Why Fragrance-Free Skincare Has Unexpected Anti-Aging Benefits

Fragrance-free skincare isn’t only for those who have allergies or sensitive skin.

It provides more anti-aging benefits than you’d expect by shunning harmful ingredients that don't promote, but work against, a more youthful appearance.

Why should you consider going sans fragrance? How is it better for your health and well being? And how can you find skincare without any fragrance or perfume?

The Lure of Fragrance

Picture yourself at a retail store where you love to shop. You see a skincare tester you want to try, open the bottle….and do what first? Put it on your skin? Probably not. Likely you’ll take in the scent before dabbing on.

Companies know this and make the fragrances in products for skin a top priority. The U.S. is especially obsessed with fragrance.

Studies have shown that the scent of a cleanser, toner, mask, or serum affects the decision whether it's through checkout or not.

Coconut, a bouquet of flowers, fresh rain, or other exotic fruits are common artificial scents added to appeal to women.

More than simply smelling aromatic, certain fragrances may bring to mind pleasant or comforting memories – that pay off at the register.

Fragrances (parfum) or other chemicals are also used to mask its natural scent.

For example, the end product made with extracts from green tea, calendula, and aloe (without any fragrances or masking) will often have a neutral or earthy scent. All of these come from plants after all.

Keep in mind that artificial fragrances added to smell like their natural plant, herb, or fruit counterparts are larger than life versions that only resemble the real thing.

Past the Scent

A very attractive artificial scent doesn't help your skin any more than artificial flavor in food provides nutritional value.

That inviting scent does not contain any vitamins, minerals, or antioxidants to help repair, restore, and revitalize skin for a more youthful glow. 

Skincare products can have up to 100 ingredients masked in the word "fragrance". There’s no way to know what the chemicals are because the formulas are protected by law as a trade secret. And that’s not all.

Products that contain fragrance or masking agents may cause allergic reactions. And it’s true that we can be allergic to any ingredient – natural or not.

However, artificial fragrances top the list for causing allergic reactions that show up on the skin or affect your health or well-being.

And because these ingredients can be put in the fragrance umbrella on the label, it prevents consumers from seeing if a known allergen for them is in the formula.

Allergic reactions can show up visibly on the skin as a red rash, itching, dryness, burning, inflammation, or irritation that range from mild to severe.

And unseen reactions, like inflammation, could be happening beneath the skin’s surface without realizing the dangerous damage it’s creating.

Inflammation, for example, promotes the visible signs of aging.

Reactions aren’t limited to the skin and may also cause headaches, dizziness, or vomiting.

Coughing, tightening of the chest, or trouble breathing are common for those who have respiratory ailments. And fragrances can impact the central nervous system causing depression, irritability, or hyperactivity with repeated exposure.

Why It’s So Important for Your Skincare

How many products make up your skincare routine? One, two, three, or more? Multiple skincare products are used daily, often twice per day.

They are a part of our daily lives and should demand more caution for what we regularly use on our delicate facial skin.

Fragrances are not simply harmless additions because they are mostly made up of synthetic chemicals like phthalates, synthetic musks, and parabens. Not everything synthetic is harmful. However, some chemicals can be considered toxic or carcinogenic.

This is something to consider even if you don’t have an allergy to fragrance. Toxic ingredients can disrupt hormones, clog pores, or be a factor in the cause of cancer. 

Decoding Unscented Skincare Vs Fragrance-Free Skincare Brands and Products

On the surface, these two terms may seem the same but they are different. Let us explain.

• Fragrance-free skincare: No fragrance materials or masking scent are used in the product.

• Unscented skincare: Generally means that the product may contain chemicals that neutralize or mask the odors of other ingredients.

This is why it’s important to choose fragrance-free and you’ll know no scents or masking agents are in your products.

Essentials Oils? Not so Fast

Essential oils are natural and provide a pleasing scent. Sounds like a win, right?

In general, they are less likely to provide an allergic reaction than fragrance. And some people with chemical sensitivities can tolerate essential oils.

We have to remember that they are extremely concentrated compounds derived from plant oils. Some components of certain essential oils can be beneficial to skin, while other components are not. They are harmful. Single products, although they may contain a low percentage of essential oils, are often used with other products in the same line. This automatically bumps the overall amount used at once out of the low range. 

Some anti-aging skincare companies, like ourselves, choose not to include essential oils in formulas because they can be harmful to the skin- even though they are natural.

Instead, we choose other natural, powerful plant-based ingredients that work to target the visible signs of aging and don’t have the risk of harming the skin.

We feel essential oils definitely have their place. We love them for scenting the air in candles, diffusers, and room sprays!

What You (and Your Nose) Should Expect

You will often find fragrance-free products to smell neutral, with a barely-there sweet or earthy scent from the natural ingredients.

It depends on the overall formula. You'll be a little disappointed if you expect strong scents like a pina colada, the beach, or mandarin orange.

And that's ok because they're not meant to be a perfume or fragrance that you wear.

Free of Fragrance and More

TruPure Organics is one of the fragrance-free skincare brands committed to transparency and creating clean, natural, and non-toxic products packaged in glass with our TruPurity promise.

They are not only free of fragrance, but never include chemicals, dyes, parabens, phthalates, GMOs, or cruelty.  

Please view our entire collection of natural, anti-aging products.