We are all familiar with it, it is everywhere; that slightly addicting scent which masks itself in almost every non-natural scented product, with maybe a slight variance like a hint of soft “ocean breeze” or sharp “cinnamon spice”. Some of us absolutely love it and some of us abhor it, but all of us are affected by it. This thing, these scents, are known as Parfum.Parfum is the word we use in reference to man-made artificial scents, it can sometime refer to natural scents from essential oils, but this is almost never the case in the United States and if it is it normally will state “natural parfum/perfume” or “parfum/perfume from essential oils”. Parfum can also be referred to as Fragrance or Perfume, these terms can be used interchangeably. Parfum can be found in quite a few products including laundry detergent, dryer sheets, lotion, deodorants, shampoo, soap bars, dish washing liquid, litter, fabric softener, talalay rubber, household cleaning products, odor eliminators/air fresheners, candles, non-natural unscented products, or any other product which is scented through non-natural means. There are over 4,000 chemicals used in artificial fragrances. Yet most of these artificial fragrances have not ever been tested for toxicity to humans!This lack of testing for toxicity is mainly because the artificial scents ingredients and scent as a whole can be considered proprietary information which protects them from having to do testing. From doing quite a bit of research on some common artificial fragrances one can note some common negative effects on human health are their effect on the reproductive system, respiratory system, certain organs, and the neurological system. In addition, some artificial fragrances have strictly unique negative effects, like how artificial vanilla scent/flavor is mutagenic and can negatively affect your red and white blood cell count. I have sourced my research below.Common artificial fragrances are artificial vanilla scent, ocean breeze scent, fresh linen scent, fresh scent, tropical breeze scent, artificial rose scent, fruity scent, cucumber melon scent, and “original” scents.  When looking at the current testing and information about parfumes and without any further testing or information being done to prove otherwise, we believe that you should avoid these artificial scents whenever possible. From what is known about them, they can cause and do cause harm to the human body, and why would we want to cause such harm to our bodies if we can prevent it? Instead try to stick to using natural scents like essential oils or try to purchase products which only use natural scents and do not have the ingredient Parfum, Parfume, Perfume, Fragrance, or Artificial fragrance unless you can verify that they are natural and not chemical. Don’t forget, even some organic products can contain artificial fragrances and unscented products can have masking agents so always check the ingredients!

We hope this helps and educates on the mysterious and secretive Parfum. If you have any suggestions or questions feel free to comment below!

Sources for information provided:http://www.simplesteps.org/health/youth-adults/hazards-hidden-chemicals-perfumehttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1242040/pdf/ehp0112-a0458b.pdfhttp://www.visit-aroma.com/uploads/PDF/Ethyl_Vanillin_Msds_.pdfhttp://www.betco.com/MSDS_EN/C5510_227/231CAN.pdfhttp://www.rubbermaidcommercial.com/rcp/ObjectServer?table=PDFs&id=1038&name=RCP_Microburst%204500%20Air%20Neutralizer%2010%2027%2010%20Rev%202.pdfhttp://www.conncoll.edu/offices/ehs/EnvhealthDocs/Meter_Mist_Fresh_Linen_(ENG).pdfhttp://www.crafters-choice.com/PDFs/ProductDocs/Crafters-Choice-Fresh-Linen-Fragrance-Oil-154.pdfhttp://www.safetec.com/Images/Documents/abhcfreshMSDS.pdfhttp://www.sweetwater1.org/site/files/deodorizerfreshscent13l.pdf