Summer is in full swing, and following exposure to the sun, many people have seen brown spots or other skin lesions appear on their skin. One of the possible causes is dermatitis or perfume dermatitis, which corresponds to photosensitization of the skin, following the application of a perfume or a perfumed product before exposure to the sun. Explanations.
Perfume, sun and the dermatitis of perfumes
Exposure to the sun of the skin, if it is repeated, excessive or on skin that is not, poorly or badly protected, can cause more or less serious skin problems:
- A sunburn ;
- Accelerated aging of the skin;
- The appearance of pigment spots;
- The rash of cold sores (herpes labial) ;
- The development of skin tumours, benign or malignant, such as carcinoma or melanoma ;
- Photodermatoses, associated with skin sensitization.
Photodermatoses correspond to skin conditions following exposure to the sun of skin previously sensitized by various factors:
- Taking a drug in drug photosensitization (many drugs are said to be photosensitizers);
- Meadow dermatitis associating an allergic reaction to the presence of certain allergens;
- The existence of a skin pathology, such as dermatomyositis (rare autoimmune disease, marked by inflammatory damage to the muscles and skin) or xeroderma pigmentosum (rare hereditary genetic disease responsible for extreme sensitivity to UV rays);
- Allergic reactions to the sun (lucites and solar urticaria);
- Applying a perfume.
From applying perfume to the appearance of dark spots
The application of a perfume to the skin, followed by exposure to the sun, can indeed cause dermatitis or dermatitis of perfumes. It is manifested by the appearance of brown pigmentation in areas that have been in contact with a perfume or a perfumed product (for example a cream or body milk). This brown pigmentation can appear in the form of: spots, patches, a streak.
Perfume dermatitis can also be observed with other fragrant substances, in particular essential oils. One of the most photosensitizing substances is bergamot essence, present in many perfumes and fragrant cosmetics. But other substances may be involved, such as: Lavender essential oil, cedar essential oil, sandalwood, lemon essence.
No perfume before the sun
Brown spots, which often take the form of a run on the areas where the perfume or perfumed product is applied, appear either immediately following sun exposure or later, two to three weeks following sun exposure. . If this skin condition remains benign, the brown spots often persist for a long time. Their attenuation and disappearance take place slowly and gradually over a total period of several months. Provided, of course, that you do not expose yourself to the sun once more following wearing perfume.
How to prevent atomic dermatitis?
Faced with perfume dermatitis, the main advice is prevention, by not applying any perfume or perfumed product before exposing yourself to the sun.
It is also necessary to favor fragrance-free sun products, and do not forget to repeat the application every two hours. Even benign, perfume dermatitis shows a reaction of phototoxicity of certain substances vis-à-vis the skin cells. Cells to be protected from a harmful cocktail of sun and perfume!
Estelle B., Doctor of Pharmacy
Sources
– Perfume dermatitis. academie-medecine.fr. Accessed August 24, 2022.
