Have you been searching for different places to spray perfume on your body to last all day? I did the same, and I thought I found some gems. Guaranteed ways to a prolonged scent bubble. Only there was one problem that I didn’t anticipate. My sensitive skin.
With ongoing issues with eczema, spraying perfume directly on my neck was only welcome with stinging and rashes. Yet I found a way to get what I wanted from my perfume wear. Longevity. All the gems in perfume placement are adapted to suit my sensitive skin.
Alcohol & Sensitive Skin
Alcohol is traditionally used in modern perfumery. Firstly, alcohol is a powerful solvent. The most popular form of alcohol used in perfumery is denatured ethanol.
Denatured ethanol is ethanol that has been treated with additives. Ethanol is a good solvent, as it has polar and non-polar parts. Allowing it to be easily dissolved in a soluble resulting in a solution (the perfume). Alcohol is used to dilute the fragrance oils and aromatic compounds, such as flowers, spices, resins, and woods found in perfume. Alcohol being a powerful solvent, as well as its other properties keep it a popular component in modern-day perfumery.
Despite its popularity, alcohol-based perfumes are not great for people like you or myself who have sensitive skin. In contrast to oil-based perfumes, alcohol-based fragrances strip away the skin’s natural oils. This has the capability of damaging the skin’s barrier, resulting in redness, itchiness, and in my case especially irritation. Hence, making direct application of fragrances on sensitive skin potentially harmful and harsh.
Direct application of perfume on my neck leaves me with irritated, and broken skin, which can take days to clear up. In addition to the harsh alcohols and synthetic chemicals included in alcohol-based perfumes, ethanol’s rapid evaporation rate can leave skin feeling tight and dry. This is due to its incapability to penetrate deeply into the skin and lock in moisture, hence preventing dehydration.
Protect your Sensitive Skin
Protecting your skin from direct application can start with sticking to oil-based perfumes, as an initial step. Hence, buying perfumes with lower concentrations of alcohol. As we know, high concentrations of alcohol can exacerbate skin irritation. Therefore staying away from fragrance types, such as Eau de Toilette, which has a higher concentration of alcohol in comparison to Eau de Parfum, is a step in the right direction.
However, as a perfume lover who typically only buys Eau de Parfum fragrances due to my love for long-lasting perfumes, I have found that such fragrances despite their slightly reduced concentration of alcohol can still irritate my skin. With solely buying oil-based fragrances looking like a guaranteed way to break the bank, I had to look for other ways to apply perfume without direct contact with my skin.
As someone who wants longevity, projection, and silage in my perfume application, it was important for me to find a method that allowed me to do just that. A bonus was for the method to elevate my perfume application even more!
Body Chemistry vs Fabric Chemistry
One of the best tips I learned when buying perfumes is to test the fragrance directly on your skin rather than using the tester cards in-store. Why? For the everyday person, the fragrance is going to be applied directly to the skin, hence it is important to test how the fragrance will envelope when combined with an individual’s body chemistry. Body chemistry is why a perfume will smell different on each person.
However, with someone with sensitive skin, direct skin application is something that we want to avoid or reduce altogether. This is where fabric chemistry comes into play.
Fabric is a great way to elevate your perfume application. Fabric tends to hold perfume well, some fabrics hold scent better than others. Cotton and silk are great for holding onto a scent and allowing gradual enveloping of fragrances.
Not spraying on clothes can be the biggest mistake people make with their fragrances. Not only are fabrics perfect for perfume longevity and projection, but they are also a way to have a ‘pure’ scent without the interference of body chemistry.
So, how should I apply my perfumes when I have sensitive skin?
Simple. Neck, wrists, shoulder blades, and chest. These are all pulse points that are recommended places to spray perfume on. With sensitive skin, you can still spray on these areas but on your clothing instead. For instance, spraying directly on the collar or neckline of clothing rather than on the skin. Therefore, getting the same benefit of applying perfume on the neck, meanwhile not irritating your skin. The same method can be used for other areas, like your wrists or shoulder blades.
With this method, I would smell the fragrances on my clothes for days after. Even hours after the initial application, I would be finishing an 8-hour shift at work, and still be on the receiving end of compliments about my perfume. Every perfume lover’s want, am I wrong?!
At the end of the day, don’t let your sensitive skin get in the way of your love of scents. There is always a way around it, and spraying on fabric and not on your skin is a method I would strongly recommend. A method I approve of!
