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.
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
In a Danish/multi-country test of 25 children's cosmetics and cosmetic-toys, all 7 hydro-alcoholic children's fragrance products (5 eau de toilette, 1 eau de parfum, 1 roll-on deodorant) contained the allergen geraniol, and a separate children's toy-cosmetic perfume-blending kit's lilac essence contained cinnamic alcohol at 3.7%, about 4.6x (the paper's abstract states "by a factor of 5") the IFRA guideline of 0.8%.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Now sourced from the primary study (Rastogi 1999; n=25 products, Denmark/Germany/England/Sweden, 1997-98) rather than relayed via a review. Single small study, not replicated: strength stays moderate per the grading rule. The geraniol finding is for regular children's fragrance products, not toys; only 1 of 3 toy-perfume-set essences had the elevated cinnamic alcohol — the review's original "cosmetic-toy perfumes" framing conflated the two.
Source: Pastor-Nieto 2021 (Rastogi 1999), Current Treatment Options in Allergy Link to this fact
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
In a 1999 European lab test, all 7 children's hydro-alcoholic fragrance products (eau de toilette, eau de parfum, roll-on deodorant) contained the allergen geraniol, and a children's toy perfume-blending kit's "lilac essence" contained cinnamic alcohol at 3.7%, about 4.6x (the paper's abstract states "by a factor of 5") the industry's own 0.8% safety guideline.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
N=25 products total, n=7 hydro-alcoholic products and n=1 toy item for the two headline numbers; single small study (Denmark/Germany/England/Sweden, 1997-98), not replicated for this specific product set.
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
A deodorant vapo-spray labeled "perfume for babies" in this 1996 European sample contained 14 of 21 tested fragrance substances at levels up to 1640 ppm, including 4 fragrance-mix allergens.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
A single product, not a category survey; the authors note sensitization is rarely seen in the first 2-3 years of life, but warn that early exposure to established contact allergens may cause problems later.
Source: Rastogi et al. 1998, Contact Dermatitis Link to this fact
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
In a study of 36 Swedish breastfeeding mothers, those who used a triclosan-containing toothpaste, soap, or deodorant had significantly higher triclosan in both their blood plasma and their breast milk than mothers who did not (median plasma 16 vs. 0.072 ng/g, milk 0.54 vs. 0.019 ng/g; p<0.001).
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Single-cohort, single-country study; one small earlier study from an overlapping author group (Sandborgh-Englund 2006, n=10) found no group difference, likely due to being underpowered.
Source: Allmyr 2006, Science of The Total Environment Link to this fact
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.