Why are fragrance free products best?

Written by Bryan Potok on October 15, 2022
Last updated on October 15, 2022

Why Are Fragrance Free Products Best For Sensitive Skin?

When a skincare product is a regular part of your daily routine, it helps if it has a pleasing aroma. Unfortunately, a product with a wonderful scent is also most likely to cause damage to your limb's extra-sensitive skin. Whether the fragrance in the product is natural or synthetic, it's almost always going to be irritating.

That's because most fragrance ingredients impart scent through a volatile reaction. That process frequently causes irritation and a bit of inflammation. Studies have even shown that the fragrance-lending ingredients in skin care products are among the most common causes of allergic reactions.

If you haven't switched to fragrance free products yet, it may be because you don't see any visible signs of distress on the surface of your skin. However, below the surface, irritating ingredients are causing collagen breakdown, disrupting your skin's ability to fight environmental damage, and hindering its ability to heal and repair itself. Plus, though you can't see it, the skin's surface is weakened, making it less able to withstand the daily stress of wearing a prosthesis. Is that enough to convince you to go fragrance-free?

If it has, that's half the battle, because finding a fragrance free skincare product can be a challenge. When you begin to pay attention, you'll find that there are tons of products labeled "hypoallergenic," "dermatologist tested," or "gentle," even though there's no medical, scientific, or regulatory standards for such terms. Opting for "all natural" or "organic" products won't necessarily save you either.

Products labeled as natural or organic aren't automatically better for your skin. There are lots of natural ingredients that are problematic and many of those are fragrances. All natural brands often contain orange, lemon, lime, bergamot, menthol, lavender, and eucalyptus. Each of these common ingredients is an irritant for sensitive skins, as well as a likely trigger of an allergic reaction.

Another common allergy trigger is the perfumes found in laundry detergents and fabric softeners. To avoid having a negative reaction to your laundry, stick to unscented detergents and fabric softeners for the care of your amputee socks, stumps sheaths, and prosthetic liners. Medi-USA makes a great garment detergent that is pure, organic and biodegradable.

Before going home with a potential irritant, practice checking the labels of products before you buy them. Products with these ingredients are best left on the shelf.

An amputation can ask your skin to work overtime and become extra-sensitive, and more prone to conditions like eczema and dermatitis, both of which are caused by allergic reactions. Using the wrong product can exacerbate these problems. Avoiding products with fragrance and other triggering ingredients is the best way to be good to your skin and keep it healthy. And keeping your skin healthy will make wearing your prosthesis a more comfortable experience.