Synchronicity has struck. In one day I stumbled upon three perfume bloggers who have written how they have either had to stop using perfume altogether, or at least drastically cut back on their use of perfume. I was idly searching back through the Urban Farmer blog and found
this post, dramatically titled The End of Scent. When I read the comments, I noticed that Heather of
Memory and Desire discussed her problems with scent and having to stop using fragrance entirely. I was wondering why she hadn't blogged since May - now I know.
With Heather, it's headaches, for Lou, well, she had a litany of problems. Savvy, they cut back on scent usage. It's tearing their souls up, but their bodies are healing.
It's been barely three years since the birth of perfume blogs. I'm wondering if we're now seeing the "canary in the coal mine" syndrome starting to surface. Often I have read on forums snarky comments from perfumistas about those who complain about strong perfume. There are two sides to every coin: perhaps the perfumista with a snark doesn't have sensitivities caused by overexposure to strong scent, and the complainer does. There are few biological certainties, generalities, yes, but few certainties. I'm reminded of when I used to frequent a beauty and fashion forum and we'd all lemming a new face cream or cleanser and every time - every time - I'd have an adverse reaction. Others would write that they have cast-iron skin and nothing bothered them. It's all in the genetics and the amount of exposure, I guess.
Strong perfumes and perfumes containing lots of modern synthetic aromachemicals - they're probably the culprit. Anyone who spritzes on a lot of them will probably wind up - if they're predisposed - to a sensitization as described by Lou and Heather. I base this generalization on the fact that laws have been enacted in the past two decades banning fragrance, lawsuits filed to force people to stop wearing scent, etc., and that, at least to me, coincides with the rise in use of synth aromachemicals and the overuse of fragrance in household items. Strong scents and scent everywhere.
I was mulling all this, and posted to Heather privately about a similar situation for me - with natural aromatics! - following 9/11, and
and a few hours later another blog popped up on my screen with the same sad lament: a perfume blogger is suffering from chemical sensitization.
I pay attention. I notice threads and whispers and signs - three in one day - Wow. Yes, with a capital "W".
The blogger at Scent Signals has a good take on the problem, and a good approach on how to get her fragrance fix in a softer, quieter way.
Before anybody thinks I'm slamming synth perfumes, know that I live my life practically unexposed to them. Yes, in the past, I have held my breath in an elevator, or developed a sore scratchy throat and nasal irritation from them. Now, somehow I manage to avoid places with lots of folks who wear them - Sniffapalooza would not be my choice of a good time, although I can appreciate the wit, appreciation and passion those who do attend share. I'm not against synth perfumes intellectually - they just really assault my respiratory system.
As I mentioned before, I had my own sensitization period and
blogged about it briefly here, and wrote about it extensively in the past on my Yahoo group on Natural Perfumery.
I never get colds or the flu. I must have a cast iron immune system, the inner equivalent of those ladies on the fashion forum's skin. Still, pesky irritating mango pollen caused me annual bouts with a stuffed head and runny nose. After the account referenced on my blog, and a course of liver support herbs accompanied by "safe sniffing" practices, I have never even had the mango pollen annual head case return! Yes, a "!" for emphasis. Quite amazing. In my online perfumery class, I emphasize safe sniffing also, and two students who didn't listen, one in the UK and one in AU (who had a predisposition) are suffering nose burn out.
Love perfume? Protect yourself. Cut down, for goodness sake. Maybe alternate with some gentler fragrance options, like yummy rose or neroli hydrosol. Spritzed in the hair or on clothes, they are moderately long-lasting. Dilute essential oils and attars,
discover softer, gentler natural perfumes that are kind to your nose and your neighbors.
The synchronatic reading materials today are the kind of things I pay attention to and just sit back and watch develop further. Heck, I know enough aromatherapists, raw material suppliers and perfumers who have these problems. They overdose on naturals, sniffing out of the bottle, diffusing essential oils into the room constantly.
Everybody just needs to slow down, take some liver support herbs - I'm not a doctor, so I should just suggest that, since it worked for me - and stop being scent gluttons. We're overdosing, we're damaging our ability to use and enjoy the lovely perfumes and essences, and it's about time we woke up and took care of ourselves.
I live a surprisingly scent-free life. I use unscented soap for my laundry and dishes. I occasionally use some lightly-scented shower products from members of the Natural Perfumers Guild, and I never burn incense. I just received some fabulous incense from a Guild member, and I sniffed it appreciatively, but I know smoke molecules are very, very bad for me, so it won't be burned. Occasionally, maybe once a month, I'll diffuse some light scent into the air. I save my scent pleasures for the perfume-formulating table and evaluating raw materials. I wear perfume maybe twice a week. I play with scent memory constantly. I live the scent in my head and enjoy it. Memories of Mandy Aftel's Pink Lotus or Worth's Je Reviens? They're there, to be drawn up in an instant. If I get really moved, I may open a bottle and apply a tiny bit.
My life is a rich, full tapestry of scent. Scent occupies almost every waking hour - but it's often unsniffed. I know this sounds strange, but it's lovely, fulfilling and I'm totally satisfied.
It would be a shame if the explosion of interest and conversation about raw materials, perfumes and the scented life would be the extinction of the ability of some of the passionate people's ability to enjoy their muse and their calling. With this in mind, I ask you to reconsider your usage of scent, I ask you to get a little more conservative and I ask you to protect yourself so that you may live out the rest of your life with the ability to keep on enjoying scent, responsibly.