Christmas scent in every room

The pre-Christmas period is full of wonderful smells of cinnamon and cloves, cookies and baked apples. We like to bring a little pre-Christmas magic into our own four walls with fragrance blends in the form of candles, sprays and oils. When we had a scented candle on our desk in the office to get into the Christmas spirit, which gave me a headache after a while, it was time for an article. I notice more and more often that we are bombarded with fragrances in shopping centers, banks, hotels and even everyday products.

Fragrances, flavors and perfumes are produced synthetically

Most of the fragrances that can be bought conventionally consist of synthetic fragrances, which are much more diverse than natural fragrances and do not evaporate as quickly as natural fragrances. However, they can cause allergies and skin irritation, increase pigmentation, aggravate asthma and some of the undeclared ingredients can be carcinogenic. Phthalates or plasticizers are often used as carrier substances.

The odor researcher and cell biologist Hans Hatt from Ruhr University Bochum explains: "Every scent that I breathe in - whether artificial or natural - is detectable in the blood after a short time and spreads throughout the body."

Triggers for diseases

Fragrances, including those of natural origin, are among the second most common triggers of contact allergies after nickel. This affects around one to two percent of the population in Germany.

Unfortunately, the labeling requirement in the EU Cosmetics Directive is very meager: Of the approximately 3000 fragrances used, the cosmetics industry only has to label 26 on the packaging - all other 2974 substances are simply referred to as "aroma" or "perfume".

We advise against synthetic pre-Christmas fragrances and have put together a few tips for a cozy atmosphere during the Advent season.

Our pre-Christmas fragrance tips

• Vaporize a few drops of a pure, organic essential oil in a fragrance lamp or in a glass of water on the heater
• Light a pure beeswax candle instead of synthetic scented candles
• Lard oranges with cloves or simply place untreated orange peel on the heater
• Bake cookies together with cinnamon and other spices to make the whole house smell nice
• Make your own apple punch or mulled wine(click here for our recipe)

Picture above ©️RitaE

Picture right ©️ sonja paetow

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