Using perfume can harm you

Scientists now say personal care products like perfumes and lotions can disrupt the human oxidative field, a chemical layer that surrounds your body and helps neutralize harmful substances in the air.

This invisible field forms when oils from your skin react with ozone in the air, creating hydroxyl radicals. These OH molecules act as a personal air filter, reacting with pollutants in the air before they enter your body.

Dùng nước hoa có thể gây hại cho chính bạn - 1 — Perfume helps create a pleasant scent, but can affect the body's natural defenses (Photo: Adobe).

But when you apply lotion or perfume, the effects of the perfume on your body chemistry seem to unbalance that system.

In a new study, researchers placed volunteers in an indoor environment and measured the chemical composition of the air around them.

When participants wore scented products, chemical compounds such as ethanol and phenoxyethanol were released from their skin. These compounds formed clouds that were significantly more concentrated around the nose and head than in the surrounding air.

The team then introduced ozone into the room to trigger the formation of an oxidizing field. They found that the presence of personal care products reduced the amount of hydroxyl radicals by more than 30%.

In fact, the very products that are supposed to make us feel clean and refreshed can actually reduce our bodies' ability to clean the air around us.

The study did not measure long-term health effects, but researchers are concerned that these types of chemical interactions in the immediate breathing air could have consequences, though they are not yet clear, especially in enclosed spaces with poor ventilation.

New research on the effects of perfumes and lotions suggests that overall less is better than more, especially if you're indoors and want to keep your body's natural defenses intact.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/khoa-hoc/dung-nuoc-hoa-co-the-gay-hai-cho-chinh-ban-20250526001434413.htm