My Experience With VOCs & Fragrance Sensitivity
When Chemical Smells Become Impossible to Ignore: My Experience With VOCs & Fragrance Sensitivity
There are certain smells most people barely notice that I can detect from across a room.
Perfume. Cologne. Artificially scented laundry detergent. A freshly cleaned bathroom. Room spray. A scented candle. The unmistakable smell of ammonia from conventional cleaning products.
For me, these aren't simply smells I dislike. My body reacts almost immediately. I feel like I can't breathe, become overwhelmed, and often times even panic - because I know I'm being exposed to something I have intentionally worked so hard to eliminate from my environment.
I've often joked that after more than 15 years of living a very natural, low-tox lifestyle, my sense of smell has turned me into a bloodhound when it comes to chemicals. I can pick up on trace amounts of artificial fragrance or chemical odors that the people around me don't seem to notice at all.
Even the smell of the adhesive on conventional packing tape can make me want to throw up.
It can be challenging to navigate the modern world with this level of sensitivity. But honestly, I've come to see it as something I'm grateful for.
What are VOCs?
VOC stands for volatile organic compounds. These are chemicals that readily evaporate into the air at room temperature, meaning we can inhale them as they are released from products and materials around us.
VOCs are found in many everyday products and household materials, including paints, adhesives, solvents, cleaning products, air fresheners, personal care products, furniture, building materials and fragrances.
And this is where things get interesting when it comes to fragrance.
When you smell a strongly scented product, you're literally detecting chemicals that have become airborne and reached your nose. Fragrance formulations can contain numerous individual chemicals, and some fragranced products can contribute to indoor VOC levels.
This doesn't mean that every VOC is inherently dangerous or that every fragrance exposure will cause harm. Different chemicals have different properties, and the level and duration of exposure matter.
But it does mean that the air inside our homes isn't necessarily as clean as one might think. A product can be sitting innocently on a bathroom counter while continuously releasing compounds into the air around us.
And because we spend so much of our lives indoors, I think it's worth paying attention to what we're choosing to bring into that environment.
Why am I so sensitive to chemical smells?
I've wondered about this myself for years.
My sensitivity became much more noticeable as I gradually changed the way I lived. Over the past 15+ years, I've intentionally reduced my exposure to synthetic fragrances, harsh cleaning chemicals and other unnecessary chemicals in my home and personal care products.
The more I eliminated, the more noticeable the remaining exposures became.
It's almost like my baseline changed.
When you live surrounded by fragrance all the time, you can become accustomed to it. You might not even notice the scent of your laundry detergent, shampoo, hand soap or air freshener anymore.
But when you remove those smells from your environment, they can become incredibly obvious when you encounter them again.
That's exactly what happened to me.
My sense of smell seems almost hyper-attuned to artificial and chemical odors. I can walk into a space and immediately know that someone has recently used a heavily fragranced cleaning product. I'll smell someone's perfume before I've even seen them. I'll notice a scented product in a room that everyone else seems completely unaware of.
And once I smell it, I can't always "un-smell" it.
What causes fragrance sensitivity?
Fragrance sensitivity can mean different things to different people. Some people experience headaches or respiratory irritation around fragrances, while others may experience nausea, dizziness, or other symptoms. For some, simply encountering a strong scent can be intensely unpleasant.
There is also a term you may have heard: multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS).
MCS is used to describe situations in which people report significant symptoms in response to low levels of exposure to various chemicals or odors. It is a complex and controversial area of health science, and there isn't one universally accepted explanation for why some people are much more sensitive to these exposures than others.
What I can speak to is my own experience: certain chemical and artificial fragrance smells trigger a very strong response in me. And whether the reaction is coming from the respiratory system, the nervous system, sensory processing, or some combination of factors, the experience itself is very real.
For me, the solution isn't to spend my life worrying about every chemical molecule I encounter.
It's to reduce unnecessary exposure where I have control.
Where fragrance hides
One of the biggest things I've learned is that fragrance isn't limited to perfume.
It's everywhere!!!
It's in household cleaners, laundry products, dish soap, hand soap, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, deodorants, hair products, candles, room sprays, air fresheners and even products marketed as ways to make your home "fresh."
And sometimes fragrance is used to cover up another smell rather than actually clean or remove the source.
Think about the number of scented products you might encounter in a single day.
You wake up in sheets washed with scented detergent. You shower with fragranced body wash and shampoo. You put on scented lotion and perfume. You clean your kitchen with a fragranced spray. You light a candle in the evening. You spray your bathroom with an air freshener.
Individually, these things may seem insignificant.
But collectively, they can create an environment where fragrance is essentially always present.
That is one reason I have become such a believer in fragrance-free products and alternatives.
Not because I think everyone needs to live exactly as I do, but because removing unnecessary fragrance is one of the simplest ways to reduce the number of chemicals you're intentionally introducing into your immediate environment.
Fragrance-free doesn't have to mean boring
When people hear "fragrance-free," they sometimes imagine a sterile, clinical lifestyle where everything smells like absolutely nothing.
But I actually think the opposite can be beautiful.
There is something wonderful about allowing your home to smell like itself.
Fresh air.
Clean laundry without a perfume cloud.
Fresh herbs.
A window open after a rainstorm.
The natural scent of wood, flowers, citrus or the ocean.
Instead of constantly trying to manufacture a particular smell, I've learned to appreciate the absence of artificial fragrance.
And when I do want something beautiful and sensory, I prefer natural alternatives whenever appropriate — things like fresh flowers, herbs, naturally aromatic plants or simply opening the windows and letting fresh air move through the space.
What I've changed in my own life
I've become extremely intentional about the products I use.
For household cleaning, I look for simple, non toxic, fragrance-free options rather than heavily scented conventional cleaners.
For personal care, I choose clean products that are fragrance-free or minimally scented whenever possible.
I don't use room sprays or conventional air fresheners. I burn naturally scented candles only.
When it comes to perfume, I've largely opted out.
That doesn't mean I've eliminated every chemical from my life. That's impossible in the modern world.
It means I'm thoughtful about the exposures I can actually control.
And I think that's an important distinction.
A low-tox lifestyle isn't about creating a bubble around yourself or becoming terrified of everything you encounter. It's about looking at the products you use every day and asking a simple question:
Do I really need this exposure?
If the answer is no, why not eliminate it?
The challenge of living in a fragranced world
This is probably the hardest part for me.
I can control what I bring into my own home. I can choose my cleaning products, skincare, laundry and personal care products.
But I can't control what other people wear.
I can't control the fragrance someone is wearing when they sit next to me on an airplane. I can't control the cleaning products used in a hotel room. I can't control the detergent used on sheets at a rental house. I can't control the scent someone has sprayed throughout a public space.
And sometimes, I have to remove myself.
I know that someone else may smell a beautiful perfume while I'm experiencing something completely different. But I've learned to listen to my body.
I can step outside.
I can open a window.
I can move away from the source.
I can remove myself from the exposure when possible.
That, to me, is the empowering part.
Maybe sensitivity isn't always a bad thing
I've sometimes wondered whether I would be better off if I weren't so sensitive.
It would certainly make some things easier.
I wouldn't notice every heavily fragranced hotel hallway. I wouldn't immediately detect someone's perfume from across the room. I wouldn't have to think twice about what detergent was used on sheets and towels, or what was sprayed in a bathroom.
But I've come to appreciate my sensitivity.
It has made me much more aware of my environment.
After living naturally for so many years, my body seems to give me very clear feedback when something doesn't agree with me. I don't necessarily need to know exactly which chemical I'm smelling to know that I don't want to breathe it in.
And that awareness has encouraged me to make better choices in the areas I can control.
Start with one simple change
You don't have to overhaul your entire home overnight.
If you're curious about reducing your exposure to fragrance, start small.
Look at the products you use every single day: your laundry detergent, household cleaners, hand soap, body wash, shampoo, lotion and air fresheners.
Then start replacing the most heavily fragranced products with fragrance-free alternatives.
You may be surprised by how many products you've been using simply because you're accustomed to the smell — not because the fragrance actually provides a benefit.
And once you remove some of those artificial scents, you may notice something else:
You start smelling the world around you again.
The fresh air coming through an open window. The scent of the garden. The ocean. Freshly washed cotton without perfume. Herbs growing in the kitchen.
There is a whole world of natural sensory experiences underneath the layer of artificial fragrance we've become so accustomed to.
For me, learning to live with less fragrance hasn't made my world less beautiful.
It has made me more aware of it.
And while my extreme sensitivity to chemical smells can sometimes make navigating the modern world difficult, I'm ultimately grateful for it.
Because when you've spent years creating a cleaner, more natural environment for yourself, your body becomes very good at telling you when something doesn't belong.
