Are Home Fragrances Safe?

Who doesn’t love coming home to a house that smells like chocolate chip cookies? Or fresh herbs like lavender? You can even recreate your favorite scent memories like the beloved white tea-cedar-vanilla scent made famous by The Westin Hotel and Resorts in your own home.

The home fragrance/air freshener industry offers hundreds of scents and many products such as candles, oils, incense sticks, potpourri, gels, reeds, diffusers, plug-ins, sprays, car fresheners, wax tarts, soaps and sachets. And these products are popular, and the home fragrance industry is quite lucrative. In fact, it was valued at $10 billion in 2023.

But are they safe?

Fragrances can comprise thousands of chemicals, but manufacturers aren’t required to list all the chemicals used on a product label. Instead, the term ‘fragrance’ may be used as an umbrella term for 3,500 chemicals. Unfortunately, some of these chemicals may be toxic, leading the Environmental Working Group to assign the term ‘fragrance’ with one of the highest hazard ranking scores possible in their system.

Additionally, the efficacy of some home fragrance/air freshening products is questionable. For instance, some brands market their products as having aromatherapeutic benefits such as easing pain, anxiety, stress and depression. However, fragrance oils are ineffective for aromatherapy, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. And some air freshening products are designed to remove odors and disinfect the air, but University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have found these claims difficult to prove scientifically.

What’s in Home Fragrances?

Home fragrances are perfumes, and like other perfumes, they begin with an oil. The oil may be an essential oil, or an oil extracted from natural ingredients such as plants, spices, fruits, resins and woods. Once the fragrance oil is created, synthetic compounds are added to improve the quality and performance. But some of these compounds may have side effects or might cause chemical reactions, particularly if you use them regularly or are exposed to high levels. Here are a few chemicals found in fragrance oils:

Alcohol (i.e., ethanol) is a chemical compound used to dissolve oil in water to be blended into a water-based spray, producing a fluid that doesn’t separate. It also helps carry a fragrance through the air, making it possible to smell. Alcohol doesn’t cause a lot of health issues, but it can be an irritant if it contacts your skin.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are gases emitted into the air by air fresheners and other types of home fragrances that commonly use plant-based essential oils. They may cause eye, nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, breathing difficulties, nausea, nervous system issues, organ damage and some types of cancer. VOCs are found in many household products including paints, cleaners, pesticides, personal care products, many aerosol sprays, new cabinets, rugs, wood floors, furniture and beds. And they’re absorbed into walls and furniture. Examples include aldehydes and benzene.  

Aldehydes are compounds with a pronounced scent. They can be synthetic or found naturally occurring in rose, pine essence, vanilla, citronella, cinnamon bark and orange rind. They’re used to tame the harshness of stronger scents and promote a radiant quality to the fragrance. Exposure to aldehydes might cause headaches, asthma attacks and other breathing difficulties, such as respiratory dermatitis, and neurological issues if you’re very sensitive. But that’s only part of the problem; they’re also reactive and convert to VOCs. Examples of aldehydes include formaldehyde (a carcinogen) and acetaldehyde (a probable carcinogen).        

Petrochemicals are chemical products refined from petroleum. Many home fragrances are petroleum-based; in fact, some experts estimate that 80 percent of synthetic home fragrances are comprised of petrochemicals. These chemicals are added to help maintain the integrity and shelf life of fragrances, but often contain substances such as phthalates, benzophenone and styrene, which have been linked to allergic reactions, cancer, heart disease and infertility.

Phthalates are a class of chemicals added to fragrances to maintain the scent longer. However, they’re known endocrine disruptors, which may increase the risk for asthma, allergies, cancer and learning, attention/behavioral difficulties in children. 

Benzophenone is an ultraviolet curing agent that can enhance fragrances and prevent color loss. But there’s concern that benzophenone is a carcinogen and an endocrine disruptor.  

Styrene is a highly volatile, colorless, flammable liquid that helps prolong fragrance. Exposure to it has been linked to skin, eye, and upper respiratory tract irritation and gastrointestinal symptoms.

Coal tar is a complex mixture of compounds derived from burning coal. It is added to aerosol perfumes, including some air fresheners/home fragrances, to help the fragrance release and evaporate slowly and stick to surfaces. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (better known as PAHs), which may affect the eyes, kidneys and liver.

Home Fragrances Labeled as Natural

Some home fragrance brands use cleaner ingredients than others. Unfortunately, many air fresheners and home fragrances marketed as green, natural or non-toxic may still have VOCs. They’re simply listed as fragrance on the label.

Alternatives to Commercial Home Fragrances

If you would like a cleaner approach to air fresheners and home fragrances, you can make your own using natural ingredients such as baking soda, coffee, essential oils, fruits, herbs, spices and vanilla. Here are a few sites to help you get going.  

• Lemons, Lavender and Laundry – homemade air freshener
• House of Hawthornes – DIY natural room scent
• Dream Green DIY – natural home fragrance ideas