Kids don’t choose what they breathe or what goes on their skin. Adults do. Here’s what the research shows about fragrance around babies and children, with the grade on every point and no scare stories.
Evidence key Strong Moderate Weak How we grade
Scent is built into kids’ products
About half of children's cosmetics in a Danish registry (634 of 1,179, 53.8%) listed perfume or a named fragrance allergen, and a US survey of 533 baby/child personal care products found a closely similar share (255/533, 47.8%; Bonchak 2018); in Danish baby-care products the commonest named allergens were linalool, limonene and benzyl alcohol (the US primary does not report limonene or linalool by name). Strong evidence. Sukakul 2024 Industry-funded
Some of it is aimed squarely at babies. A perfume ('eau de cologne') marketed for babies listed 16 different fragrance allergens, the most of 1,179 children's products in a Danish registry. Strong evidence. Botvid 2023
And “fragrance free” on a kids’ product doesn’t settle it. Even products marketed 'fragrance free' for children commonly contain contact allergens: of 52 US pediatric products so labeled in 2013, 42 (80.8%) contained at least one NACDG-tray allergen and 29 (55.8%) contained two or more. Strong evidence. Hamann 2015 Benzyl alcohol, a fragrance allergen dubbed the "covert fragrance," was found in 32 of 533 US baby and children's personal care products (6%) with no "fragrance," "perfume," or "parfum" wording anywhere on the label. Moderate evidence. Bonchak 2018
What children breathe
In 34 California childcare centers, the chemicals at the highest levels in the air children breathed came from cleaning and personal-care products: a silicone ingredient called D5 (median 51 µg/m³) and the citrus-scent chemical limonene (median 33 µg/m³). Strong evidence. Hoang 2016
In a national Canadian birth cohort (n=2,022), infants in homes with more frequent use of household cleaning products at 3–4 months of age had higher odds of recurrent wheeze (adjusted OR 1.35 per interquartile increase in use) and of an asthma diagnosis (adjusted OR 1.37) by age 3, but no higher odds of isolated allergic sensitization (skin-prick positivity). Strong evidence. Parks et al. 2020
The safety limits weren’t written with children in mind. Indoor irritant limits are built on studies of healthy young adults; a 2024 toxicology review found only one controlled irritation study in children (none under age 5) and concluded no evidence-based safety factor for children could be set. Strong evidence. Kleinbeck & Wolkoff 2024 Industry-funded
Pregnancy
What you put on can show up in your body. Pregnant women who had used perfume or cologne in the past day had 167% higher urine levels of MEP, the breakdown product of the fragrance solvent diethyl phthalate (DEP), than women who hadn't (177 women, Boston). Strong evidence. Braun 2014 The more personal care products a pregnant woman used in a day, the higher her urine levels of phthalates and parabens, rising step by step. Moderate evidence. Braun 2014
Researchers haven’t shown that fragrance use in pregnancy harms babies, and we won’t claim it does. But nobody needs perfume, and skipping it during pregnancy cuts one exposure you control.
Breast milk
Synthetic musk fragrance chemicals were found in the breast milk of every one of 39 Massachusetts mothers tested in 2004; the most common, galaxolide (HHCB), was in 97% of them. Strong evidence. Reiner 2007 Synthetic musks reach mothers and babies mainly through the skin (cosmetics and clothes washed in scented detergent), not through food. Moderate evidence. Schmeiser 2001
No study here found that these traces harm babies, and none of this is a reason to stop breastfeeding. It is a reason to question why scent chemicals from perfume and detergent end up in milk at all.
Lavender and tea tree: not proven, not debunked
You’ll read that these oils cause breast growth in children, and you’ll read that the idea was debunked. Neither is right.
As of 2019, the evidence that lavender or tea tree oil causes breast growth in young children consisted only of case reports: 11 children described in detail in 4 papers, with no controlled study. Moderate evidence. Hawkins 2020 Industry-funded Even a review that found little evidence of harm from lavender and tea tree oil in children warned that 'a lack of evidence of harm cannot be interpreted as evidence of safety' for essential oils in children's products. Moderate evidence. Hawkins 2020 Industry-funded
The reassuring study has its own problems. The study most often cited to call lavender and tea tree oils 'safe' for children was part-funded by the Australian Tea Tree Industry Association, the Tisserand Institute and an aromatherapy association, while declaring no conflicts of interest. Strong evidence. Hawkins 2021 Industry-funded
If a young child has unexplained early breast development, it is reasonable to ask about lavender and tea tree products, including room diffusers, and try stopping them – which is what the study's authors recommend to doctors. Moderate evidence. Ramsey 2019
What you can do
- Pediatric dermatologists advise that products for children be mild, slightly acidic and fragrance-free. Moderate evidence. Melo 2020
- Green, organic or natural labels on baby products did not mean fewer released chemicals, so choosing products labeled fragrance-free (without essential oils) is the more reliable way to avoid scent chemicals. Moderate evidence. Nematollahi 2018 Our label decoder flags fragrance, essential oils and allergens, plus anything banned in EU cosmetics or listed as a hormone disruptor or carcinogen.
- If a child develops unexplained breast tissue, tell the doctor about every product put on the skin, including homemade balms and essential-oil or 'natural' products; in one reported case the lavender balm came to light only after repeated questioning. Moderate evidence. Henley 2007
- Look up baby and kids’ products in EWG Skin Deep before you buy, and household cleaners in EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning.
- Ask your childcare center or school what they clean with and whether they use air fresheners. Use the letter below, and bring a fragrance-free classroom sign.
A letter for your school or childcare
Scented air in a classroom is often a product choice nobody has questioned. A short, specific letter is a good place to start. Fill in the brackets and cut anything that doesn’t fit, or use our letter builder.
Subject: Fragrance-free air in [classroom / room name] Hi [name], I'm [child's name]'s [parent / guardian] in [class or room]. I'd like to ask about the air in the room. [Choose what applies:] - I've noticed [plug-in air fresheners / scented candles / reed diffusers / scented sprays] in [the classroom / the restrooms / the nap room]. - I'd like to know which cleaning and laundry products are used in the room, and whether fragrance-free versions are an option. - [Child's name] [has asthma / has allergies / gets headaches / reacts to strong scents], and scented products in the room make that worse. Would you consider: - removing air fresheners, diffusers and scented candles from [the room / the building] - switching to fragrance-free cleaning, hand soap and laundry products where you can - asking staff and visitors to skip perfume and cologne in [the room] I'm happy to help, including suggesting fragrance-free products. There's more information at ihateperfume.com/parents. Thank you, [your name] [phone or email]
- If your child has a diagnosed condition, ask about adding fragrance to their health or care plan, and ask your doctor for a short note to go with it.
- Keep it friendly. Staff may not have chosen the products, and they breathe the same air all day.
- Ask other parents to sign on. A few families asking together is much harder to wave off. Our one-page fact sheet is handy to pass around.
Every claim above shows its evidence grade and names its source, with a link wherever one exists. See all the children and pregnancy facts and the claims we won’t make. Information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pediatrician about your child.