NOT JUST SKIN DEEP

SKIN allergies are about four times more common in women than in men, and researchers speculate this may be because women are generally exposed to more fragranced skincare and cleaning products.

Skin allergies in general have increased dramatically in the past few decades — as much as two or three times in industrialised countries over the past 30 years, and now affect up to 30 per cent of children and up to ten per cent of adults.

Between one and four per cent of the population has an allergic reaction to fragrance, dermatologists believe; in the UK, that’s up to 2.66 million people.

And the blame, researchers say, lies with ‘the ubiquitous nature of fragrance in modern society’.