Why We Don’t Use The ‘F’ Word

Did you know some of your favorite consumer product companies might not be as transparent as you think when it comes to the ingredients they use?  

At BRIXY, we don’t use the “F” word — Fragrance. Why? Because when “fragrance” appears on an ingredient label, it can represent dozens — even hundreds — of undisclosed chemicals. That lack of transparency just doesn’t fly with us. We believe you deserve to know exactly what’s in the products you put on your body. That’s why we list every single ingredient directly on the packaging.  

Believe it or not, items labelled “clean” or “natural” can still contain allergens, irritants and even endocrine disrupting chemicals that are not always disclosed. Many times, being hidden under the term ‘fragrance/parfum’. Legally, a company can claim that the ingredients in their fragrance is proprietary intellectual property and therefore, are not required to share those ingredients in on their packaging. This is why it’s important to pay close attention to how companies are marketing to you, what marketing terms like “clean” and “natural” or “naturally derived” really mean, and what to look for on ingredient labels. 

At BRIXY, we prioritize full transparency about the ingredients in our products, ensuring you are empowered with the information you need to feel confident you’re making safe choices for what goes on - and ultimately in – your body. After all, your skin is your largest organ, and chemicals can be detected in your blood stream as quickly as 27 seconds after applying them to your skin. So, in the name of safety and transparency, let’s dive into the nuances of fragrance, the reality of “natural” ingredients, and the painstaking process we go through to build our scents.  

What Is Fragrance? 

In the beauty industry, a fragrance refers to the blend of compounds used to produce a smell. We see these added ingredients in products such as perfumes, lotions, skincare, shampoos, deodorants, makeup products and more. When choosing a product, the fragrance can draw buyers in. Because who doesn’t want to smell amazing? However, natural and synthetic fragrance labels reveal more information about how it was created. Natural ingredients are components that come from nature. They are processed through steam or water distillation to draw out the aromas. Synthetic ingredients refer to lab-created molecules that are developed to mimic scents or create new ones. Now, not all natural things are safe - think poison ivy - and not all synthetics are unsafe. This is why it’s important to know what ingredients are being used so you can make choices based on the full information of what’s in a product. 

Ingredient Transparency 

A study analyzing 1,470 products from two major retailers in the US found that 93.8% contained at least one potential allergen, with fragrances and botanicals being the most prevalent. Poor ingredient transparency is leaving consumers in the dark with the products they are consistently trusting. This is not due to a lack of interest on the consumer side, but a lack of information from the brands themselves. While companies boast about what isn’t in their products, they tend to be less inclined to share what is in them. Sadly, this can result in accidental exposure to allergens, irritants, or endocrine disruptors. 

Why “Natural” Does Not Always Mean “Natural” 

Natural cosmetics are allowed to claim the title if published specifications are met, rather than being 100% natural. The FDA has not defined what the term ‘natural’ means in cosmetics, but it is assumed that those ingredients are found in nature and not made in a lab.  

There are other entities companies use to make claims around naturalness such as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). To determine a product or ingredient’s natural share, the ISO established four categories:  

So, what does this mean? Unfortunately, it’s not as straight forward as we would hope. Specific to the cosmetic industry, the ISO16128 Certificate of Naturalness standard allows “naturalness” to be defined as 50% natural content. So, a company can claim they use naturally derived fragrance on the label when the blend includes synthetic ingredients as long as the overall blend is at least 50% of natural origin.     

In short, if a fragrance is developed from natural sources but chemically altered, it can still be classified as “natural origin.” This allows companies to claim their products have a natural fragrance, even if it contains a significant amount of synthetic elements. This can create an abundance of customer confusion and is just downright frustration for those who are trying to be ingredient aware and avoid harmful chemicals. The marketing terms being used to claim naturalness can be misleading, which is why it’s important to choose brands you trust that are fully transparent and list all their ingredients directly on the packaging.  

Ideally, what you want to look for is a company making the claim they use “100% natural scents”. Stating their ingredients are “100% natural” requires them to be able to prove their ingredients are in fact, derived from naturally occurring sources without being altered synthetically in a lab. It’s the safest course of action for consumers, but you should also be considering each ingredient and its safety independent of the overall scent formula. This can be done with ingredient databases from the EWG, Yuka, or other trusted third-party organizations that evaluate ingredient safety for consumers.  

The Fragrance Loophole 

As simple as the term ‘fragrance’ sounds, it can be a catch-all ingredient that hides a long list of harmful chemicals. The issue stems from allowing companies and fragrance manufacturers to self-regulate without oversight for consumer safety. There is no federal regulation around the term ‘fragrance’ and this lack of oversight leaves you and your family exposed to unknowingly putting toxic endocrine disrupting chemicals on your body every single day.  

Organizations such as Environmental Working Group (EWG) and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP) do incredible work and research to help bring awareness to the issue of toxic ingredients in consumer products. The EWG has their Skin Deep Database where they use peer reviewed science to score ingredients based on safety and toxicity and provide the science that backs up their ratings so you can explore and learn about ingredients using their thoughtfully organized database. BCPP, for example, launched their Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, where they set out to investigate to what extent major companies that make beauty, personal care and cleaning products were hiding unlabeled toxic chemicals in their products.  

“What we found was shocking and surprising: The most hazardous product of all was a children’s shampoo marketed to kids of color. Several of the products that had the most hazardous chemicals were fine fragrances endorsed by popular celebrities. And our most counterintuitive report finding of all: Many of the personal care products we tested contained more hazardous chemicals than the cleaning products we tested!” 

Chemicals being found in their testing have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and endocrine disruption without the companies having any legal requirement to make consumers aware of their use of these ingredients. With more science continuing to emerge around the constant exposure to these chemicals in consumer products and specifically how women and children are at risk, it’s up to consumers to educate themselves around what chemicals to avoid. In addition, it’s up to companies to maintain ethical reporting and transparency around the ingredients they are using- something that is not required of them now. So, choosing to support businesses who practice transparency and prioritize safe ingredients is key for consumers if they want to force the larger companies to shift towards safer ingredient practices. 

How BRIXY Builds Scents 

The heart of what we do at BRIXY is create safe and effective products, which means transparency for our customers—especially when it comes to what’s on the back of the label. We believe you have the right to know what you’re putting on your skin, which is why we’re meticulous about how our products are made. Every ingredient, every step of the process is backed by in-depth research and a commitment to safety. 

Our main founder, Kevin Brodwick, has been a pioneer in the safe ingredients movement for years. At his previous company Thinkbaby & Thinksport, Kevin created the first BPA free baby bottle, the first BPA free insulated sports bottle, and became most known for his award-winning line of mineral suncare. He has worked closely with the EWG for years, was the subject matter expert to the suncare buyers at Target on what ingredients to watch for in sunscreen, and even helped write the chemical policy at Whole Foods Market while working at a lab funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studying endocrine disruption from chemicals, such as BPA. His commitment to offering safe products has continued with BRIXY. Now, we’ve layered our love for the planet with products that come in 100% plastic free packaging! 

As we launch our new line of Magnesium-Enriched Deodorants, this ethos reigns true in our formulas and scent ingredients. Here are the highlights you can expect from our new deodorants: 

At the end of the day, we believe your daily personal care items shouldn't come with compromises, confusion or secrets. 

It’s time to smell great, safely! This is why we never use the ‘F’ word on our ingredients list— and by that, we mean fragrance. We encourage you to break up with fragrance today and choose products that give you the power to make informed decisions on what goes on your skin.  

Confidence for you. Love for the planet. 

XO – Team BRIXY