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If you've ever noticed that scented products make your skin itch or become red, allow us to introduce you to the wonderful world of fragrance-free products. Yes, there are quite a few factors that could play into skin sensitivity — hormones, lack of sleep, and even air pollution can cause irritation or redness — but according to Fatima Fahs, MD, a dermatologist based in Canton, Michigan, a variety of different skin types can definitely find fragrances (synthetic or not) to be irritating to the skin.
"Some individuals are actually allergic to ingredients in fragrances, while most people who find them to be a problem just suffer from them as irritants to the skin," she says. "This can be seen in the form of redness, stinging, flaking and itchy skin."
You may have heard about synthetic fragrances before, but not all fragrances are man-made. According to Dr. Fahs, many products are infused with essential oils for scent purposes, but that doesn't mean rash-prone skin types will find them more suitable for their skin.
"Just because something is natural, doesn't mean your body won't react to it," she says. In fact, Dr. Fahs notes that over 80 essential oils have been shown to cause contact dermatitis on the skin — yikes. So, if you notice your skin tends to be reactive to products with fragrance, Dr. Fahs says switching to fragrance-free skin-care and hair-care products may be the best plan for your personal care routine.
Figuring out if a product is truly fragrance-free goes beyond scanning the label. According to Dr. Fahs, there's a big difference between a product calling itself "fragrance-free" and "unscented." "While the United States Environmental Protection Agency defines 'fragrance-free' as a product that doesn't contain fragrance materials or masking scents, 'unscented' may mean that the product can contain chemicals that mask other odors, and this may still be problematic," she says.
Dr. Fahs also notes that these marketing terms are not very well-regulated, so she suggests testing any new product on a patch of skin behind your ear or on your inner arm before applying it all over.
Now, it's time to put all of this useful information into practice. Below, take a look at a few of the best fragrance-free products for those who need gentler, mild formulas in their beauty routines.
The Best Fragrance-Free Skin-Care Products
Aveeno is well-known for its array of gentle beauty products, and Dr. Fahs says the Calm + Restore Oat Gel Moisturizer is a great fragrance-free pick that nourishes skin rather than irritates it. She says this gel-like face cream is "calming, soothing, and lightweight," which is all thanks to a blend of two soothing extracts derived from oat and feverfew.
If you're in need of a gentle, non-foaming, fragrance-free cleanser, Dr. Fahs suggests grabbing a bottle of the Allure Best of Beauty-winning La Roche-Posay Toleriane Hydrating Gentle Cleanser. This mild, milky-textured face wash was practically made for moisturizing dry skin, considering the fact that its formula is based on a trifecta of moisture-retaining ceramides, niacinamide, and glycerin.
Olay's Regenerist line is a favorite amongst Allure readers, which is why it's a triple-crowned Allure Readers' Choice Award winner. The Collagen Peptide 24 Moisturizer is a fragrance-free iteration of the cream and has a lightweight formula that provides moisture without leaving a greasy feel. How? With the help of conditioning niacinamide and glycerin, of course.
Good news: Fenty Skin, Rihanna's sister brand to Fenty Beauty, now sells fragrance-free versions of its core skin-care products. If you're targeting skin texture and tone concerns, you may want to swipe on the Fat Water Fragrance-Free Pore-Refining Toner Serum (whew, what a mouthful). This toner is dosed with niacinamide to replenish moisture while addressing dark spots and acne-related hyperpigmentation. It also contains antioxidant-rich green tea to fight off damaging free radicals while witch hazel gently exfoliates.
Alpyn Beauty's PlantGenius Melt Moisturizer has a rich, creamy texture that feels like a soothing dream on our skin, but that's not the only reason why we love this product. It's infused with a moisturizing duo of ceramides and squalane that makes skin look and feel supple. This face cream also contains vitamin C, an antioxidant known for its brightening properties.
Wipe away stubborn makeup. dirt, and oil with the Simple Kind to Skin Micellar Cleansing Water. This micellar water has no artificial perfume or dyes, and it's also infused with vitamin C to treat your skin to a brightening, moisture-replenishing treatment.
The Best Fragrance-Free Body Care Products
Dr. Fahs says Vanicream's products are the gold standard for fragrance-free products, as their entire range is suitable for sensitive skin. The Moisturizing Cream is one of her favorite body moisturizers for its simplistic approach to skin care. On top of having no fragrances of any kind, it doesn't contain dyes, lanolin, parabens, or formaldehyde releases that can irritate your delicate skin. This formula is so gentle that it was even approved by the National Eczema Association as a great moisturizer for those with the skin condition.
Another one of Dr. Fahs's favorite fragrance-free products is the Aquaphor Ointment Body Spray, a lightweight spray-on version of the brand's Best of Beauty-winning Healing Ointment. It's super easy to use and makes moisturizing from head to toe a total breeze. This spray also contains the same conditioning ingredients as the original ointment: petrolatum and glycerin.
CeraVe's Moisturizing Cream is as tried-and-true as skin-care products come — this body cream is a winner of both the Allure Best of Beauty and Readers' Choice Awards, after all. This thick cream is completely fragrance-free and contains ceramides to intensively replenish moisture, leaving skin feeling soft and supple.
Feeling a little rough? The Paula's Choice The UnScrub Gentle Cleansing Scrub will do just the trick to soften your skin. This Allure Best of Beauty winner replaces rough sugar and salt scrub clusters for gentler, exfoliating jojoba-based beads that dissolve and moisturize your skin in the process.
If you're in need of a gentler body wash, Dr. Fahs recommends switching to the Cetaphil Ultra Gentle Body Wash. It effectively washes away pore-clogging dirt, sweat, and oil while soothing aloe vera calms irritation and antioxidant vitamin B5 retains moisture.
Slather Bloomeffects' Tulip Nectar Skin Repair Balm to condition your driest, roughest parts of skin. This multipurpose balm is infused with soothing, anti-inflammatory tiger grass (also known as cica) to calm redness and irritation while its rich blend of echinacea, calendula, and chamomile melts from a balm to an oil, deeply moisturizing skin in the process. This formula is so nourishing and soothing on the skin that it actually won an Allure Best of Beauty Award specifically in our sensitive skin category.
The Soft Services Skin Rehydrating Gel provides instant conditioning relief when your skin needs it most. Don't let its featherweight, fast-drying formula fool you, because every drop of this formula treats dehydrated skin with a helping of moisture-replenishing glycerin, squalane, and aquaxyl.
Feel free to pair Nécessaire's The Body Serum with your favorite body cream for an added dose of skin-enhancing hydration. This lightweight serum's formula plumps and hydrates skin hyaluronic acid while niacinamide and ceramides work hand in hand to retain moisture.
The Best Fragrance-Free Hair Care Products
Think about it — if you have hair that's longer than a pixie cut, chances are your hair is touching some part of your skin on a daily basis. So, to ensure your skin doesn't come in contact with harsh fragrances, swap your usual shampoo for the Seen Fragrance-Free Shampoo. Yes, this color-safe shampoo contains conditioning squalane and bisabolol for softer, smoother hair, but what isn't in the formula is just as important. This shampoo was formulated without ingredients like sulfates, silicones, phthalates, parabens, dyes, oils, gluten, or formaldehyde/formaldehyde releasers.
Don't forget to tag-team your shampoo with the Seen Fragrance-Free Conditioner. Just like the shampoo, this conditioner is safe for color-treated hair and leaves out the same laundry list of ingredients. It's also infused with the same key ingredients as the Fragrance-Free Shampoo, so you'll get a double dose of moisture-retaining squalane and bisabolol with each and every wash when you use them together.
After stepping out of the shower, douse your hair in Briogeo's Be Gentle, Be Kind Aloe + Oat Milk Fragrance-Free Detangler. As its name suggests, this multipurpose hair spritzer conditions hair with aloe vera and fatty acid-rich oat milk to soften hair, reduce frizz and flyaways, and detangle knots all at once.
Here are more sensitive skin-friendly products to try:
- The 17 Best Allantoin Products for Anyone With Irritated, Stressed Skin
- Tower 28's SOS Line Isn't *Just* a Face Mist Anymore
- These Dermatologist-Approved Sunscreens Won't Irritate Your Skin
Now, watch celebrity power couple Idris and Sabrina Elba go through their skin-care routines:
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