“Fragrance” on a label: what it can hide, in FDA’s words

American kids deserve better than guessing.

If you would rather know what is on your child’s skin: FDA says the phthalate still used in cosmetics, DEP, is mostly in fragrance, and the label does not have to name it [1].

What we choose instead

Organic jojoba oil

Yoken · USDA Organic · 8,385 Amazon ratings

No fragrance: the ingredient list is jojoba oil.

Check price

Organic raw shea butter

era of nature · 6,270 Amazon ratings

No fragrance: the ingredient list is shea butter.

Check price

Shampoo and body wash

The Honest Company · 47,242 Amazon ratings

No fragrance or parabens listed. Has calendula, chamomile.

Check price

As an Amazon Associate, Bloom earns from qualifying purchases.

The evidence

  1. FDA: DEP appears to be the only phthalate still commonly used in cosmetics, mostly in fragrance. Labels do not have to list fragrance ingredients one by one. [1]Established
  2. FDA: to avoid DEP, a shopper may choose products that do not list “Fragrance” or “Flavor”. [1]Established
  3. FDA: it does not have evidence that phthalates or parabens as used in cosmetics pose a risk, and its review continues. [2]Established
  4. EFSA set a group intake limit of 50 µg per kg of body weight a day for four phthalates, based on reduced fetal testosterone in studies. [3]Established
  5. Teen girls who used products labelled free of phthalates and parabens for 3 days had 27% less of a DEP breakdown product in their urine. The study had no control group and measured exposure, not health. [4]Linked, not proven

Scenario A or B

A. A lotion that lists “Fragrance”. FDA says that is where DEP usually sits, and the label does not have to say whether it is there.
B. An oil or butter with no “Fragrance” on the list. There is nothing hidden behind that word.

What is going on

Phthalates are a family of chemicals. In cosmetics today, FDA says the one still in common use is DEP, which helps fragrance last [1].

US rules do not require a label to name the ingredients inside a fragrance [1]. So the only label signal is the word itself. FDA’s own advice to shoppers who want to skip DEP is to choose products that do not list “Fragrance” or “Flavor” [1].

FDA also says it has no evidence that phthalates or parabens as used in cosmetics pose a risk [2]. Bloom passes that on as FDA states it. Whether to skip fragrance is your call; the picks above make it easy, because each list is short and has no fragrance.

What this page does not say

Bloom does not say fragrance, phthalates or parabens cause a hormone problem or any condition. This page reports what FDA and EFSA say. The picks are products with no fragrance on the ingredient list.

More answers

How Bloom checks a product

Bloom lists a product only when it has at least 1,000 Amazon ratings, its full ingredient or material list is published, it has no synthetic red flags, food and drinks are organic by nature, and fabrics carry a named organic certification; personal care, baby care, supplements and household products are held to a clean-formula standard instead of an organic one. Nobody pays to be listed.

See every verified product

Sources

  1. Phthalates in Cosmetics fda.gov
  2. Parabens in Cosmetics fda.gov
  3. Update of the risk assessment of DBP, BBP, DEHP, DINP and DIDP (EFSA, 2019) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  4. Reducing phthalate, paraben and phenol exposure from personal care products in adolescent girls (Environ Health Perspect, 2016) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

As an Amazon Associate, Bloom earns from qualifying purchases. Bloom explains labels, ingredients and certifications. Nothing here is medical advice.