The Risk Of Exposure To Chemicals To Perfumes To Watch Out For

Illustration (Rodnae Production/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Fragrant products such as perfume can contain chemicals that can cause health problems. According to Health broadcasts, research results show chemicals such as paraben and phenol, which are used to extend fragrance storage, as well as phthalate, chemicals commonly used in fragrances, are associated with health problems such as heart disease and hypertension to premature pregnancy and birth problems.

Ftalat is used as a solvent and stabilizer in fragrances.

"Fthalate is known as reproductive poison," said Julia Varshavsky, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of public health and health science at Northeastern University.

Several phthalates as well as paraben and phenol are endocrine disruptors, can mimic, obstruct, or interfere with hormones produced by the body's endocrine system. According to a 2021 review of studies in humans and animals, phthalate exposure can damage the neurological, development, and human reproduction systems.

Contact with fthalates has been linked to people's health problems at all ages, but the most sensitive time for phthalate exposure was during fetal development according to Varshavsky.

While paraben has been linked with infertility in women. However, Varshavsky said that there had been a lot of dedicated research on the effect of fthalates on the male reproductive system.

According to him, fthalate exposures include, among other things, the development of the male reproductive system, the number and quality of low sperm, birth defects such as cryptocurrism (the testis do not go down to the synotum), and hypospadias, which affect theuretra.

John Meeker, ScD, professor of environmental health science at the University of Michigan, said that much of the early research on phthalates was done on animals, but the results of more recent research on humans also showed consistent results.

Meeker said that the chemical content in fragrance products is sometimes not explicitly included in packaging. Parabens usually appear on packaging labels as paraben methyl (MP), paraben butil (BP), paraben ethyl (EP), or paraben propil (PP). Meanwhile, fthat can be listed as a dietile phthalate, DEHP, DBP, BBP, or DEP on product packaging.

In order to minimize the risk of exposure to chemicals that can be dangerous, Meeker said, the first step that must be taken is to check the content of perfume chemicals in the packaging label.

If the perfume product used contains phthalates and does not want to change products, he continued, then it is better to try to reduce the exposure of this chemical by using other cosmetic products that are free of phthalate.

Ftalat has a very short half-life, which means the time it spends in the body is relatively short.

"Our mission is to get rid of this chemical very quickly, within a period of one day or less and not accumulated biologically, that's good news," said Stephanie Eick, PhD, assistant professor and environmental and reproductive epidemiologist at the Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University.

"However, this chemical is found in so many products that the exposure is quite constant," he added.

The effect of exposure to fthalates can be reduced by limiting the use of products that contain phthalates.

"This is a solvable problem. If we remove exposure, we can very quickly remove it from our bodies," Varshavsky said, referring to the effect of phthalate exposure.