Fragrance has become a given. It’s in our shampoo, our laundry detergent, our hand cream, and in the candle we light to make things cozy. But a pleasant scent is not the same as a harmless one. According to the Danish Knowledge Centre for Allergy (Videncenter for Allergi), perfume is one of the most common causes of contact allergy. And each time you use a perfumed product, you increase your risk of developing the allergy.

One word, thousands of substances

An ingredient list often says just one word: parfum. But behind that word can hide a blend of many different substances.

The fragrance industry works with a “palette” of roughly 3,300 fragrance ingredients. The latest overview from the industry body IFRA (2025) lists 3,312 fragrance ingredients plus 379 auxiliary substances, 3,691 in total.

The EU now requires around 80 of them to be named on the label of new products, and only if the amount exceeds a certain limit. The rest may stay hidden under the word parfum. In other words, you can’t see what you’re actually putting on your skin.

Why it matters

Fragrance ingredients can cause allergy. Contact allergy often develops gradually: the body becomes sensitized after repeated exposure, and once the allergy is there, it stays for life. Typical signs are itching, redness and eczema, including on the scalp. 

Some fragrance ingredients are so problematic that they have been banned. Lilial was moved to the EU’s list of prohibited substances in 2021 because it can harm fertility. It was used in perfumes, creams and shampoos before it was removed.

And because fragrance is everywhere, the exposure adds up: shampoo, deodorant, detergent, candles. A little from each, a lot in total.

Natural perfume sounds gentle, but natural doesn’t mean allergy-friendly. Essential oils from, for example, citrus, lavender and peppermint contain well-known allergens themselves, and they are subject to the same labelling rules as synthetic fragrance ingredients. A plant can be just as irritating as a laboratory.

Want to go truly clean? 

Choose fragrance-free for everything that goes in your hair or on your skin.

• Look for “fragrance-free” or “without perfume” on the label, not just “mild” or “natural”.
• Look for the Asthma Allergy Nordic label, one of the marks that point to products without perfume.
• Check what stays in your hair: leave-in products such as heat protection serum sit on your hair and scalp all day.
• Check everything you put on yourself in the shower, product after product, from shampoo and conditioner to body wash.
• Switch one product at a time. Start with what stays on longest, such as body lotion and deodorant, then move on to the rest.

Clean hair and clean skin don’t need to smell of anything. Scent sells. An allergy stays.

Sources

• Danish Health Authority: Allergy to chemical substances (Knowledge Centre for Allergy)
• Forbrugerrådet Tænk: How to minimize your risk of perfume allergy
• IFRA: 2025 edition of the Transparency List
• HPRA: Labelling of fragrance allergens, Regulation (EU) 2023/1545
• CIRS: EU fragrance allergens expanded, plus the Lilial ban
• Ceway: Natural ingredients and allergens