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.
Skin allergy / Review of other studies
Standard fragrance-allergy patch screening (fragrance mix I plus balsam of Peru) is estimated to identify only 60 to 70 percent of people with true fragrance allergy, due to the evolving ingredient mix used by the perfume industry.
Weak evidence: Secondhand figure relayed from the authors' ref. 11 (a NACDG/Scheman source), not independently verified or re-derived in this paper.
Source: Zirwas & Moennich 2008, The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology Link to this fact
Skin allergy / Self-reported survey
A previous rash from perfumed cosmetics was significantly associated with a positive patch test to the product perfumes (p = 0.001), suggesting the reactions were clinically relevant.
Weak evidence: Self-reported rash history; association test only, clinic patients.
Source: Johansen 1997, Contact Dermatitis Link to this fact
Skin allergy / Other evidence
36.4% of surveyed UAE women reported an adverse reaction to cosmetics in the past 2 years, mainly skin redness (20.6%), pimples (18.4%) and itching (16.9%); skincare (21.7%) and makeup (14.1%) were blamed far more often than perfume (5.2%).
Weak evidence.
Caveats
Open-link snowball sample of 461 women, mostly young and university-educated; self-report, no exposure measurement; not weighted, so not a UAE prevalence. Mixes fragrance-related and non-fragrance reactions (pimples, hair loss, pigmentation); attribution is the respondent's own.
Source: AlBlooshi 2026, Frontiers in Toxicology Link to this fact
Information, not medical advice. See also: myths we won’t tell you.