Perfumes are an everyday essential. They are a seamless way to boost your confidence and build a good impression on others. Have you ever tried to put on a new perfume and felt a little discomfort? Or walk beside someone with a great scent and your head has started to hurt?
Have you wondered in such a time, why this perfume gives me a headache? Sometimes, smell can cause the trigeminal nerve to stimulate. This can often result in inflammation and causes severe migraines. Certain scents can even cause your blood vessels to dilate or constrict, which later results in headaches!
Let’s further explore to get a better understanding of why perfume can cause headaches in individuals.
Understanding Fragrance Ingredients: Potential Culprits for Headaches
The chief reason behind perfume sensitivity is a perfume’s ingredients. Fragrances are composed of various chemical elements, from alcohols to high-quality perfume oils.
They contain at least 100-350 ingredients. This combination of different elements can sometimes stimulate your nerves or even your respiratory tract and cause headaches or fragrance sensitivity.
This is all more concerning when you consider that premium brands are not obliged to display the list of their fragrance ingredients. Because, unfortunately, fragrance formula is still considered to be a trade secret.
Individual Differences: Why Some People Are More Prone to Perfume-Related Headaches
Perfume sensitivity is a common problem among people of all ages. Some people are more likely to get headaches from perfume due to how their bodies react to certain smells.
However, it may differ from person to person. Different bodies and their nervous systems react distinctly to some substances. That’s why we see various people acquiring different allergies.
Another condition for these headaches is called Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). This means their body becomes super sensitive to chemicals found in everyday items like paints, smoke, perfumes, and more. Even tiny amounts of these chemicals can cause severe health problems for them. It all comes down to how their body reacts to these chemicals.
Next time if you ever feel like asking yourself, why does perfume give me a headache? Try reaching out to a medical expert to get a better insight into how your body reacts to different substances.
Triggers and Thresholds: Factors Influencing Perfume-Induced Headaches
Perfume-induced headaches can be frustrating and vexing, they can start out of nowhere and can linger for a long period of time until medically treated.
These headaches can be a hurdle in your day-to-day life. To treat these headaches, it is important to understand what factors influence them and how we can prevent them.
- Sensitivity: People vary in their sensitivity to fragrances. If you are more sensitive towards different blends of chemicals you are more likely to get severe headaches.
- Concentration: Some people are sensitive to certain fragrances. It is due to the varying concentrations of perfume oils in the perfume. A high concentration of perfume can be more potent for sensitive individuals.
- Allergens: Some perfumes contain certain chemicals and allergens that can cause your body to react severely causing headaches and respiratory problems.
- Air Quality: Compact spaces with less ventilation lead to poor air quality. The higher impact of perfume in the air can increase or intensify the likelihood of getting headaches.
- Medical Conditions: Individuals with a history of medical conditions like allergies and respiratory or nervous problems are more probable to get perfume-influence headaches.
- Extensive Exposure: Being exposed to multiple scents in a short period of time, like in a crowded place, can overload your respiratory senses and lead to severe migraines.
- Complex Perfumes: Perfumes with complex combinations and overpowering scents are also a contributing factor in perfume sensitivity.
- Temperature and Humidity: Sometimes hot and humid conditions can also intensify the perfume scent. With the release of bodily scents and high humidity in the air, mixed with a strong odor can result in discomfort and a sore head.
The Role of Chemical Sensitivities: Fragrance Compounds and Nervous System Responses
How does a perfume-induced headache work? Not surprisingly, it all starts from your nose. The nose is an exceptional organ; with thousands of receptors, it can distinguish hundreds of different smells. It is also one of the organs that have a direct connection to our brain and bloodstream.
Certain smells like smoke, pungent odors, and more can trigger an immediate alert in our brains. Our brain then indicates us to remove ourselves from a dangerous or unpleasant situation.
Similarly, certain chemicals or components in the perfume can trigger your nasal receptors and cause your brain’s blood vessels to pulsate. This constant pulsation can lead to a headache. Olfactory chemical irritants are circulated by sensory nerves which stimulate certain parts of your brain that are responsible for feeling pain.
I, in particular, am sensitive to overspray of Dior Fahrenheit. If I do more than 2 sprays, I get a headache.
According to scientific research, components like nicotine, formaldehyde, ether, and capsaicin trigger chemical sensitivity in individuals. If you know a little about perfumes, you will know that Ethers are one of the most important components that bind fragrances to create a remarkable perfume.
Other than these chemical substances, certain odors are also responsible for chemical sensitivity. Rose, Vanillin, and Japanese Cypress are some of the most common odors that are known for causing sore heads.
Tips for Choosing and Applying Fragrances to Minimize Headache Risk
To avoid any situations that lead to you asking yourself, “Why does perfume give me a headache?’, always be mindful of your choices of fragrances.
The only way to minimize the risk of perfume-induced headaches is to make sure to buy the right fragrance for you. Before selecting your signature fragrance, always patch-test the perfume on your hand or neck.
Let it rest and observe it for 2 hours, as it might take some time for your nervous system to respond. Be mindful of what kind of scents trigger you and avoid them at all costs. Go for fragrances that have lighter and fresher notes. These fragrances are generally less likely to cause discomfort.
When applying fragrances, apply only a minimal amount to avoid any overpowering effect. A single spray or dab on your pulse points is sufficient to smell pleasant. Most importantly avoid rubbing your fragrances, it can cause the molecular breakdown of chemicals and potentially cause it to become stronger.
Seeking Relief: Coping Strategies and Remedies for Perfume-Related Discomfort
The best perfume-related discomfort treatment is prevention. But if you ever find yourself in a situation where your head feels heavy after a long exposure to a scent, try the following remedies and coping strategies to aid your discomfort.
- Walk out of the room where you feel heavily scented. Try getting fresh air to ease out your senses.
- Remove the clothes on which you have applied the perfume.
- If you have applied perfume on any body part or skin, wash it with soap to rinse the fragrance out.
- Try taking a pain reliever, if going through severe discomfort,
- Take a nap of three to four hours to relax your receptors.
- If faced more often, try reaching out to a medical expert.
The Key Takeaway!
It’s common to wonder, “Why does perfume give me a headache?” after spending a day out or buying a new perfume. Some people are sensitive to certain fragrances or concentrations of the perfume, and when exposed they could face severe discomfort like headaches, or breathing difficulty.
The key to avoiding any such situation is to be mindful when buying a new perfume and avoid being in compact places with poor air quality.
