We believe fragrance-free products are usually the better choice because most skin-care and cleaning products do not need added fragrance to do their job. Choosing fragrance-free makes sense even if you have never reacted to fragrance, and it can be especially helpful if fragrance irritates your skin or causes headaches, coughing, or other respiratory symptoms.
Fragrance-free is only one part of the label, so read the full ingredient list and avoid anything else that bothers you.
What is fragrance?
Fragrance is a blend added to give a product a scent or cover the smell of its other ingredients. On a label, the whole blend may appear as one word, such as “fragrance,” “perfume,” or “parfum.” This means you may not see each fragrance ingredient listed separately.
The 2025 IFRA Transparency List includes about 4,000 fragrance and supporting ingredients used across the global fragrance industry. These ingredients make up the wider palette used to create scents for beauty, cleaning, home-care, and personal-care products. It does not mean that one product contains all 4,000 ingredients.
Why fragrance-free matters for everyone
Choosing fragrance-free means leaving out an added blend of scent ingredients. We think it is the better starting point for everyday products like moisturizer, shampoo, and laundry detergent, even if fragrance has never bothered you.
Added fragrance changes how a product smells, not how well a shampoo cleans, a detergent washes, or a moisturizer hydrates.
If you have allergies or sensitive skin, avoiding fragrance can be especially helpful. According to the FDA, fragrance ingredients can cause allergic reactions in some people. These often appear as itchy, red skin or contact dermatitis. Fragrance can also trigger an eczema flare, so the American Academy of Dermatology recommends fragrance-free skin care for people with atopic dermatitis.
Fragrance can affect more than your skin. According to the FDA, people who are sensitive to fragrance may experience headaches, coughing, chest tightness, wheezing, or shortness of breath after breathing it in.
Health concerns associated with fragrance
Studies have associated exposure to fragranced products with migraines, breathing difficulties, and asthma episodes. Fragrance allergy is also well established and can cause allergic contact dermatitis.
There are broader concerns about some chemicals used in perfumes and fragranced personal-care products. For example, studies have found that perfume use can increase exposure to certain phthalates, a group of chemicals being studied for possible endocrine and reproductive effects.
Evidence about a particular ingredient or type of exposure does not prove that every fragranced product causes cancer, hormone disruption, or reproductive problems. However, the research provides a reasonable basis for avoiding unnecessary fragrance and choosing fragrance-free products when suitable alternatives are available.
Fragrance-free and unscented are not the same
If you want to avoid fragrance, choose fragrance-free rather than unscented. Unscented only means that you cannot smell the product. It may still contain fragrance added to cover the smell of other ingredients.
Natural scents count too. Essential oils and other natural fragrances can irritate sensitive skin. Check the full ingredient list if you want to avoid both synthetic and natural fragrance.
Our guide to fragrance-free, unscented, and hypoallergenic labels explains these terms in more detail.
A fragrance-free label does not tell you everything
Fragrance-free products can still contain dyes, preservatives, or other ingredients that irritate your skin. The FDA lists these as separate groups of cosmetic allergens, so removing fragrance does not remove every possible trigger.
The label also does not mean that a product is automatically hypoallergenic, natural, noncomedogenic, or right for every person. In the United States, there is no federal standard that defines cosmetic claims such as “fragrance-free,” “hypoallergenic,” or “for sensitive skin.” Use the claim as a starting point, then read the full ingredient list.
Fragrance-free does not mean that a product is free of synthetic ingredients, and “natural” does not mean fragrance-free. The useful question is whether the product contains an added scent blend or another ingredient that you know causes trouble for you. “Natural” is not a substitute for checking the label.
How to choose a fragrance-free product
Start by looking for fragrance-free on the package. Then check the ingredients, especially if you already know what bothers your skin. These simple steps can help:
- Choose fragrance-free instead of unscented.
- Look for fragrance, perfume, parfum, essential oils, and scented plant extracts in the ingredient list.
- Try one new skin-care product at a time so it is easier to spot a reaction.
- Stop using a product if it causes irritation or other symptoms.
If you have eczema, the AAD suggests testing a new skin-care product on a small area every day for seven to ten days before using it more widely. Talk to a healthcare professional if you have a reaction or keep reacting without knowing the cause. A dermatologist may suggest patch testing to help find the ingredient responsible.
You can find practical options in our guides to fragrance-free eczema creams and fragrance-free body lotions and creams. To reduce fragrance elsewhere in your home, see our beginner’s guide to living without fragrance and fragrance-free laundry detergent guide.
Where to start at home
You do not have to replace everything in one shopping trip. Start with products that stay on your body or remain close to you for hours. Moisturizer, deodorant, laundry detergent, fabric softener, bedding sprays, and air fresheners are practical first places to look.
Laundry is easy to overlook because detergent is rinsed away, yet scented clothes, towels, and sheets stay close to your skin for hours. A fragrance-free detergent can clean them without adding perfume. If you use fabric softener or scent boosters, check those separately because switching the detergent alone will not remove fragrance from the rest of the wash routine.
Next, look at products that put scent into the air, including plug-ins, room sprays, diffusers, and scented candles. Essential oils are fragrances too, so replacing a synthetic air freshener with an essential-oil version does not make the room fragrance-free. For cleaning products, choose based on what the product needs to do rather than treating a strong smell as proof that a surface is clean.
Change one category at a time if you are trying to work out what bothers you. That makes the process less expensive and gives you a better chance of noticing which change actually helped.
So, are fragrance-free products better for your health?
Yes, we believe fragrance-free is the better default. It avoids an added blend that most skin-care and cleaning products do not need, and the benefits are not limited to people with a known sensitivity. Just remember that fragrance-free does not mean every ingredient will suit you. Read the full label and choose a formula that works well for you.
