Why "Fragrance-Free" Isn't Always Better
Dear Skin,
The skincare industry has convinced a lot of people that fragrance is the enemy. Scroll through any skincare forum and you'll see people treating "fragrance-free" like a badge of honor, avoiding any product with scent like it's contaminated.
Here's what bothers me about this: lazy thinking dressed up as educated consumer behavior.
Fragrance in skincare is not a simple yes-or-no question. Like most things worth understanding, it requires nuance. Some fragrances are problematic. Others are not only safe but beneficial. The difference matters, and understanding it will make you a smarter customer.
Where the Fear Comes From
The backlash against fragrance started for legitimate reasons. Synthetic fragrance compounds, the kind you'll see listed as "parfum" or "fragrance" on ingredient lists, can contain dozens of undisclosed chemicals. Some people react badly to them.
The problem is that the beauty industry took a real concern and turned it into absolutist marketing. "Fragrance-free" became a selling point that required no explanation, no context, no thinking. Just slap it on the label and customers assume the product is safer.
The Difference That Matters
Synthetic fragrance is engineered in a lab to smell good and last long on the shelf. These compounds weren't developed with your skin's health as the primary goal.
Natural fragrance comes from the plants themselves—essential oils, botanical extracts, flower waters. These carry the therapeutic properties of the source plant. Rose essential oil has anti-inflammatory properties. It helps with skin barrier function. The scent comes along with the benefit.
Most "fragrance-free" absolutists have conflated synthetic parfum with all fragrance, throwing out genuinely beneficial botanicals because they happen to smell good.
A Useful Framework
Avoid fragrance when:
-
The brand isn't transparent about which botanical extracts they're using or why
-
Clearly decorative—added just to mask the smell of other ingredients
-
You're using the product on compromised skin (active breakouts, eczema, post-procedure)
Fragrance can be beneficial when:
-
It comes from therapeutic botanical extracts that serve a purpose beyond scent
-
The brand is transparent about what's in it
-
Formulated at concentrations meant to benefit skin, not overpower a room
The Right Way to Do Fragrance
We're launching a French brand soon called Centifolia, and their Rich in Roses collection demonstrates fragrance done right.
The signature scent comes from Centifolia rose which is a specific variety cultivated in Grasse, the perfume capital of France. The actual rose extract is included because rose has real benefits for skin. It has anti-inflammatory properties, antioxidants, and support for the skin barrier function.
The fragrance is light. What the plant naturally smells like when you extract its beneficial compounds. If you removed the scent, you'd have to remove the ingredient, and your skin would be worse off for it.
This is why European brands, particularly French ones, often have a light natural fragrance even when they're not marketed as "fragranced" products. French formulators add rose extract for its skincare benefits, and the scent is simply what rose smells like. They're trying to be effective, and effective botanical skincare often smells like something.
The Bottom Line
The fragrance-free movement started with good intentions and to protect people from unnecessary synthetic chemicals. But like many movements, marketing has co-opted it and turned it into oversimplified dogma.
A French rose extract that's been cultivated for centuries is beneficial and nourishing to your skin. Exactly the kind of ingredient you should want in your skincare. We're building Relterra around brands that understand this distinction. Quality botanical ingredients that happen to smell beautiful because that's what quality botanicals do. Fragrance as a natural result of using real plants with real benefits.
That's the kind of thinking that actually serves your skin. Everything else is noise.
Cheers,
The Relterra Team
