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What Does “Allergen-Free” Mean for Commercial Fragrances?
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
air care
What Does “Allergen-Free” Mean for Commercial Fragrances?
Allergy friendliness is important to you. You may have employees with fragrance sensitivities, work in a facility that disallows common allergens, or have sensitive animals to look out for. Whatever the case, it’s important to you that the products you’re buying won’t cause allergic reactions, but what does it really mean when we say “allergen-free”?
At State Chemical, we manufacture and distribute a variety of chemical solutions, including fragranced products. It’s great to find the answer to your odor problems, but it’s a bit trickier when allergens are a subject of concern, and we know that this can add a layer of frustration to the buying process.
To help you make an informed purchase, we will explain what fragrance allergies are, what “allergen-free” means, how this distinction is determined, and how this affects your facility. After reading, you’ll know what products to look for in order to keep your facility safe.
What are Fragrance Allergies?
Fragrance allergies occur when someone has a sensitivity to a fragrance ingredient. When they are exposed to this ingredient, it will cause allergic contact dermatitis, meaning that their skin will become red, itchy, blistered, and swollen and may burn or sting. Fragrance allergies have also been known to lead to eye irritation, congestion, headaches, and even breathing difficulties.
These allergies impact about 1% of adults and 1.8% of children and adolescents, and they can cause serious pain and discomfort to affected individuals. So, when you’re considering odor control for your facility, it’s important to choose safe options for every visitor.
What Does “Allergen-Free” Mean?
If someone has a fragrance allergy, it doesn’t mean they’re allergic to all fragrances, just ones that contain ingredients recognized as allergens. When you find a fragranced product that claims to be allergen-free, you’re looking at a product that smells nice without containing ingredients known to trigger potential fragrance allergies.
Does this mean it’s impossible for your allergen-free fragrance to cause allergies? Unfortunately, no. However, the ingredients in these fragrances have never been reported to cause an allergic reaction, so the chances are very slim that they would cause a reaction.
Choosing an allergen-free product means you can still cover up odors and add an ambience to your space without negatively affecting staff or visitors. Some people prefer to use fragrance-free products to ensure that their products don’t cause irritation, but you have other options too. If you want to control odors in your facility but don’t want to risk harming visitors with allergies, look for allergen-free products.
EU Cosmetic Regulations
The European Union (EU) has commission regulations that determine which ingredients are classified as cosmetic allergens. These regulations are regularly updated any time new ingredients are recognized as allergens, the latest version being EU Cosmetic Regulation 2023/1545. Currently, there are over 80 known fragrance allergens on this list.
It’s important to realize that U.S.-based manufacturers are not mandated to follow these regulations (as opposed to International Fragrance Association [IFRA] guidelines, which IFRA-member companies are required to follow). However, these EU cosmetic regulations were adopted in certain product categories as part of SB-258 Right to Know regulations in California. This means that manufacturers and distributors in California are required to follow these regulations, but this is not necessarily the case in the rest of the country. Therefore, you’ll need to specifically seek out compliant products to ensure that what you’re buying is really allergen-free.
When considering scent solutions, look online and call manufacturers to verify whether products contain known allergens. With a little extra research, you can find safer products for your facility.
How Cosmetic Regulations and Allergen-Free Products Affect Your Facility
Allergen-free products can drastically change people’s experience with your facility. Individuals with fragrance allergies will have difficulty staying in your building if it causes an allergic reaction. These kinds of reactions will make them unlikely to return. Plus, you can potentially lose good employees if they constantly have to work in such conditions.
Meanwhile, if you foster a safe environment for those affected by allergies, your facility will be seen in a more positive light. The clean smell will forge more positive connections, and your safe, comfortable atmosphere won’t go unnoticed.
Allergen-free fragrances are available in some capacity in just about any fragranced product you can find. When you invest in the safety of your facility users, you’ll be seen as more trustworthy and professional.
Learn About State Chemical Fragrance Systems
Allergy friendliness is important to you, but it isn’t always clear what “allergen-free” means or what’s really safe. Now, you know what we mean when we say “allergen-free” and how to find a compliant product.
To continue exploring potential scent solutions for you, watch the video below about State Chemical’s fragrance systems, which each offer allergen-free fragrances.
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