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.
Hidden ingredients / Self-reported survey
In this Swedish sample the diethyl phthalate metabolite MEP was not higher with fragrance use in mothers or children; it was higher with sunscreen (mothers) and eye make-up (children, only 6 users), in contrast to US studies where perfume use was the strongest MEP predictor.
Weak evidence.
Caveats
Frequency-of-use question rather than 24-hour recall, very few weekly fragrance users (5 children), borderline CIs, Swedish MEP far below US levels; a null in a small sample, not evidence that perfume is free of DEP.
Source: Larsson 2014, Environment International Link to this fact
Hidden ingredients / Measured in people or real products
In the same study, scented household cleaning products were not linked to higher levels of any measured chemical, and urine BPA was lower in children from homes that used them (ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.49-0.98), so 'scented products' did not behave as one exposure.
Weak evidence: Likely chance or residual confounding on a wide multi-model estimate; shows heterogeneity of product categories rather than a protective effect.
Source: Fandiño-Del-Rio 2024, Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology Link to this fact
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.