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
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
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.