Why Does SmartLotion® Contain Fragrance?

Stuart Millar Updated by Stuart Millar

One of the most common questions we get here at HarlanMD is from customers asking why Dr. Harlan would put fragrance into a product designed for eczema patients, who often have allergies and extra-sensitive skin.

The answer can be broken down into two parts:

  1. The fragrance in the SmartLotion® formula is natural apricot. According to Dr. Harlan, natural apricot in fragrance form is hypoallergenic. The reason is because the allergen inside the apricot is completely destroyed when the apricot is cooked, which is part of the process for creating the natural apricot fragrance.
    1. The apricot allergen belongs to the Stone Fruit Allergen family. If you have a Stone Fruit Allergy, be sure to perform a spot check before applying SmartLotion® as normal.
  2. The sulfur in SmartLotion® has a potent smell. Many customers wonder why Dr. Harlan includes a fragrance in his SmartLotion® at all, even if it is hypoallergenic. This is why. The old versions of the formula were scent-free. By request of his patients, he performed an extensive series of tests to improve the smell of the formula in a way that would not irritate the skin. These tests resulted in adding the natural apricot fragrance to the current version of the SmartLotion® formula.

Regarding The Smell:

There have been reports of some SmartLotion® users not liking the smell.

Unfortunately, sulfur does not smell good, regardless of the natural apricot fragrance.

If SmartLotion® is applied as directed (applied as a thin, disappearing layer) the smell dissipates almost immediately.

If you are bothered by the smell, do not worry because it does not stay around for long.

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