The fragrance industry is booming, but scientists have found chemicals in perfume, cologne, and body sprays that have been tied to a host of health problems

Risky Chemicals Are Lurking in Perfumes and Colognes—Here's How to Reduce Your Exposure Here's how to smell good and still avoid exposure to these substances

• Fragrances are the fastest-growing sector of the beauty industry, with the sale of body sprays increasing last year by 94%.
• However, studies have found that many fragrances contain phthalates and other endocrine disrupters, which have been linked with serious health effects.
• It can be difficult to determine which fragrances contain these chemicals, but experts have tips for how to reduce your exposure.
  

If you’re shopping for a new signature scent, be aware of the chemicals many perfumes and colognes contain. 

Fragrance is the fastest-growing sector of the booming beauty industry, outpacing makeup, and skincare and hair products, according to a 2024 report by the market research company Circana. While high-end perfumes and luxury brands grew significantly, body sprays saw the biggest increase by far in the last year, at 94%.

But researchers who have studied the chemical makeup of fragrances have found that they can contain substances that may lead to numerous health issues.

These chemicals include parabens and phenols, used to extend a fragrance’s shelf life, as well as phthalates—perhaps the most prevalent and well studied of all fragrance chemicals linked to health harms. The chemical has been associated with everything from heart disease and hypertension to pregnancy issues and preterm birth.

“Phthalates are known for being a reproductive toxin,” Julia Varshavsky, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor of public health and health sciences at Northeastern University.

Here’s what else to know about them, as well as how to still smell your best sans exposure to these substances.

What the Research Suggests

More than two dozen chemicals make up the phthalate class. Some of them are used to soften hard plastic and can be found in food packaging, kids toys, and more. Phthalates also help lotions and other cosmetics stick to and penetrate skin. In fragrances, phthalates are used as solvents and stabilizers.

Some phthalates—as well as parabens and phenols—are endocrine disrupters, which means they can mimic, block, or interfere with hormones produced by the body’s endocrine system. These hormones control crucial processes like growth, fertility, and reproduction. 

Over time, exposure to phthalates may be detrimental to human neurological, developmental, and reproductive systems, according to a 2021 review of human and animal studies. “As a class, the data is convincing that these chemicals cause health effects,” John Meeker, ScD, a professor of environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan, told Health. 

Contact with phthalates has been linked with health problems for people of all ages, but “the most sensitive time for phthalate exposure is during fetal development,” Varshavsky said, noting that for this reason, pregnant people should be cautious of their exposure to the chemicals. Children, whose bodies are still developing, are also among the most vulnerable to phthalates and other endocrine disrupters. 

While parabens have been connected to female infertility, Varashavsky said there has been “a lot of research specifically on the effects [phthalates] have on the male reproductive system."

Phthalate exposure in the womb has been strongly linked to what researchers call overlapping outcomes, Varshavsky said. They specifically relate to male reproductive system development and include testicular cancer, low sperm count and quality, and birth defects including cryptorchidism (in which the testicals do not descend into the scrotum), and hypospadias, which affects the urethra. 

While much of the early studies on phthalates were conducted using animals, research that does not always translate to humans, newer studies in humans have shown consistent results, Meeker said. 

Can You Avoid These Chemicals in Fragrances?

It’s impossible to know how many fragrances contain phthalates or other common chemicals linked to health issues because these substances often are not explicitly listed on packaging, Meeker said.

Although the Food and Drug Administration does require labeling on fragrances, phthalates can sometimes be included in the catch-all phrases “fragrance” or “parfume” on perfume, body spray, and cologne labels.

That’s because the products are also covered by trade secret laws, which protect manufacturers from having to divulge precise formula mixtures. 

“There is a harder bar with getting information about what is in fragrances compared to other cosmetic products,” Varshavsky said. “Fragrance is what you’re selling a lot of the time, so you don’t want to disclose what’s in it.”

If parabens are listed, these chemicals usually appear on labels as methyl paraben (MP), butyl paraben (BP), ethyl paraben (EP) or propyl paraben (PP).

For phthalates, some labels will include the word “phthalate”—as in diethyl phthalate. Others may contain acronyms, including DEHP, DBP, BBP or DEP. The first step is to look for any of these, Meeker said. At the same time, some brands voluntarily label their products as being phthalate-free.

If it’s unclear from the packaging whether or not a particular fragrance contains phthalates, Stephanie Eick, PhD, an assistant professor and environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, recommends using the EWG Healthy Living app. It was created by the Environmental Working Group, an activist organization that focuses on potentially harmful chemical exposure. 

“It’ll tell you there are phthalates in this, none in this. Some products will also have a label that says ‘EWG verified’,” Eick said. 

If your signature scent does contain phthalates and you are not willing to give it up, Meeker recommends reducing your exposure elsewhere, like by buying lotions, makeup, and hair care products that are unscented or phthalate-free. 

Phthalates have a very short half-life, meaning the time they spend in the body is relatively short. 

“Our bodies can get rid of these chemicals really quickly, within the span of a day or less and they do not bioaccumulate—that is good news,” said Eick. “But they’re in so many products that exposure is pretty constant.”

In the case of phthalates, limiting your exposure even if you’ve been exposed to the chemicals for years can really have an impact, which is unique.

“This is a solvable problem. If we remove exposure, we can really quickly get them out of our bodies,” Varshavsky said. “That’s not true for a lot of chemicals like PFAS or fire retardants, but it is true for phthalates.”

Edited by Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation." tabindex="0" data-inline-tooltip="true"> Jani Hall Jani Hall Jani Hall is a news editor for Health with a background in health, science, and investigative reporting. Previously, she wrote full time about parenting issues for the app Parent Lab. Before that, she worked as a reporter for National Geographic covering wildlife crime and exploitation. learn more

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Kaitlin Sullivan