Don’t take our word for it. Here’s every fact on this site, with its evidence grade, its caveats, and a link to the source, so you can check us.
We start you on the strong ones: findings that have been replicated or come from one large, well-controlled study. Moderate and weak facts are here too, labeled for what they are. Use “Link to this fact” to share a single card.
Green, natural and unscented / Review of other studies
Fragrance allergens turn up in "fragrance-free" moisturizers and personal-care products across at least four independent surveys: Scheinman named ten US "fragrance-free" products with fragrance ingredients in 1999 (benzyl alcohol in 5 of 10), dermatologists named nine more major-brand examples containing benzyl alcohol in 2007 (including a baby lotion), two of Scheinman's own named products (Cetaphil Moisturizing Cream, Moisturel Therapeutic Lotion) reappear on this list, a 2016 survey of best-selling US body moisturizers found 18 of 40 labeled "fragrance free" (45%) listed at least one ingredient dermatologists flag for fragrance-allergic patients, and a 2015 survey of 187 US pediatric personal-care products found that of the 52 labeled "fragrance free," 42 (80.8%) contained at least one contact allergen from the standard NACDG screening tray (55.8% had >=2).
Strong evidence.
Caveats
Four independently compiled surveys (1999, 2007, 2016, 2015) across adult and pediatric products now agree that 'fragrance-free'-labeled products commonly contain contact allergens. Hamann 2015's screening tray is broader than fragrance chemicals alone (also preservatives, surfactants; preservatives were in fact its largest allergen category), so its 80.8% is not a pure fragrance-allergen count like Xu 2017's CAMP cross-reactor tally, but the direction and scale match. Still label-based, not chemical analysis; don't name current products without checking today's labels.
Green, natural and unscented / Other evidence
OEKO-TEX Standard 100's limit table has no limit and no list for fragrance chemicals or fragrance allergens; the only fragrance-related rule is an odor test that requires 'no odor from mold, high boiling fraction of petrol, fish, aromatic hydrocarbons, or perfume'.
Strong evidence: Edition 02.2025 table only; the 2026 change notice mentions no fragrance row but the full 2026 table was not captured; odor test is a sensory judgment with no stated scale.
Source: OEKO-TEX Service GmbH, Standard 100 limit values Annexes 4-5, Ed. 02.2025 Industry-funded Link to this fact
Green, natural and unscented / Review of other studies
Essential oils oxidize in air into the same allergens as synthetic fragrance, and 'natural' cosmetics routinely carry fragrance allergens: 91% of 'natural' perfumes on the Danish market contained at least one target fragrance sensitizer (chemical analysis, 1996) — but only 35% of the other 'natural' cosmetics (shampoos, creams, lotions) in the same study did, at far lower concentrations — and 82 of 100 European natural-brand products checked in 2013-15 listed at least one allergen on the label.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
91%/35% is Rastogi 1996's own perfume-vs-other-cosmetics split, now confirmed by reading the primary directly (a review had dropped the perfume qualifier and stated 91% as if it covered 'natural cosmetics' generally; corrected 2026-09-27). Rastogi 1996 also found synthetic-only fragrance chemicals (hydroxycitronellal, alpha-hexylcinnamic aldehyde) in some 'natural' products, at concentrations that in one case (6.04% hydroxycitronellal) exceeded the level shown to sensitize 36% of volunteers in patch testing. 82/100 is Klaschka 2016's independent label analysis (10 products from each of 10 brands, not representative, declarations only). The oxidation half rests on Karlberg/Bråred Christensson primaries, not on these surveys. Single small studies (n=42 and n=100), not replicated across labs, so strength stays moderate per the grading rule.
Source: Pastor-Nieto 2021 (Rastogi 1996; Klaschka 2016), Current Treatment Options in Allergy Link to this fact
Green, natural and unscented / Measured in people or real products
In a check of 100 'natural' personal-care products from 10 European natural-cosmetics brands, 82 listed at least one of the EU's labeled fragrance allergens (up to 11 in one product); limonene was on 71 labels and linalool on 70.
Moderate evidence: Label declarations only, no chemical analysis; 10 products from each of 10 anonymous brands, not representative; 2013-15, when the EU list had 26 allergens.
Source: Klaschka 2016, Environmental Sciences Europe Link to this fact
Green, natural and unscented / Government agency
A product carrying the EPA Safer Choice 'fragrance-free' label can still have a smell, because ordinary functional ingredients such as surfactants and solvents can carry an odor without being classified as a fragrance material.
Moderate evidence: EPA states this directly; it is a definitional carve-out, not a measurement of any certified product's actual odor.
Source: US EPA Safer Choice Link to this fact
Green, natural and unscented / Other evidence
GOTS 8.1 contains no rule on perfume, scent, or aroma finishes in ordinary clothing; its only fragrance clause (COSMOS criteria) covers Group II personal-care textiles such as tampons and cotton buds, so a GOTS label does not mean fragrance-free clothing.
Moderate evidence: Absence from this document; the Implementation Manual and the Positive List of chemical inputs were not read.
Source: GOTS 8.1 (2026) Link to this fact
Green, natural and unscented / Measured in people or real products
Scented tampons carried a median of 692 ng/g of fragrance terpenes against 2.9 ng/g in unscented ones.
Weak evidence: Only 2 scented vs 20 unscented tampons (p=0.04).
Source: Lin 2020, Environment International Link to this fact
Green, natural and unscented / Other evidence
Candles made from renewable waxes (beeswax, soy, coconut, palm) scented with natural essential oils are generally safer and more sustainable than paraffin candles, but still carry an environmental cost through deforestation and habitat destruction from increased crop demand.
Weak evidence.
Caveats
No emissions or land-use quantification given; our own chamber data (Salthammer 2021, Andersen 2021) also show wax type has little effect on formaldehyde/PAH output compared to fragrance load, so a wax switch alone may not reduce indoor-air health risk even if it changes the environmental footprint.
Source: Singh 2023, Environmental Science & Technology Link to this fact
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.