rash? Itchy legs? The cause could be traced back to the unassuming bottle of lotion on your bedside table or the newest moisturizer you brought because of your favorite beauty guru.
Fragrances may be the culprit for all your contact dermatitis and eczema scares, 8-15% of contact dermatitis patients attribute it to the fragrance present in their cosmetics or skincare.
How Do You Know You’re Allergic
Fragrance allergies are more likely to affect you if you have underlying inflammatory skin issues such as eczema or rosacea, fragrance is likely to set your skin conditions off and if you are already suffering from such a condition or are recovering from it, it is a good idea to avoid products containing fragrance or even essential oils as they are allergens as well.
However, even if you have no prior history of allergies, use of products with strong fragrance or repeated use of products with fragrance can result in a histamine response that comes in the form of contact dermatitis.
The symptoms are very itchy skin, small pimples or hives, reddening of the skin. It can be controlled by the use of antihistamines or over the counter hydrocortisoids. It’s not recommended to treat it yourself and seeing a specialist at the earliest sign of symptoms should be the proper course of action.
The easiest way to know if you are experiencing such allergies is to simply get a patch test done. The most popular patch test to know if you are intolerant to fragrances is by using Balsam of Peru, this can detect around 75% of fragrance allergy cases.
Another way is to be observant of what part of the skin you get allergic reactions the most, if fragrance is the issue in this case, you will be experiencing allergies in the areas where you repeatedly use a product containing fragrance, this could be the hands, face, neck and chest area, however it could be present on other areas of the body as well.
Most Common Types of Fragrance in Skincare & Cosmetics
Turn the back of your bottle of toner or lotion, you may find these names mentioned. Some fragrances in skincare products are labeled quite clearly in the form of essential oils, the more common ones being lemon or bergamot essential oils, or sometimes a simple ‘Parfum’ or ‘Fragrance’ however this can be a cover for a lengthy list of chemicals formulated together to create the perfect scent.
Other more common ones to be aware of are cinnamal, citral, citronellol, eugenol or geraniol and many more. More than 3,000 chemicals are used just for providing fragrance to products.
To Summarize
Fragrances in skincare or cosmetic products may not be a concern to most people, most may not even notice that their products have fragrance however, for those with eczema, psoriasis or any type of skin auto-immune disease underlying in their system, they could be in for a nasty bout of contact dermatitis if the use of such products is not addressed.
Visit Dr. Imran Nathani at Family Diagnostic Clinic for a biopsy of your skin conditions. Our board certified internal medicine expert has several years of experience as chief of medicine. Dial (281) 351-6800 to schedule an appointment.