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Fragrance-Free Policy
The Seattle English country dances are advertised as "fragrance free".
This is because about 15% of the general population and about 20% of
our English country dance community have adverse health effects from
perfume and solvents, and become ill from even small amounts of
fragrance products. Reported adverse health effects from perfume range
from migraine headaches and asthma attacks to cardiac and neurological
symptoms, including permanent brain damage. This is not a preference issue -- it is a serious health issue for a significant number of people.
Please refrain from wearing scented versions of the following products to dances:
| perfume |
shampoo |
soap |
make-up |
| cologne |
conditioner |
deodorant |
chapstick |
| after-shave |
hair gel |
hand lotion |
hair spray |
In addition to these products, consider that even your ball attire
has the potential to cause problems to other dancers, especially if it
has been stored in mothballs, if it has been recently dry-cleaned, or
if you have worn it with cologne on a previous occasion.
Safe products include:
| Deodorant |
Tom's of Maine or Le Stick deodorant, crystal salts, baking soda |
Shampoo
& conditioner |
Pure Essentials, Organic Essence, Magick Botanicals |
| Hair gel |
Aloe Vera 80, or make your own from Knox plain gelatin |
| Hair spray |
Magick Botanicals |
| Shaving cream |
Kiss My Face |
| Laundry soap |
Ecover, PCC, Country Save fragrance Free |
Hand & body
lotion |
Grannies, Trader
Joe's & Alba Botanicals |
(some of the brands listed above make fragranced products also --
be sure to check the label)
In addition, hair-spray, fabric softeners and dandruff shampoos (whether scented of not) can trigger reactions in chemically sensitive people because of toxic contents.
Start reading the label!
Products called "unscented" may in fact contain fragrances! So,
look at the list of ingredients and choose products labelled
"fragrance-free" instead. In general, it is helpful to avoid anything
with fragrance in the list of ingredients. "Fragrance-free' is safer
than "natural" fragrances, many of which may contain toxic chemicals as
preservatives.
By helping us to stay healthy, you may be healthier too
Because of the large number of people on the dance floor, even
small amounts of scent on each person add up quickly to intolerable
amounts. Those of us with asthma and chemical sensitivities can only
attend if you help by wearing fragrance-free products. Someone who is
healthy this year may be tipped over the edge into illness by small
accumulations of fragrance, solvents and other chemicals in doses
thought to be safe. By changing to safe products, you can help insure
that this doesn't happen to you!
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