Forever Fragrance-Free
My journey to a fragrance-free lifestyle
Like many of you, I've battled with eczema my entire life. It wasn't just a childhood phase for me; it persisted and worsened into adulthood, affecting my self-confidence and daily life.
By age 21, my skin was so sore and eczema-ridden that I had stopped looking people in the face.
My self-confidence was at an all-time low.
By the age of 30, my eczema was head to toe.
After persistence, I was referred again to dermatology, who finally did a very revealing patch test.
I discovered my allergies to a lot of fragrances.
The recommendation from dermatology was that I was allergic to so many fragrances that I needed to avoid them all. Exposure would only worsen my allergies.
This was the turning point for me, leading to a fragrance-free lifestyle.
It's been a challenging journey, especially finding truly unscented products.
As I’m sure you’ve discovered, ‘fragrance-free’ or even ‘unscented’ doesn’t mean there are no scented ingredients in the product; rather, ingredients are not added for their scent.
For most people, this is a non-issue, but for those of us with highly sensitive skin, essential oils like linalool or limonene, even in small doses, are enough to trigger skin problems or allergies.
The same applies to products containing ingredients like coconut, which is scented but not always added to fragrance.
My vision for Forever Fragrance-Free is simple: I built the site I wish I had when I received my list of allergens and a diagnosis to become fragrance-free.
It gets better.
As I’m writing this, I’m 33, and I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. My skin is far from perfect, but I manage better than ever; steroids are my Plan B, and flare-ups and way less frequent than they once were.
I do miss makeup, hair products, and perfume sometimes, but generally, I am happy, and I find a lot of gratitude in knowing my sensitive skin protects me from toxic products.
Outside of this, I'm an avid world traveller! I’ve explored 29 countries (and counting) by bicycle! This adventure brought its own fragrance-free challenges, like finding suitable sunscreen or a fragrance-free shampoo in languages I can’t speak or read or where such luxuries are not so common.
Together, we can make fragrance-free living easy and accessible for everyone
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Alongside the site, I also wanted to create a safe online space where we can all share advice, find real fragrance-free solutions, and learn more about managing our skin and our lives without fragrances.
From my experience, skin sensitivities are very unique and difficult and it can't hurt to get all of us into on room (or Facebook group) so we can help each other.
Basically, I really want to fast-track your fragrance-free journey.
Join the free community