Guys: We don’t need to smell you coming
The biggest ad in the Walgreens cosmetics aisle these days isn’t the airbrushed model hawking L’Oreal, but the huge cardboard archway with the Axe logo leading like a beacon to an aisle stuffed with flashy cans of body spray. This is where the boys come to be cool, to man up, to make the ladies swoon at their feet – or so the ads make them believe.
As the New York Times reported, male body products are all the rage among teenagers and even the pre-teen crowd. One mom counted 18 different products in the bathroom of her 13- and 14-year old boys – the body washes, exfoliators, body hydrators, body sprays, deodorant, shaving cream and hair products they think they can’t live without.
This is the beauty industry’s wet dream: to finally have the other 50% of adolescents churning with anxiety, desperate to own products that promise to make them attractive and acceptable (but always fall short). The marketing machine is selling such anxieties in a myriad of subtle ways – book tie-ins, gaming sites, endorsements from hip-hop stars and extreme athletes. A Kardashian sister was reportedly paid six figures to tweet about loving the smell of Axe. (In reality, most girls are holding their noses behind the guy’s back.)
The irony of this story, which the Times missed entirely, is that the ads promise virility and masculinity, yet the products may have the exact opposite effect on the bodies of developing boys. Most fragranced products contain diethyl phthalate, a chemical that has been linked to sperm damage and feminized genitals. Many of the products, from body spray to shampoo, also contain parabens, a chemical that acts like estrogen in the body.
In all, the 18 body-care products used by the above-mentioned teenagers contain roughly 200 synthetic chemicals that the boys are putting on their bodies each day before breakfast. This daily dose includes dozens of chemicals linked to cancer, skin problems, allergies and hormone disruption, according to an analysis of a typical suite of these products on the Skin Deep database.
How’s that for an ick factor?
By this point in the story, you may be shaking your head in disbelief. But the ugly truth is that companies are allowed to put nearly any chemical into beauty products in unlimited amounts, without conducting safety assessments and without listing all the chemicals on labels. Toxic products are often marketed as “pure,” “gentle,” “hypo-allergenic” and even “organic,” since there are no legal standards for these terms on personal care products.
The beauty industry is in desperate need of a safety makeover. The broken regulatory system keeps consumers in the dark about what they’re really buying and holds the industry back from innovating the next generation of non-toxic products. Why make safer products if they don’t have to? To help change the laws, join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at www.safecosmetics.org.
In the meantime, what’s the parent or girlfriend of an over-anxious body-spraying teenage boy to do? Showing him a Skin Deep analysis of his products, along with information about how phthalates may be impacting masculinity, may make a lasting impression. (Keep in mind that phthalates aren’t listed on product labels; avoid them by avoiding products with fragrance.)
Some honest feedback about what it’s like to smell them coming also wouldn’t hurt. As Stephenie Mullen, the mom quoted in the NYT story, wrote on her blog: “being in a car with my Axe covered boys (is) like going for a jog behind a mosquito truck.”
As it turns out, that image of the noxious spray cloud isn’t far off the mark from what’s happening in the bathroom each morning.
20 Comments
when people wear these scent including bath and bodyworks..i get so physically sick.. i can’t see well visually, i feel so sick i want to puke.. and if someone hugs me with perfume etc.. i have to go home shower and then dryclean my coat.. i try to tell people i am frieds with.. my bff wore redzone and tommy and i finally told her i could not be around here unless she did not wear it.. not to mention all of the above dangers… thanks!
Can anyone recommend some good chemical free lotions and other beauty products?
Great post! I yell at my husband when he puts cologne on! LOL! Needless to say, he goes without. For myself, I wear essential oils.
Samantha–100% Pure is my favorite, they smell amazing! You can order online, just got a ton of stuff!
Samantha- Kris’ favorites are listed on our shop page: http://crazysexylife.com/shop
Agreed! Nothing worse than the wafting chemical smell that perfume gives off. It literally makes me sick. I read “Not Just A Pretty Face” a few years ago and now me and my hubby have switched to safe, natural products.
Oh everytime i smell that stuff I know a migraine is on it’s was. Why can’t people just shower and be themselves. It is hard enough to find shampoos and soaps that dont smell to high heaven with cologne. I can smell my nephew around the corner. My dad is a fully groomed guy a dandy in some circles but he has always had a light touch with the cologne so it smells nice and clean. It is the only smell I can handle. Duncan smells fab and knows I would just prefer him smelling like him.. no cologne please. He is the same way. Just clean and fresh
is enough. Thanks for this post. I think we are all having a wake up call on cosmetics and perfumes and body sprays. We need it. Hugs and Happy Smells. Callie
Great post! also, remember, that the chemicals that you put on your skin not only end up in your blood, but also they washed into the public water system. and … eventually some of them may end up in our drinking water.
I can often tell who is in the building in the morning by the scent trail they have left down the hallways – can anyone say olfactory adaptation.
Thanks so much for this post, Stacy. It’s time for our regulators to step up and protect our youth and children from these reckless products. There’s no excuse, these companies need to be punished for their crimes. All too often companies (and those who are paid to advertise their products) take advantage of vulnerable members of the public just to make a profit. Do these folks even know how serious their crimes are? These actions echo into future generations!
As men I truly hope we grow to be better role models for younger generations (thank you ladies for all of the support!).
Fellow men: since when are we afraid of a little natural odor? And are chemicals really the solution? I’d recommend checking in on your diet and eating healthy if bothered by body odors. A regular diet of fresh vegetables and water should do the trick. Avoid the processed foods and sugars (just more chemicals ready to make you smell and feel bad). You can also expel bad odors with a good work-out followed by a shower. Yoga is a great way to eliminate toxins through various stretching and muscle exercises.
Either way, I hope that us men appreciate this life enough to live smelly rather than compromise our well-being with these nasty products.
Had a conversation with my 12 year old son this morning on why I was buying a different deoderant to replace the free one the school sent home. Thankfully this generation is open minded and looks for guidance in our big bad world. The Facts of Life and raising a child didnt used to include choosing wiser when shopping to protect your health. Hopefully (go Campaign) it wont be so difficult by the time he is a Dad.
This is a great post – I’ll be passing it along for sure. It’s time we got all of our CSL men off the products that we won’t touch anymore! LOL Lauren – I am the same with my husband when he gets the cologne out.
Dr. Hauschka products are amazing! Biodynamically grown flowers, holistic, organic and the products themselves are incredible. It is the only product line I allow my 13 and 15 year old to use. Try the Blackthorn Body Oil for the teen boys.
Thanks for this one, I’ll send along to my nephew.
Another great article, Stacy!
Thank you. Ava’s cousin Mathew threw away his AXE when she showed him what was in it and the disease implications of his smelly spray. Imagine how many other Mathew’s now know this, today!
THEY will stop making it, when WE stop buying it.
Please look up your products on the database, and read, Not Just A Pretty Face… it will change your life.
Thanks for all the comments! Ian makes a good point. People often ask me what’s the best product to use to improve skin. The reality is, it’s so much more important what you put IN your body than what you put on it. Lots of water, whole foods, fresh fruits and veggies, preferably organic, are most important for good skin (or less body odor). Teenagers also need to know that skin problems such as acne can be caused or exacerbated by allergic reactions to chemicals in products. So the best RX for bad skin: watch what you eat and switch to non-toxic products.
Thanks all,
Stacy Malkan
I highly recommend Bubble and Bee beauty products. They are well known for their Pit Putty organic deodorant, but they also market stick lotion, lip balm, salt scrubs, and many other products that are certified organic.
Awesome blog Stacy.
You know, it’s not actually possible to walk into a CVS and buy unscented male deodorant where I live in Washington DC. And I can’t stand the scented stuff.
As a result, I’ve stolen my girlfriend’s unscented deodorant on occasion. Not proud. But that’s where the market has left me.
in all honesty, i like dudes body odor, i think its kinda sexy to smell something coming from a guy’s body. i also like other smells that come from their body too!
If only getting women was as easy as the ads portray. Unless you have chloroform in those spray cans, you don’t have much of a chance
February 3, 2010