Itchy, reactive skin? Read the ingredient list, not the front

American kids deserve better than a label that says only “fragrance”.

If you deal with itchy, reactive skin: a US label may list fragrance as one word, so the allergens inside are not named [3].

What we choose instead

Organic jojoba oil

Yoken · USDA Organic · 8,385 Amazon ratings

No fragrance: the ingredient list is jojoba oil.

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Organic aloe vera skin gel

Aloe Pura · 2,193 Amazon ratings

No fragrance: the ingredient list is organic aloe vera.

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Organic raw shea butter

era of nature · 6,270 Amazon ratings

No fragrance: the ingredient list is shea butter.

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As an Amazon Associate, Bloom earns from qualifying purchases.

The evidence

  1. Fragrance and nickel are among the more common causes of allergic contact dermatitis. [1]Established
  2. About 1.9% of adults in a European general-population study had a clinically relevant fragrance allergy, and the rate in women was about twice that in men. [2]Established
  3. A US label may list fragrance ingredients as “fragrance” or “perfume”. FDA’s list of fragrance allergens includes plant extracts such as lavender. [3]Established
  4. The preservative methylisothiazolinone was named Contact Allergen of the Year for 2013. [4]Established

Scenario A or B

A. A lotion whose list ends “…Fragrance (Parfum), Methylisothiazolinone”. You cannot tell which fragrance chemicals are inside.
B. A jar whose whole ingredient list is “Organic jojoba oil”. Everything in it is on the label.

What is going on

Allergic contact dermatitis is a reaction to something that touches the skin. Fragrance is one of the usual suspects, and it is in hundreds of everyday products [1].

The label is where it gets hard. US rules let a maker list a blend of fragrance ingredients under one word [3]. “Unscented” is not the same as “no fragrance ingredient”: it usually means the product does not smell, and some unscented products still list plant extracts that FDA counts among fragrance allergens [3].

So Bloom reads the full ingredient list. The picks above have lists of one item, which means nothing can hide behind the word “fragrance”.

What this page does not say

Bloom does not say these products help eczema or any skin condition. They are products whose full ingredient list is one item. If you have a rash or a reaction, see a doctor or dermatologist.

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.

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Sources

  1. Contact dermatitis aad.org (American Academy of Dermatology)
  2. Prevalence of fragrance contact allergy in the general population of five European countries (Br J Dermatol, 2015) pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. Allergens in Cosmetics fda.gov
  4. Methylisothiazolinone (Dermatitis, 2013) 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.