3 Things in Your Home That Make Eczema Worse (And What to Do)
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Photo by Crystal Chabor at Unsplash.com
Plus: What the science says about fragrances, detergents, and your skin barrier.
What Everyday Household Products Trigger Eczema?
A quick ‘greatest hits’ of environmental exposome influences that make your inflammatory system go crazy, making your eczema worse, your asthma worse, your IBS worse, your arthritis worse, can even make cancer more aggressive, and more. These three are where you should start if you have a recent diagnosis or think you might have eczema (or contact allergy).
1) Soaps, shampoos, body gels, conditioners
Can that bath and body gel be causing eczema flares? Most of those hand and body washing gels contain strong detergents that strip oils from your skin, and the anti-microbial ones are known to damage the skin barrier even more (triclosan is one of those culprits). Old fashioned hand soap won’t do all that, and there are unscented simple soaps in the same places you find the expensive gels. In all cases, use unscented clean products, which saves your skin barrier, avoids the artificial scent chemicals, and remember – bar soap will get you just as clean for half the cost. We like the olive oil soaps for our house.
2) Laundry detergents and softeners
Does laundry detergent cause eczema? If your eczema is mostly in places where your clothing rubs, binds, or stays in contact with your skin, this is your number one suspect! Switch to unscented safer products. Some people recommend a splash of white vinegar in the rinse cycle instead of conditioner to get complete rinse-out of all the ‘stuff’. And a note to the wise, you don’t need much modern product for a great clean – experiment to find out how little still works. We use about 2 tablespoons of liquid for a full load of whites, a bit less for other clothes. Try it! Your skin will love you, so will your bank account.
Because of the way fabric conditioners work, they leave residual chemicals in your clothes. If you suspect your clothers are making your eczema worse, avoid all conditioners. And remember to always wash new clothing before wearing it, for the same reasons.
Remember: The best laundry detergent for eczema is one with no scents or fragrences and a really short list of ingredients - and do not use conditioners at all.
3) Air fresheners
Are air fresheners safe to use? These things kill me, the sprays and the wall warts alike. All of them have one or another sensitizer to volatilize the scents, and then the synthetic scents themselves slay. I’m convinced both trigger my allergies and then an eczema flare. These chemicals are often called Volatile Organic Chemicals (VOC) and they are really bad for you. The longer you are exposed to VOCs, the stronger the effects may be. VOC are bad for your health. Strong vote against!
What does the science say about scent and fragrence safety?
Do fragrance chemicals cause skin irritation? Do fragrance chemicals harm your health?
Let’s drill down on personal cleaning and care products with some solid references for you about the science of artificial fragrences and stabilizers, “These ingredients include: alkylphenols, antimicrobials, bisphenols, cyclosiloxanes, ethanolamines, parabens, phthalates, and benzophenone to mention a few classes of hundreds of chemicals. They are eventually persistent, cumulative, and transformable. … Thousands of fragranced products (perfumes, colognes, body soaps, hand washes, shampoos, facial/hand cleansers/creams, deodorants) and household articles (air fresheners, disinfectants, fragrance diffusers, laundry/dish detergents, scented candles, surface cleaners) are in use daily worldwide.” See Rádis-Baptista G. Do Synthetic Fragrances in Personal Care and Household Products Impact Indoor Air Quality and Pose Health Risks? J Xenobiot. 2023 Mar 1;13(1):121-131. doi: 10.3390/jox13010010. PMID: 36976159 – and this is free to download.
Do fragrences or scents make my child’s eczema worse?
For your child with eczema, “We find that several fragrance chemicals in children's products are potential carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, neurotoxicants, phytotoxins and skin sensitizers.” I can’t find a free version of that best paper, alas: Ravichandran J, Karthikeyan BS, Jost J, Samal A. An atlas of fragrance chemicals in children's products. Sci Total Environ. 2022 Apr 20;818:151682. PMID: 34793786.
Vacuuming and dusting can really help your eczema.
Remember that these compounds accumulate and do not break down, so the more of them you use in the same space, the more exposure you have. It takes thorough cleaning to remove some of these from the surfaces in your home, using a safe solution of water with a few drops of dishwashing detergent and a splash of white vinegar. Keep dust under control with regular cleaning, and if you can, invest in an air filter - those volatile organic compounds love to stick to small particles of dust and dander and then they hang around.
... and synthetic compounds accumulate in the environment and get into your water and air
These compounds also get flushed or rinsed into your wastewater, accumulating in the environment, and then in drinking water, getting more concentrated each cycle of waste. Where does your water come from? Where does it go? It’s a little bit scary how much of our health depends on other people making smart choices too! Khalid M, Abdollahi M. Environmental Distribution of Personal Care Products and Their Effects on Human Health. Iran J Pharm Res. 2021 Winter;20(1):216-253. PMID: 34400954 – I wish I could have found the full article for free, but the link gets you to an abstract and a great illustration.
FAQ
Q: What household products make eczema worse?
A: The three most common household triggers are: (1) soaps, shampoos, and body wash — particularly scented detergent-based products that strip skin oils; (2) laundry detergents and fabric softeners, especially scented varieties that leave residue on clothing; and (3) air fresheners, both sprays and plug-in diffusers, which release synthetic fragrance chemicals and sensitizers into indoor air.
Q: Can laundry detergent cause or worsen eczema?
A: Yes. If your eczema flares in areas where clothing rubs or stays in contact with skin — such as the inner elbows, back of knees, or waistband area — laundry detergent or fabric softener residue is likely contributing. Switching to unscented, fragrance-free products and using less detergent per load can significantly reduce flares. Conditioners leave residues in your clothing and should be avoided at all costs.
Q: Are fragrance chemicals in household products dangerous?
A: Research published in the Journal of Xenobiotics (Rádis-Baptista, 2023) found that fragrance chemicals in personal care and household products include classes of compounds — such as parabens, phthalates, and bisphenols — that are persistent, accumulate over time, and are associated with immune disruption and skin sensitization. A separate study found several fragrance chemicals in children's products are potential carcinogens and endocrine disruptors (Ravichandran et al., 2022).
Q: What is the exposome and why does it matter for eczema?
A: The exposome refers to the total collection of environmental exposures a person encounters over their lifetime — from genetics and early childhood to pollution, cleaning products, and chronic stressors. For people with eczema, asthma, or other inflammatory conditions, cumulative exposome burdens can trigger and worsen symptoms over time, even when no single source seems significant on its own.
Q: What should I use instead of scented soaps and detergents?
A: For hand and body washing, switch to unscented bar soap — it cleans just as effectively as body wash without detergents that strip skin oils. For laundry, use an unscented detergent in smaller quantities than the label suggests (as little as 2 tablespoons of liquid per full load works well), and consider a splash of white vinegar in the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener to remove all detergent residue.
About the author: Scott Hampton is a cosmetic and drug delivery expert with CDM, Inc., focusing on formulations for all skin types and colors. Based in Marietta, GA. Bio and LinkedIn.