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 / Self-reported survey
In a Brazilian hospital survey, caregivers said two in three children aged 14 and under (182 of 276, median age 4) wore perfume.
Moderate evidence: One Curitiba tertiary-hospital clinic sample, 2015-16; 'perfume' undefined; no frequency, age, or sex breakdown; count identical to children's shampoo (possible copy error).
Source: Melo 2020, Revista Paulista de Pediatria Link to this fact
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
In a Danish registry of 1,179 cosmetics marketed for children, more than half (634, 53.8%) listed perfume or a named fragrance allergen, and nearly half (550, 46.6%) named at least one of the 26 EU-listed fragrance allergens.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
Label tally from a user-scanned consumer-app registry (2015-22), not market-weighted; 'fragranced' includes products naming only benzyl alcohol (often a preservative); sub-threshold allergens not declared.
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
Pregnant women who used perfume in a 48-hour window had 2.3 times higher urinary levels of MEP, the breakdown product of the fragrance solvent diethyl phthalate (DEP), than non-users, in a study of 186 low-income African American and Dominican pregnant women in New York City, independently replicating the same finding in a Boston fertility-clinic cohort (Braun 2014, 167% higher) and a postpartum cohort (Parlett 2013, 2.92x).
Moderate evidence: Exposure marker only, no health outcome; single cohort, cross-sectional; 95% CI 1.6-3.3 overlaps Braun 2014 and Parlett 2013.
Source: Just 2010, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology Link to this fact
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
More frequent perfume use tracked higher urinary MEP in pregnant women in a clear dose-response pattern.
Moderate evidence: N=128 subset; exposure marker only, no health outcome.
Source: Just 2010, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology 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
Everyday children's shampoos, shower gels, creams, and lotions rarely contained fragrance-mix allergens, cinnamic alcohol, cinnamic aldehyde, and isoeugenol were absent from every sample tested, while the notable allergen exposure was concentrated in perfume-type products and one toy.
Moderate evidence: N=5 shampoos/shower gels, n=4 creams/lotions; small sample.
Children and pregnancy / Self-reported survey
In a random sample of Swedish teenagers aged 13-19, about 1 in 6 (15.6%) said they were bothered by strong odors such as perfume, cleaning agents, or flower scents, most often affecting the nose.
Moderate evidence: Single-item self-report; general odor sensitivity, not fragranced-product-specific; one Swedish town.
Source: Andersson 2008, International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health Link to this fact
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
In the same large study (N=753), urinary levels of diethyl phthalate (DEP), the phthalate most strongly and consistently tied to perfume and fragranced personal-care product use, showed no association with anogenital distance in baby boys, the largest and best-controlled human test yet of this specific fragrance-phthalate reproductive claim, in the same boys where DEHP did show an effect.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
A null result in one (albeit the largest) cohort cannot fully rule out an effect at higher exposure levels than this population had; two smaller medium-confidence cohorts (Odense, SELMA) were also null, per US EPA's review.
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
In 101 Swedish first-time mothers tested over seven years, women who used perfume once a week or more had significantly higher levels of the musk chemical galaxolide (HHCB) in their breast milk than women who used it less often.
Moderate evidence: Product-use data from a N=44 subset; cross-sectional association, not an intervention; adjusted for sampling year.
Source: Lignell 2008, Environmental Science & Technology Link to this fact
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
Mothers who used perfumed laundry detergent had significantly higher levels of the musk chemical tonalide (AHTN) in their breast milk than mothers who used unscented detergent.
Moderate evidence: Product-use data from a N=44 subset; cross-sectional association, not an intervention; adjusted for sampling year.
Source: Lignell 2008, Environmental Science & Technology Link to this fact
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 / Animal study
Diethyl phthalate (DEP), the phthalate used as a fragrance solvent and fixative in colognes, perfumes, and nail polish, has never been tested alone for transgenerational (multi-generation) reproductive effects; the only relevant animal study exposed pregnant mice to a five-phthalate mixture that was 35% DEP, and could not separate DEP's contribution from the other four phthalates.
Moderate evidence.
Caveats
The mixture's effective doses ranged from about 200 micrograms/kg/day (near the paper's own DEP human-exposure estimate of 2.32-12 micrograms/kg/day) up to 500 milligrams/kg/day (occupational or medical-device range), so it does not establish an effect at typical consumer exposure.
Children and pregnancy / Measured in people or real products
French parents applied just as much eau de toilette/perfume to babies aged 0-3 per application (mean 370 mg, 95th percentile 695 mg, n=48) as adults applied to themselves (mean 254-262 mg, 95th percentile 586-617 mg) — and nearly a quarter (24%) of parents sprayed it directly onto the baby's skin rather than only onto clothing.
Moderate evidence: Small baby subgroup (n=48); amount reflects supervised single-application weighing, not habitual daily practice.
Source: Ficheux et al. 2016 (amount data), Food and Chemical Toxicology Link to this fact
Children and pregnancy / Review of other studies
The review's one 'diethyl phthalate' preterm-birth result (OR 1.36, 1.06-1.76) comes from phthalate-containing prescription drugs taken late in pregnancy, not from perfume or cosmetics.
Moderate evidence: Single Danish registry study (Broe 2019) relayed secondhand; the review says the association was 'mainly due to DEP'.
Source: Almeida-Toledano 2024, Science of The Total Environment Link to this fact
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.