Is fragrance skincare good for my skin?
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BASE SKNCARE
When creating BASE something I knew from the get-go was that we were never going to fragrance the products, despite many other brands choosing to do so. Of course, perfumed products can smell good enough to eat, but they also risk being problematic for your skin too.
Now this goes for both natural and synthetic fragrances. ‘Natural’ definitely doesn’t mean better despite popular belief and essential oils can be more volatile than most other substances in skincare.
One of the reasons I chose not to add fragrance to our products is because it’s only there for aesthetic purposes. It doesn't actually offer any benefit to your skin or to the product and I always knew I would never add an ingredient unless it needs to be there. This keeps our ingredients list concise, potent and most importantly, results-driven.
The other reason is that it can be highly irritating to your skin. In fact, fragrance has been proven to be the biggest cause of cosmetic contact dermatitis…something we’d like to avoid at all costs. If you have sensitive skin fragrance can lead to the redness, burning and itching sensations you’ll be familiar with.
But even if your skin isn’t sensitive, it could still be impacting you.
Fragrance causes irritation at a cellular level which means inflammation in the deeper layers of your skin. You may not notice these changes immediately, but over time they will start to appear. It’s similar to what happens if you don’t wear SPF – years later sunspots, pigmentation and other skin damage begin to show.
Now this goes for both natural and synthetic fragrances. ‘Natural’ definitely doesn’t mean better despite popular belief and essential oils can be more volatile than most other substances in skincare.
One of the reasons I chose not to add fragrance to our products is because it’s only there for aesthetic purposes. It doesn't actually offer any benefit to your skin or to the product and I always knew I would never add an ingredient unless it needs to be there. This keeps our ingredients list concise, potent and most importantly, results-driven.
The other reason is that it can be highly irritating to your skin. In fact, fragrance has been proven to be the biggest cause of cosmetic contact dermatitis…something we’d like to avoid at all costs. If you have sensitive skin fragrance can lead to the redness, burning and itching sensations you’ll be familiar with.
But even if your skin isn’t sensitive, it could still be impacting you.
Fragrance causes irritation at a cellular level which means inflammation in the deeper layers of your skin. You may not notice these changes immediately, but over time they will start to appear. It’s similar to what happens if you don’t wear SPF – years later sunspots, pigmentation and other skin damage begin to show.
It may now seem strange that there is fragrance in any kind of skincare, or makeup for that matter. But some brands want to create an experience to appeal to all our senses, despite the evidence and science stacked against it.
And that’s where my Aesthetician hat kicks in. I’ll always be a Skincare Expert before a business woman.
If it doesn’t benefit your skin, it’s not welcome at the BASE party. For me, it’s results over sweet scents any day of the week which also makes all our products safe for those on the sensitive side
Amy x
Amy x
Amy is a qualified skin expert and founder of BASE. When she’s not writing about skincare, you’ll find her applying it, developing it or daydreaming about it instead!
