Eau de no.
Spritzing on your perfume may make you feel good in the short term, but doctors are warning that a hidden ingredient in your favorite fragrance could lead to a host of health problems, from insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease to hormone issues that can affect fertility.
Phthalates are a common ingredient in cosmetics; in addition to perfumes, they can be found in nail polish, hair spray, shampoos, body washes, deodorants, and hand wash.
Different kinds of phthalates have different uses. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) makes plastics more flexible and has been used in nail polishes to stop them from cracking. Dimethyl phthalate (DMP) also adds flexibility and is used in some hair sprays.
Neither DBP or DMP are all too widely used these days, according to the FDA, but diethyl phthalate (DEP) — which is used in perfumes to blend different fragrances together — is, and experts think steering clear is the best course of action for our health.
“I recommend avoiding added fragrances altogether — in perfumes, scented lotions and shampoos, even scented detergents and antiperspirants,” Andrea Gore, a professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Texas at Austin, told the Washington Post.
So why should people worry?
Multiple studies have linked phthalates to various health issues, including heart disease, obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.
A 2020 study also connected phthalates in the body to ADHD-related behavior problems in adolescents, and the Cleveland Clinic reports that it may lead to allergies and asthma as well.
Experts also believe that they’re hormone disruptors. Based on early research, phthalates may have an impact on fertility in both sexes, disrupt the development of reproductive organs, and cause issues in pregnancy and birth.
“Phthalates are endocrine disruptors which can interfere with hormonal and cellular function within the reproductive system. Research has associated high levels of phthalates with increased risk of infertility, poor sperm parameters, poor egg quality, and miscarriage,” Dr. Lora Shahine, MD, FACOG, a reproductive endocrinologist at PNWF in Seattle, told The New York Post.
For women, she warned that phthalates have also been linked to disruption in menstruation, ovulation dysfunction, and increased risk of endometriosis. Exposure could also cause girls to go into puberty at an earlier age, according to 2018 research by the University of California, Berkeley.
It can cause similar issues for men: A 2002 Harvard University study discovered that men with normal levels of exposure to phthalates was associated with increased DNA damage in sperm.
Dr. Shahine, who hosts the Baby or Bust Fertility podcast, also pointed to studies showing associations between phthalates and both miscarriage and preterm delivery.
In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, signed in 2008, bans children’s product with phthalates levels that are higher than 0.1%.
Is there really enough in perfume to be harmful?
According to the FDA, no — but some experts beg to differ.
The Cosmetic Ingredient Review Expert Panel published a report in 2002 saying that phthalates were safe in cosmetic products, claiming that the exposure level isn’t high enough to be harmful. The year before, the CDC released its own report that concluded that there was no association between phthalates in cosmetic products and health risks.
But Dr. Shahine says customers should be wary.
“Companies using phthalates in products will say, ‘The poison is in the dose’ and ‘A little perfume can’t hurt you,’ but the issue is the accumulation of all phthalates and other endocrine disruptors like BPA, PFAS, and parabens in our daily exposure adds up,” she explained.
“The average woman uses 12 beauty products a day (according to the Environmental Working Group), plus chemical exposure from laundry detergent, cleaning products, and more — no company is tracking the accumulation of exposure over time and the risk to the individual. We cannot eliminate exposure to endocrine disruptors but can can limit the number of products (including perfume) to decrease risk.”
And Gore, the professor of pharmacology and toxicology, told the Washington Post that the evidence on animals is compelling enough.
“If a chemical has endocrine disrupting effects in animals, there is exceptionally high certainty that this is also the case in humans,” she said. “The hormones of the endocrine system are structurally and functionally similar, if not identical, in nonhuman and human animals.”
What should we do about it?
Even if you’re prepared to ditch phthalates, it can be tough to weed out the products made with them because they don’t actually have to be listed on any ingredient label. The FDA doesn’t regulate cosmetic product ingredients at all, deeming that cosmetics simply “must be safe under the labeled or customary conditions of use.”
But there are some solutions. Databases like those run by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and EWG’s Skin Deep allow users to search for specific products they use for a breakdown of ingredient concerns.
And Dr. Shahine recommends that people can pare down their products altogether.
“Decreasing the number of fragrance products you buy and use is helpful,” she said. “Try fragrance free cleaning products, limit plug in fragrances and scented candles, and when products run out, really examine and think about the replacement product you’re buying.
“A big issue is that companies can claim ‘fragrance’ as trademark secret and phthalates are often used to lengthen the shelf life and fragrance of a product, so assume that ‘fragrance’ or ‘perfume’ as an ingredient on a product means there are very likely phthalates included.”
