We are pretty much surrounded by fragrance and parfumes in every nook and cranny of society and in every household and personal care product sold in stores. And that is unfortunate. But it also means we can eliminate a lot of exposure by being savvy about what we bring into our homes.  

Fragrance is a short word for toxic chemical sludge cocktail. Companies are protected by the Trade Secret Law which allows them to avoid listing their actual ingredients and putting it all under the blanket term of “fragrance” on the label. This is where they hide their most dangerous ingredients, which is why anytime I see any form of fragrance listed on a label, I know that product is not going anywhere near my family. Known toxins include formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, and phenol which can cause swelling, burning, hives, and in severe cases, coma or death. There can be thousands of these toxins in one fragrance.

Fragrance is the #1 cause of allergic reactions, causing skin irritation and respiratory issues like chronic bronchitis and asthma to name a few. Other common complaints include headaches and dizziness. Fragrance usually contains endocrine disruptors that mess with our hormones, carcinogens, which means it causes tumor growth, and a lot of other garbage that we just wouldn’t want on or in our bodies.

Anything that goes on the body, makes its way IN the body, and breathing in a toxin is sometimes the worse form of exposure because the toxin doesn’t have to go through the digestive system and liver before entering the bloodstream, and our nasal pathways are directly wired to the olfactory sensors in the brain. Clinical observation proves exposure to fragrance can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes.

My family has always been proactive about caring for our respiratory health, but it is especially important right now, so I’m going to focus on airborne fragrance elimination in this blog. I'll talk about savvy swap-outs in personal care another day.

The biggest offenders to our respiratory system are any type of aerosol spray. Fabreez, Oust, Lysol, Glade, etc. Most people have these in every bathroom. The next would be fragrant air fresheners in the form of solids, “stick-ems” or plug-ins, car air fresheners. Anything designed to mask odors in the home needs to go.

Air fresheners work by coating the nasal passages with an oily film, or by releasing nerve-deadening agents that end up in your nose and brain. Scented candles come with all kinds of health hazards beyond their fragrance, so do ALL wax warmers.

Have you ever smelled a flower that smells like cotton candy or bubble gum? Me either, so don’t be fooled by labels that claim to be natural but have scents such as these. Also beware of brands claiming to contain essential oils like lavender in their products such as plug-ins, as well as companies that are trying to market diffusers with fragrant oils. Companies like these are just trying to keep up with the essential oil craze. There is nothing regulating any part of the air freshener industry for safe ingredients and labeling. They can call it what they want, but fragrance is fragrance. Unless an item is scented with a pure essential oil, it contains toxins. Stay away from it.

The good news is this is one of the easiest life changes we can make. Just swap out EVERYTHING in your home that’s purpose is to make the air smell better, and diffuse  PURE Young Living® essential oils instead.

This is the part where I point out that not all essential oils are pure and in fact, most bargain brands are just synthetic fragrance labeled as 100% pure essential oil because there is nobody telling them they can't. It is an unregulated industry with no legal definition for "therapeutic grade" or "100% pure" claims. This is why it is important to know and trust your source, and for me, that means I ONLY use Young Living®, and will talk all day about why if you want to. Just hit the chat button in the bottom corner.

There are TONS AND TONS of diffuser recipes for just about any type of scent you could possibly want on social media and pinterest. I post new ones in my VIP member group daily. Reed diffusers are great for small spaces like bathrooms, and easy to make.

Replace those nasty aerosol room and bathroom sprays with an essential oil room spray. I prefer 10-15 drops of Purification™, 1 oz of grain alcohol such as vodka, in a 4 oz spray bottle filled with water because Purification™ actually neutralizes odor versus covering it up. You can use any diffuser recipe as a spray too. Just shake and spray!

If you like the ambiance of candles, get the fake ones. They look just like candles until you touch them and realize they are lights. It is also fun to make your own scented candles by filling a decorative votive with softener salt crystals. You can dye them with food coloring to match your decor, then drip your essential oils into the salts and plop a cute battery-operated tea candle in the middle, and viola! You have a beautiful, safe, all-natural, harmless "scented candle." Hobby Lobby and Dollar stores are my favorite places to get the jars or vases or glasses to use for this.

Be savvy about your respiratory health by swapping all your air fresheners with these savvy swap-outs and you will notice a huge improvement in your frequency of headaches, your mental acuity, energy levels, and immune response. And you won't even miss your other stuff. 

Be Well my Friend.

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