Green Daily

Perfumes and fragrances are a huge industry and it feels like fragrance is in everything, from your classic perfumes, to all your other personal care products, to home fragrance products and even detergents and cleaning products. Well, some of these fragrances may not be all that good for you.

According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), fragrances are indeed added chemicals and manufacturers and manufacturers are not even required to list the chemicals that make up the fragrance (as not to give away the trade secrets). For example, according to EWG, phthalates are often found in "fragrance," and are known to be hormone disruptors. But you won't be able to decipher that from the ingredient list.

So, you may be tempted to pick the "Unscented" version of certain things where a scent is not necessary. However, choosing products that are "Unscented" doesn't quite solve the dilemma either. "Unscented" may mean that the manufacturer has simply added a fragrance to mask the original odor. When trying to avoid any added fragrance, the best choice is "Fragrance-Free."

But what about for the times that you want a fragrance, whether it be for your home or body? How do you know that what you are spraying on yourself or diffusing into the air of your home is safe? Check it out through the Cosmetics Database of course! While you're there, run your current fragrance though the database, and see how it rates on hazard. And don't be fooled by labels on products that you see around. Just because something has some warm, earthy title like "aromatherapy" or "natural," it may not mean anything.

See the gallery below for some low hazard fragrance picks!