Keywords:allergic contact dermatitis;clinically relevant patch tests;cosmetics;deodorants;fragrance
Background. Fragrances frequently cause contact allergy, and cosmetic products are the main causes of fragrance contact allergy. As the various products have distinctive forms of application and composition of ingredients, some product groups are potentially more likely to play a part in allergic reactions than others.

Aim. To determine which cosmetic product groups cause fragrance allergy among Danish eczema patients.

Method. This was a retrospective study based on data collected by members of the Danish Contact Dermatitis Group. Participants (N = 17716) were consecutively patch tested with fragrance markers from the European baseline series (2005–2009).

Results. Of the participants, 10.1% had fragrance allergy, of which 42.1% was caused by a cosmetic product: deodorants accounted for 25%, and scented lotions 24.4%. A sex difference was apparent, as deodorants were significantly more likely to be listed as the cause of fragrance allergy in men (odds ratio 2.2) than in women. Correlation was observed between deodorants listed as the cause of allergy and allergy detected with fragrance mix II (FM II) and hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde.

Conclusion. Deodorants were the leading causes of fragrance allergy, especially among men. Seemingly, deodorants have an ‘unhealthy’ composition of the fragrance chemicals present in FM II.