Teenage girls in Denmark are using make-up and cosmetics to such an extent they are in danger of developing perfume allergies.
A new report from the environmental authority Miljøstyrelsen reveals that 95 percent of Danish girls aged 13-16 use deodorants, 74 percent use perfume and 69 percent use facial crème and body lotions.
And now the Environmental and Food Ministry has taken steps to curtail the trend with a new campaign.
Five percent and climbing
“Almost 5 percent of EU’s population have perfume allergies and young girls are at great risk because of their huge consumption of cosmetics with perfume,” said environment and food minister, Esben Lunde Larsen.
“So therefore I’ve launched a campaign that offers good advice on how one minimises the risk of developing a perfume allergy – such as by swapping one’s deodorant for one without perfume.”
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Organic ≠ no allergy
A survey from Miljøstyrelsen showed that 16-year-olds use considerably more cosmetics than 13-year-olds, and that the teenage girls don’t know that many of the products contain perfume.
The survey also revealed that four out of ten girls incorrectly believed that they wouldn’t develop perfume allergies if they used products that were natural or organic.
