PhotoCredit; pure perfume oils.com
Kwasi Omaro; pure perfume and synthetic perfume, which one will you go for, and why?
Kwabena Agyeman; synthetic perfume because it has strong scent and keeps long on myself.
Kwasi Omaro; yes, very true bro: the synthetic perfume has powerful fixatives which is more volatile than pure or natural perfume. However, there are associated health implications for both.
Kwabena Agyeman; bro, please I am in interested in the health implications of both natural and artificial perfumes.
Kwasi Omaro; according to pure- perfume -oils.com, the pure perfume is wholly natural from essential oils obtained from flowers, shrubs, peel of fruits and others. This pure perfume has no harm on our body and environment unless one is allergic to any of the components. Bro, have you heard of aromatherapist and aromachologist?
Kwabena Agyeman; no please.
Kwasi Omaro; the aromatherapist is one who uses pure essential oils obtained from flowers, plants, trees, shrubs, roots or the peels of fruits (natural perfume) to treat but the aromachologist is one who has studied the relationship between odours/scents and the reactions they produce in humans. In short; this expert can determine how scents affect our mood, and for that matter our behaviours.
Kwabena Agyeman; so this means that perfume has both physical and psychological health effect?
Kwasi Omaro; exactly bro. According to some aromatherapists and aromachologists, pure perfume has analgesic, antibacterial and antidepressant properties which can be used to treat pain, infections as well manage anxiety, relax, restore and refresh the body, mind and soul. You can also use the pure perfume in a massage therapy.
Kwabena Agyeman; bro, this means that the pure perfume is preferable healthy?
Kwasi Omaro; yes bro. Before we proceed to discuss the artificial perfume, let me brief you on the history behind perfumes. In the early civilizations, people used odoriferous flowers for religious rituals like worship. It was also observed that when these odoriferous flowers are burnt, they produced very strong scent. These ideologies attracted the Assyrians and the Egyptians to start using then it had the Greece involved and finally diffuse to all part of the world.
Kwabena Agyeman; I see.
Kwasi Omaro; According to pure-perfume-oils.com, naturalhealthcourses.com and annmariegianni.com, most companies use powerful fixatives like Diethylphthalate (DEP) which is highly volatile to give synthetic perfumes the longevity of the scent you want on yourself, unlike the natural perfume which gives personal fragrance. You might see DEP on some synthetic perfumes label as neantine, peilatinol A and solvanol. These cosmetic players claimed that DEP is a known carcinogen linked to range of birth defects, decreased sperm counts and others as well as cited Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2001 study which revealed that synthetic perfume is linked to reproduction and development problems in human beings. They further argued that synthetic perfumes are associated to allergic reactions like eczema, asthma attacks, headaches, dizziness, skin rashes and skin irritation. These cosmetic players also opined that most cosmetic companies employ the strategy called trade-secret where they do not reveal the use of DEP in their ingredients label to hide it from the public.
Kwabena Agyeman (puzzles); does that mean any synthetic perfume that contain DEP is not healthy to use!
Kwasi Omaro; that’s what some of the cosmetic players are saying. Additionally, aromachologist Maa Bea Quaynor in an interview with GBC explained that storage temperature is very key. She said perfumes are supposed to be left in their containers and kept in refrigerators to keep the perfume healthy to use. Maa Bea Quaynor further reiterated that direct heat or sunlight unto perfumes make them poisonous although the scent remains in touch. And this can cause leukemia (cancer of the blood), hepatitis A, respiratory diseases, she added.
Kwabena Agyeman (in skeptical mood): bro, what is the credible medical organizations like the WHO, CDC and others saying on synthetic perfumes and DEP?
Kwasi Omaro: good question bro! A document sighted from WHO (2003) titled as Concise International Chemical Assessment Document 52 revealed Diethylphthlate (DEP) has no carcinogenic effect (cannot cause cancer) after this chemical was used on rats and mice but slight increase in size of their livers and kidneys.
Kwasi Omaro; CDC seemed to suggest that there is no studies involving human exposure to DEP but laboratory animals. CDC went further to explain that DEP is not known to cause cancer in humans or animals but appeared to decrease the number of live babies born to female animals who were exposed during the research. CDC also argued that there were birth defects in newborn rates who had high dose of DEP.
Kwabena Agyeman ( In discerning state); bro, this means that the cosmetic players’ arguments cannot be rejected totally, there’s some iota of truth based on the findings of WHO and CDC!
Kwasi Omaro; thinking the same, bro. European Commission also revealed that when the rats were exposed to DEP, there was slight redness of the skin where the DEP was applied as well as skin irritations in the subsequent weeks.
Kwabena Agyeman (in sagacious mood); bro, I will use natural/pure perfumes which have reduced scent longevity to stay healthy than to have strong and longevity scent synthetic perfume which can lead to many health problems.
Kwasi Omaro; bro, I am thinking same. Kwabena Agyeman Saluu, what have we learnt today?
Kwabena Agyeman; we learnt that natural/pure perfume are essential oils from flowers, plants and others while synthetic perfumes are man made from water, alcohol, DEP plus the essential oils. Natural perfumes have good health implications like treating some infections, insect bites, massaging, relaxation and others. The DEP in synthetic perfumes helps maintain the scent on yourself for longer period of time but has health implications on animals like skin irritations, birth defects and others which is not conclusive in the medical fraternity. More research needs to be done in this area.
Kwasi Omaro; excellent bro. Do you now agree that it is good to smell nice but you must price your health?
Kwabena Agyeman; Yeah.
Sources.
2. http://www.annmariegianni.com
3. https://naturalhealthcourses.com
6. http://www.pure-perfume-oils.com
7. GBC special report on perfumes.
Kwasi Omaro 
Very interested, keep it up bro.
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Thanks bro
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