You take a deep breath of a luxurious new skincare product—confident you’re about to be transported into blissful bathtime relaxation. You get out a book, light a few candles, and set the mood with red light therapy.
But all of a sudden you’re hit with the exact opposite of bliss.
A piercing headache.
Synthetic fragrances impact everyone differently. For some, it’s a headache and stabbing sinus pain that sounds the alarm. For others, synthetic fragrance exposure might not be noticed until it starts clogging the liver or affecting your weight and blood sugar levels.
After years of exposure to synthetic fragrances, nasty chemicals, and hormone disruptors, some people find that they can’t tolerate scents at all—not even healthy ones like essential oils.
Let’s break down the difference between synthetic fragrances, essential oils, and completely unscented products—to find the exact match that’s right for you.
Fragrances vs. Essential Oils vs. Unscented Products: How Smelling Good Affects Your Brain and Body
Way back in pioneer times, bathtime was a luxury. Natural scents (in the form of essential oils or floral bouquets), were used to hide the fact that the wearer might not have washed in recent weeks…or even months.
We’re grateful that showers and baths are a regular occurrence in our day and age. At the same time, we shudder at the thought that we’ve accepted synthetic and chemical-filled fragrances without a second thought.
Endless synthetic perfumes line grocery store shelves, promising your “signature scent” and a better-smelling you. What they don’t disclose is that they could be hiding ingredients known to disrupt hormones and leave pollution (plastics) in your body.
The truth is, you don’t have to trade in your health to smell good.
Lotion with Fragrance
Unless you’re consciously scanning ingredient labels, most drugstore lotions contain a secret slew of nasty chemicals that can cause anything from headache and nausea to hormone disruption and liver overload.
For the purpose of protecting “trade secrets,” most companies aren’t even required to disclose the chemicals that go into their fragrances. Based on our research and experience, synthetic fragrances should be avoided at all costs.
Products with Essential Oils
Many essential oils (including one of our favorites: frankincense essential oil) come with added health benefits like improved sleep, natural antibacterial properties, and stress relief.
While essential oils are a much healthier option that we prefer, they’re still not for everyone. If you struggle with eczema, allergic reactions, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS), multiple chemical sensitivity, or a chronic illness that makes it difficult for you to tolerate natural essential oils, an unscented product (like our Unscented Tallow Balm) may be the best option for you.
Unscented Tallow Balm
Unscented tallow balm is exactly what it sounds like. All the benefits of natural tallow, without any kind of added fragrance. No synthetics, no essential oils, no herbs—just skin-focused ingredients.
We do love the added benefit of a gentle essential oil, but we understand that it’s not for everyone. Here’s who we believe would benefit most from our unscented products:
- Children and babies.
- People who struggle with eczema.
- People with chronic illness (specifically MCAS and MCS).
- Anyone prone to allergies.
- People with extremely sensitive skin.
- The elderly.
- Anyone suffering from toxin overload or liver issues.
When someone has a weakened immune system, added scents (no matter how natural and healthy) can become just another thing for their body to process. This is why we’re passionate about creating synthetic fragrance-free skincare, lightly scented Tallow Balms, and product options that are completely unscented.
4 Reasons You Should Ditch Artificial Fragrance Products
You’re ready to try fragrance-free skincare…but you don’t know how exactly this change will help you. Here are some of the many benefits you could experience when switching to unscented products.
1. Less Irritation for Sensitive Skin
If you have extremely sensitive skin, you may need to proceed with caution when it comes to adding new skincare products to your routine. Even the cleanest essential oils could worsen ongoing symptoms or create redness. By going fragrance-free, you reduce the odds of a reaction while giving your skin an environment where it can thrive.
2. Unscented Tallow Balm for Eczema Can Help You Avoid Flare-Ups
When your skin is breaking out, the fewer ingredients you expose it to, the better. Unscented Tallow Balm can give your skin a much-needed break from irritants—and space to heal. Allow your Tallow Balm to go the extra mile by removing more ingredients for better health.
3. Unscented Tallow Balm Is Generally Better for Babies
Babies and children have sensitive skin—and a sensitive immune system. It’s generally better to expose them to gentle skincare products, which means less fragrance.
By removing fragrance, you not only protect your baby’s skin but you can also safeguard their delicate immune system. There are some occasions when the immune system can recognize essential oils as an outsider and kick into gear. This is more common in babies and people with chronic illnesses.
4. Unscented Tallow Balms May Be the Better Option for People with Histamine Sensitivity and Chronic Illness
Histamine sensitivity means your body is hyper-aware of the allergens that surround you. You may have allergies, MCAS, or another condition that makes it difficult for your liver and immune system to process toxins.
Explore Whether Fragrance-Free Skincare Is the Next Step in Your Wellness Journey
Here’s one thing you shouldn’t do when pursuing fragrance-free skincare: choose something packed full of chemicals and fillers.
These nasty ingredients can be huge offenders and deterrents on your journey to whole-body wellness. Choosing a fragrance-free product that still has parabens and phthalates will likely be just as disruptive to your microbiome and overall wellness.
At Toups and Co, we’ve made it our mission to provide the cleanest skincare products, always. When you shop our synthetic fragrance-free skincare products, you can feel confident that scents, parabens, and chemicals will never disrupt your healing journey.