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Fragrance
Fragrance · Parfum · Fragrance (Parfum) · Parfum (Fragrance) · Fragrance/Parfum · Parfum/Fragrance · Fragrance / Parfum · Parfum / Fragrance
Regulatory umbrella term hiding 50–200+ undisclosed compounds. A leading cause of cosmetic contact dermatitis.
What it does
Cosmetic 'fragrance' or 'parfum' is a regulatory shorthand covering hundreds of distinct aroma chemicals. Most need not be disclosed individually. Many are well-tolerated; a recognized subset — including linalool, limonene, geraniol, cinnamal, and eugenol — appears on FDA and EU sensitizer watch lists. Fragranced and unfragranced products perform identically on skin; fragrance is added for sensory experience, not skin benefit. People with sensitive skin, eczema, rosacea, or a history of contact dermatitis usually do better with fragrance-free formulas.
The evidence, graded
moderateCommon sensitivity and contact-allergy triggers in skincare include fragrance (the most-cited cosmetic allergen), essential oils, denatured alcohol, and certain preservatives (methylisothiazolinone, formaldehyde-releasers). Patch test new products on the inner forearm for 48–72 hours before face-wide use.Warshaw 2020 · Dermatitis ↗ expert consensusThe EU SCCS lists 26 fragrance ingredients required to be declared on cosmetic labels above trace concentrations because of documented allergenic potential. Linalool, limonene, geraniol, citral, eugenol, cinnamal, isoeugenol, and hydroxycitronellal are the most-frequently-positive on patch testing. (See G16 for the next-tier list.)SCCS 2012 · European Commission SCCS ↗ expert consensusExtends the G13 fragrance-allergen list with seven additional EU SCCS-declared allergens that show on patch-testing surveillance with lower frequency than the top tier but are still routinely positive in fragrance-sensitive users: hexyl cinnamal, anise alcohol, alpha-isomethyl ionone, citronellol, coumarin, benzyl benzoate, and amyl cinnamal.SCCS 2012 · European Commission SCCS ↗ Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Also known as
parfum, perfume, aroma
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