Reducing Your Chemical Burden

Once upon a time I didn’t give a second thought to all the fragrances I exposed myself to everyday. However, I can remember the exact point in my life when I realised that I couldn’t keep living with them. Nowadays our house is completely fragrance (and essential oil free) and I’ve never been happier!

I won’t go into all the risks and potential dangers of just some of the chemicals used to create synthetic fragrance, as there is plenty of information available. I think it’s best we all educate ourselves and of course, just go off personal experience.

It can take me weeks to recover from an overload of fragrance and the best way for me to do that, is to avoid them completely.

I have the misfortune of also being sensitive to essential oils. Trust me, we’re out there! It can be much harder finding suitable replacement products that are truly unscented since a lot are formulated with essential oils.

Here’s a list of tried and tested fragrance free items I have happily replaced conventional items with. I find that these are just as effective, without being detrimental to me.

Household

Laundry Liquid – Abode Natural Laundry Liquid Sensitive Fragrance Free or the Abode Natural Baby Laundry Liquid

Cleaning Spray – Seventh Generation All Purpose Cleaner Free & Clear

Toilet Bombs – Lil’Bit Better Unscented Toilet Cleaning Bombs (I won’t lie, these do have a scent that I can’t describe but if I close the bathroom door and scrub the toilet after it’s dissolved, it’s not an issue for me)

Dish Washing Liquid – Abode Natural Dishwashing Liquid

Dishwasher Powder – Abode Automatic Dishwashing Powder

If you’re after products like air fresheners, then I’m sorry to disappoint but I don’t have good suggestions as I just can’t use them.

I’d look for high quality organic and natural air fresheners with low VOCs, essential oils, incense sticks or soy candles with essential oil fragrances rather than synthetic ones. I only use bamboo charcoal and that’s more for eliminating any unwanted smells. Otherwise I open the doors and windows to air out our home!

Skincare & Body Care

Face Wash – Seriously Soothing Cleanser Cream

Moisturiser – At the moment I’m addicted to the Yasuni Face Balm by Earthwise Beauty. It’s not completely fragrance free but it doesn’t have essential oils so I can use it daily without issue. I also love the Velvet Sole Lip Balm from Lepaar. The one oil serum I absolutely adore because of the fragrance is the Precious Face Elixir by Lepaar.

Body Wash – Alaffia Everyday Shea Moisturizing Body Wash Unscented or Natural Mini Moo Bubbly Wash (I use either of them as hand wash as well)

Shampoo & Conditioner – A’kin Mild and Gentle Fragrance Free Shampoo

Deodorant – Body Crystal Roll-on

Multi-Purpose Balm – Queen Bee Secrets Manuka Body Balm. A truly multi-tasking balm for lips, irritation, burns, rashes. I always keep at least one upstairs and another in the bedroom if I need an extra thick night time moisturiser!

Makeup

Foundation – Kjaer Weis Cream foundation

If you’re after a liquid one, I can only really confirm the Nu Evolution Complete Coverage Foundation is completely fragrance free. It’s a matte finish though, so it might not suit dry skin types. The Fitglow Vita-Active Foundation is pretty close, but it does have a slightly herbal scent. It’s very hydrating and stays as a dewy finish.

There are plenty of mineral powder foundations that will be fragrance free.

Blush – Kjaer Weis Cream Blush, RMS Beauty Lip2Cheek or Ere Perez Carrot Colour Pot.

Highligher – RMS Beauty Master Mixer

Mascara – Pacifica Beauty or Ere Perez are both mascaras I’ve found work well, in terms of no to minimal flaking and holding a curl.

Lipstick – Of the ones I’ve reviewed recently, Ere Perez lip colours are definitely fragrance free, as well as the new Colour Block lipsticks from Ilia Beauty. Beautif ē k also have some stunning, warmer toned colours that are completely free of essential oils (they also have a very cleaner list of ingredients than the first two brands mentioned).

Here are a list of all the brands I’ve reviewed that are fragrance free (including any essential oils):