Content and safety of fragrances used in skin care milks and lotions for healthy, sensitive, and baby skin

Želja po odišavljenju telesa se je porodila že v času Egipčanov, ki so za odišavljenje telesa uporabljali rože in zelišča, kasneje pa se je parfumska moda razvijala na francoskem dvoru. Danes smo obsedeni s prekrivanjem naravnega vonja našega telesa, veliko pozornosti pa namenimo tudi prijetnemu vonju izdelkov. Pri osebah z občutljivo kožo ali pri negi otroške kože morajo biti še posebej pozorni da ne prihaja do preobčutljivostnih reakcij. Dišave so ene izmed pomembnih alergenov, katerih vsebnost v kozmetičnih izdelkih (KI) regulira Uredba (ES) št. 1223/2009 Evropskega parlamenta in Sveta o kozmetičnih izdelkih. Identificiranih je 26 najpogostejših alergenih dišav, ki morajo biti obvezno navedene na ovojnini izdelka, če njihova koncentracija presega 0,001 % v izdelkih, ki se ne izperejo, in 0,01 % v izdelkih, ki se izperejo. Preverili smo njihovo vsebnost v mleku in losjonih za nego zdrave, občutljive in otroške kože ter glede na znane informacije o spojinah sklepali o njihovi varnosti. Pregledali smo 67 izdelkov, ki so na voljo v lekarnah, drogerijah in spletnih trgovinah. Največ dokazano alergenih dišav vsebujejo izdelki za zdravo kožo, sledijo jim izdelki za občutljivo in otroško kožo. Ugotovili smo, da izdelki, ki so na voljo v lekarnah, vsebujejo manjše število alergenih dišav. Proizvajalci se pri izdelkih za občutljivo in otroško kožo v glavnem zavedajo možnosti nastanka preobčutljivostnih reakcij in ne uporabljajo večjega števila alergenih dišav. V naši raziskavi so bili ti izdelki kar v 50 % popolnoma neodišavljeni. Preverili smo tudi, kakšna je zakonodaja glede navedb na KIosredotočili smo se na navedbo “za občutljivo kožo” in ugotovili, da je ta nezadostno regulirana. V večini izdelkov proizvajalci posegajo po dišavah, na katerih je bilo narejenih veliko raziskav in ne po manj znanih dišavah. V 32,8 % izdelkov se nahaja benzil alkohol, ki ga izdelkom dodajajo kot dišavo in konzervans ter tako zmanjšajo količino ostalih sestavin. Z varnostnega vidika so vprašljive predvsem naslednje dišave, ki smo jih našli v izdelkih: hidroksiizoheksil 3 cikloheksen karboksialdehid (HICC), citral, hidroksicitronelal, cinamil alkohol in butilfenil metilpropional (p-BHMCA), ki so znani senzibilizatorji. Ob sistemski izpostavitvi benzil benzoat, benzil salicilat in p-BHMCA zaradi vpliva na endokrini sistem predstavljajo tveganje za zdravje ljudi . V izdelkih, v katerih so dišave navedene zgolj z izrazom “parfum” ali “aroma”, gre za zmesi dišav, ki jih ni potrebno poimensko navesti med sestavine KI, saj so koncentracije nižje od zakonsko predpisanih. Ker niso točno definirane, jih tudi ne moremo vrednotiti z vidika varnosti.The desire to scent our bodies was born in the time of the Egyptians, who used flowers and herbs to scent the body. Later on, perfume fashion developed in the French court. Today, we are obsessed with covering the natural odor of our bodies and pay a lot of attention to the pleasant scent of our skin-care products. Special care should be taken to ensure that no hypersensitive reactions occur when cosmetics are used by people with sensitive skin or on babies. Fragrances are one of the important allergens whose content in cosmetics is regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and Council on cosmetic products. 26 most common allergenic fragrances which must be indicated on the packaging of the product, when their concentration exceeds 0.001% in non-removable products and 0.01 % in rinse-off products, have been identified. We checked their content in milk and lotions for healthy, sensitive and baby skin, and evaluated their safety based on the known information on chemical compounds. We reviewed 67 products available in pharmacies, drugstores and online stores. Allergenic fragrances are mostly found in products for healthy skin, followed by products for sensitive and baby skin. According to statistics, the products available in pharmacies contain fewer allergenic fragrances. Manufacturers are generally aware of the possibility of hypersensitive reactions in products for sensitive and baby skin and do not use a large number of allergenic fragrances50% of the reviewed products contained no fragrances at all. We also looked at the legislation on references on cosmetics, focusing on the reference "for sensitive skin", and found that it is insufficiently regulated. In most products, manufacturers resort to fragrances that have been extensively researched, not to lesser-known fragrances. Benzyl alcohol is found in 32.8% of the products as a fragrance and preservative, reducing the amount of other antimicrobial ingredients. From a safety point of view, the following fragrances found in the products are particularly questionable: hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxydehyde (HICC), citral, hydroxycitronelal, cinnamyl alcohol and butylphenyl methylpropional (p-BHMCA) which are known sensitizers. Benzyl benzoate, benzyl salicylate and p-BHMCA are questionable upon systemic exposure, as they can affect the human endocrine system. In some products, fragrances are listed only by the term “perfume” or “aroma”, which means that they do not have to be named among the ingredients, as their conc. is lower than legally prescribed. Since they are not precisely defined, they cannot be evaluated from a safety point of view