Scientifically Proven Side Effects Of Wearing Perfume

Humans have relied on fragrance at least since the time of the ancient Egyptians, who made use of herbs, flowers, and animal products to create scented ointments and oils for personal use and ceremonial purposes. Today, the main reason people rely on scented products such as perfumes, lotions, and deodorants is to mask body odor and smell pleasant. However, scent plays a much larger role in our daily lives than many realize, as it also influences memories, mood, and even health.

These days, spraying perfume is an ingrained aspect of the daily routine, but it isn't simply to uphold standards of hygiene. Yes, a spritz of your signature perfume helps you feel confident and sexy — especially if you use an alluring scent with aphrodisiac qualities — but smelling great also sends a message to others, making you seem more attractive, approachable, and inviting. "When you put on a fragrance that you connect to positively, it can instantly make you feel confident and in a great positive mood — I see clients literally light up, stand a little taller and have a smile on their face when it happens," fragrance expert Danielle Fleming told Elle. As such, applying perfume comes with emotional and social perks along with some less desirable benefits, such as triggering allergies and several surprising cardiovascular symptoms.

Sometimes, the smell of a particular flower or perfume can bring you back to a moment of the past. Perhaps, the scent of gardenias in the air transports you back to your childhood garden, or maybe you catch a whiff of someone's perfume and it reminds you of a loved one who passed away. Your brain makes these connections with the help of scent, which we unconsciously associate with people, places, and events.

"Smells through the olfactory system have strong ties to the memory and fear [center] of the brain (it's why we love that new baby smell or can pick up smoke or gas smells as a warning super quickly)," psychotherapist Daryl Appleton, M.D., told PopSugar. "Our signature scent is more than just something we like; it can be tied into our confidence and linked to our ability to self-soothe by reminding us of times when we felt powerful." Therefore, people associate perfumes with more than cleanliness, confidence, and attraction. Perfume also evokes powerful memories and emotions, which influences the way you feel, behave, and interact with the world.

Some people believe that perfumes can send your stress away and improve your mood, and these individuals would be completely spot on. "When we are surrounded by things that make us feel good — makeup, clothes, sounds, smells — statistically we tend to perform better because we feel better," psychotherapist Daryl Appleton told PopSugar. This phenomenon links back to the brain's ability to associate scents with positive memories and feelings, which is why choosing a signature fragrance helps regulate your mood. "Having a scent on that makes you feel alert, ready, powerful, or calm can also boost your psychological arsenal to 'seizing the day,'" Appleton explained.

According to a 2005 study published in Chemical Senses, certain fragrances, such as clementine, can even reduce stress and stress-induced muscle tension. Similarly, "[w]e typically see citrus smells linked to feeling 'awake' or 'clean' which could help boost mood," Appleton adds. "Other people have noted liking earthy or woody scents that help them feel grounded. For calm, we see lavender and eucalyptus as crowd favorites." There is less research on perfumes containing synthetic fragrance than naturally derived ingredients, but the emotional component of perfume scents and their associated memories is likely a key factor across all aromas.

While some people rely on scents to relieve headaches, others find that the fragrance in perfumes and similarly scented products actually induces headaches or migraines. One of the underlying causes for this is that certain scents can trigger memories and emotions. However, just as people attribute scent to nostalgic childhood memories, they can also attribute smells to stressful or traumatizing experiences. In this case, scent may trigger your fight or flight response and make you feel stressed, a common cause of muscle tension, resulting in headaches and migraines.

Another core reason why perfumes or household scented items cause headaches comes down to the chemicals found in artificially scented products. Synthetic fragrance products often contain between 50 and 300 different ingredients, per a 2003 study published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology. For some, inhaling artificially scented perfumes irritates the sinuses, with the inflammation then leading to sinus headaches. Similarly, those prone to migraines often keep away from strong odors, as extended exposure to strong smells is a known trigger for migraines and nausea, per a 2016 study published in Cephalalgia.

These findings probably seem confusing, as many people believe scented candles and oils can relieve headaches. Indeed, aromatherapy is a helpful way to naturally get rid of headaches, but this more so applies to pure, naturally derived essential oils such as lavender and peppermint than synthetic chemicals produced in a lab.

There are upward of 50 million Americans who experience allergies, per Everyday Health. Unfortunately, for many of these individuals, wearing and inhaling perfume is not a pleasant experience, as they have a greater chance of reacting to the chemicals in perfume than others and may experience symptoms such as asthma flare-ups, rashes, and other allergic reactions. In this case, those who are sensitive to fragrance typically experience symptoms such as a runny nose, sneezing, difficult breathing, and wheezing when exposed to perfumes.

"Often patients with allergies are more sensitive to these irritants due to their baseline allergic disease," the University of Kentucky's Asthma, Allergy, and Sinus Clinics director Beth A. Miller, M.D., told the outlet. People who experience allergy symptoms from perfume may either be sensitive to strong fragrance in general or are allergic to a specific chemical in perfume products. Some individuals also break out in itchy rashes — a type of contact dermatitis — for similar reasons.

One of the more alarming side effects of products containing synthetic fragrance involves the cardiovascular system. According to experts from Ohio State University, fragrances can alter your heart rate and induce changes in blood pressure. However, these are simply the short-term effects of inhaling scented sprays. The long-term health effects are even more concerning. Regular perfume users, along with people who work in the cleaning or cosmetics industry, for instance, are at greater risk of experiencing changes in heart function, namely your heart's ability to pump blood normally.

In this case, it's important to remember that fragrance is not limited to perfumes or colognes but can also be found in candles, laundry detergents, soap, shampoos, air fresheners — the list goes on. Further research has yet to be conducted to examine the extent of these cardiovascular changes — or any other health-related side effect, for that matter — but those who are regularly exposed to the toxic chemicals in synthetic fragrance at work should take care to limit their exposure wherever possible. In other words, look for fragrance-free personal products and wear masks to protect you from scents in public.