Fragrance-free products

Evergreen

Evergreen

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
I thought it would be good to have a thread where we can share fragrance-free products, since they're hard to find. Something working for one of us does not guarantee it will suit someone else. But at least if someone is stuck for a product, they'll have somewhere to start.

Since we're all in different countries, it might be good to identify where we are/where the product is available. The products below are available in at least mainland Europe, the UK and Ireland.

NB If you're in UK, it will usually be cheaper to buy from UK stores. If you buy from European sites, you may have to pay VAT etc on arrival, whereas you might be able to get the same product from Boots or Amazon or Lookfantastic. If you're in Europe, it's usually (but not always) cheaper to buy European products from European sites. So the links below are just so you can read about the product. If you're actually going to buy it, you're better off googling it so you find it in your jurisdiction.

Always check the ingredients before buying because sometimes perfume or essential oils sneak into the formulation when you're not looking.

Deodorant/anti-perspirant
  • What to google: Vichy 48HR Soothing Roll-On Anti-Perspirant for Sensitive Skin 50ml (white cap)

  • Vichy 48HR Soothing Roll-On Anti-Perspirant for Sensitive Skin 50ml - Boots Ireland

    Buy Vichy 48HR Soothing Roll-On Anti-Perspirant for Sensitive Skin 50ml collect Advantage Card Points for every €1 you spend.
    www.boots.ie www.boots.ie
  • Lots of fragrance-free products still smell, but this one smells of nothing at all to me. It does not irritate my skin, whereas all others have, eventually. And the best part is...it works! Unlike even strong ones I tried.
  • Make sure you get the 48hr one with the white cap, not the 24hr one with the white cap. The 24hr one with white cap seems to be completely different - has no aluminium and does have fragrance.

Lip balm

Hair conditioner

Bathroom cleaning
  • What to google: Bio-D fragrance-free toilet cleaner
  • and all the other Bio-D fragrance-free cleaning products
  • I used to really struggle after my bathroom was cleaned. Switched to Bio-D and it's so much better. I still leave the window open for hours but the only thing I get is a faint burning smell sometimes. Make sure you're buying the fragrance-free versions.

​

 
Anti-perspirant- Arm and Hammer Advanced (unscented) fragrance-free. Not sure if it's sold outside of North America.

Cleaning- Shaklee Basic H2 Biodegradable Cleanser for everything bathroom and cleaning floors. Available in Canada, US and AU. Sometimes I'll add a few teaspoons of white vinegar to the spray bottle.

Shampoo and Conditioner- Live Clean Sensitive Hypoallergenic. Nice products and fragrance-free. I wish they sold them in liter bottles. Canadian product.

Laundry- Nellie Laundry Soda powder- only 5 ingredients and no subs. Sodium Carbonate, Linear Alcohol Ethoxylate, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Metasilicate. Canadian product. They also sell a 'booster' but I use Oxiclean. I'm no longer using Sensitive Tide b/c we are paying for 90% water!

Lip balm- organic unrefined Shea butter or when it's really dry and cold out I use Lansinoh Lanolin Nipple Cream for breast feeding. Yes it's a great lip balm! Medical grade lanolin. and cheaper than buying a tube.

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In the UK. I use Ecover Zero products which are fragrance and colour free for washing clothes, dishes and hands. At the moment we have a Waitrose shower gel which is fragrance free and fine for me. I was using Dove which was fine on my skin but the fragrance was overpowering at times.
 
I use Dove sensitive skin for my soap.

Shampoo is a bit more difficult. Cerave Gentle Hydrating Shampoo isn't cleansing enough and leaves me sticky and greasy, but doesn't set off any MCAS reactions. Free and Clear shampoo is so drying it makes my hair like a bird's nest of sticks. I try to mix them together with limited success. When I just looked up Free and Clear it seems they have a new! gentler formula, so maybe I will try that.

This is in the US.
 
Evergreen said:
Lip balm
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wouldn't touch anything with petroleum products, particularly not lip-balm
see https://www.s4me.info/threads/spain...-in-popular-lip-balm-brands.40420/post-556309

eta: I currently use Planetwood Oris Organic Unscented lipbalm from their shop on Ebay UK, or you can get it on Amazon.

Soap, I use Sainsburys own

Sainsbury's The Collection Pure Soap​


For hair/body wash I use Sanex Zero

​

 
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Mij said:
Dove have messed up with their so called 'unscented' antiperspirant and body wash. It used to be free of fragrance, but have "parfum" is listed as the last ingredient. I emailed them to complained
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I had a horrible experience with Dove once, and complained. Won't touch any of their stuff again.

I use Bio-D washing-up liquid as shampoo - have done for decades. A colleague once asked me what shampoo I used because my hair looked so good. I used any old washing-up liquid then, and told her!
 
Trish said:
In the UK. I use Ecover Zero products which are fragrance and colour free for washing clothes, dishes and hands.
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We use those too, and find them good, though I need a gentler handwash.

I use Elave body wash and hand wash. I use the body wash as shampoo too, because the shampoo doesn't get my hair clean. Available in Ireland and UK (Amazon or their own website, plus pharmacies). Great for atopic skin, but pricey, so I wouldn't bother unless you need it.

Mij said:
Dove have messed up with their so called 'unscented' antiperspirant and body wash. It used to be free of fragrance, but have "parfum" is listed as the last ingredient. I emailed them to complained
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Oh, isn't that so annoying?

Sly Saint said:
I currently use Planetwood Oris Organic Unscented lipbalm from their shop on Ebay UK, or you can get it on Amazon.
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Your lip balm looks really lovely.

Sly Saint said:
wouldn't touch anything with petroleum products, particularly not lip-balm
see https://www.s4me.info/threads/spain...-in-popular-lip-balm-brands.40420/post-556309

eta: I currently use Planetwood Oris Organic Unscented lipbalm from their shop on Ebay UK, or you can get it on Amazon.
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I have no choice but to use petrolatum-based products. I have atopic skin. It reacts to everything, and goes particularly crazy with "natural" options. I used to have slits at the corners of my mouth, and constant reactions to everything I tried. I barely have to use any of the Uriage Xemose, and my lips are so much better.

I looked into whether there was any evidence against petrolatum-based creams many years ago, and I couldn't find anything that suggested I was killing myself slowly. I did find a good few dermatologists debunking misinformation against it. If someone doesn't want to use an ingredient, and doesn't need to, then they can usually avoid it.
 
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Evergreen said:
goes particularly crazy with "natural" options.
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I find this too! The more natural something is the more my body hates it. If only I could live wrapped in plastic! But seriously, vaseline lip balm, pure petroleum jelly is the only thing my lips will tolerate. I don't wear make up anymore, since I don't have the energy to put it on or take it off, but this really limits my lip options.

I live indoors in purified air and if I go outside and breathe in some nature- instant hay fever reaction. Same goes for when I put nature on my skin. I get so frustrated that botanical, herbal, and essential oils things are in so many hygiene products. Allergens! Allergens everywhere! I love petroleum jelly and mineral oil. They aren't plants and don't come from plants (well, maybe prehistoric ones) so I am not allergic to them.
 
wabi-sabi said:
I find this too! The more natural something is the more my body hates it. If only I could live wrapped in plastic! But seriously, vaseline lip balm, pure petroleum jelly is the only thing my lips will tolerate. I don't wear make up anymore, since I don't have the energy to put it on or take it off, but this really limits my lip options.

I live indoors in purified air and if I go outside and breathe in some nature- instant hay fever reaction. Same goes for when I put nature on my skin. I get so frustrated that botanical, herbal, and essential oils things are in so many hygiene products. Allergens! Allergens everywhere! I love petroleum jelly and mineral oil. They aren't plants and don't come from plants (well, maybe prehistoric ones) so I am not allergic to them.
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Oh I hear you. To eat fruit, someone has to cut it up for me and then I post it into my mouth without touching my lips. If my husband eats something spicy and then kisses me I get big red lumps. (For me this is a lifelong atopic thing, nothing to do with ME/CFS.) You can imagine how snookered I was when my lips stopped tolerating the little blue tin of Vaseline! Though during the pandemic I was pleased to have a stick rather than something I had to touch.

Your allergies sound really, really tough to deal with. I'm very lucky in that allergies have improved over time or with being housebound. For it to go the other way must be horrible.
 
Evergreen said:
Your allergies sound really, really tough to deal with.
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Oh, I'm moaning a lot because I'm here, but really not being able to eat fruit with your lips sounds much worse to me than hay fever and snot! My saving grace is that I can eat whatever I want. I just can't breath or touch what ever I want.

And I get unreasonably annoyed when people think natural is better. I am so, so thankful I live in a world filled with unnatural things like eyeglasses and dental fillings and indoor plumbing and antihistamines and air purifiers. One of my great joys is watching historical reality TV with experiential archeologists. I can see them go back in time and do wonderful exciting things and then be some grateful I am not sleeping on a mattress full of straw when explain how they add in some herbs to discourage the fleas, or living in a home heated by wood fire. It looks like a beautiful life (except the fleas), but I will never be able to be that natural and I strongly suspect that I would have been just as sick with much less treatment if I really lived back then.

Internet hugs!
 
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