Men’s Fragrance-Free Product Recommendations

By Marilee Nelson |

Men’s Fragrance-Free Product Recommendations

In today's world, health-conscious consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the ingredients in their personal care products. This shift is particularly significant for men's grooming and hygiene products, where traditional options often contain harsh chemicals and synthetic additives. At Branch Basics, we believe in the power of informed choices. Our mission is to promote healthier living, and one of the ways we do that is by recommending products that align with our commitment to human safety and sustainability.

But why is it so important to screen your personal care products before making a purchase? The answer lies in the potential health risks associated with common chemicals found in many products. Ingredients such as parabens, phthalates, and fragrances can disrupt hormone function, cause skin irritation, and even contribute to long-term health issues. By choosing non-toxic alternatives, you're not only protecting your family from these harmful substances but also supporting a cleaner, greener environment.

At Branch Basics, we take the guesswork out of finding safe products by rigorously vetting ingredients through the Environmental Working Group (EWG), ensuring that the items we suggest are among the safest on the market. To vet ingredients yourself, go to EWG Skin Deep’s website and search for the ingredients on the product you are evaluating. EWG rates ingredients from 1-10, with one being the safest and 10 being the most toxic. We recommend tossing all products with an ingredient rated 3 or higher. We also love the Think Dirty app for checking particular products. 

When vetting products, start with the last ingredient on the list to save time. Typically you’ll find preservatives here and you may only have to look at one ingredient to find a rating of 3 or more. Once you find an ingredient rated three or above, look no more and toss! 

People trying to heal inflammatory conditions, hormone disruption, or chronic illness should also avoid products used on the skin with the following ingredients that can be inflammatory (citric acid, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate,  phenoxyethanol, and any ingredient with a quaternary ammonium component like polyquaternium) even though they are rated a 1 or 2 on EWG Skin Deep.  


Important Note On Prioritizing Products Without Essential Oils

We recommend everyone Toss the Toxins to Create a Healthy Home by removing all products with harmful ingredients from the home. This removal includes all products with fragrance of any kind, including essential oils. . And, temporarily, we suggest removing even wildcrafted and organic essential oils processed without solvents. This is because essential oils are so concentrated, can cause inflammatory response, and have been shown to hijack the healing process.  Additionally, if not processed carefully, it has been found that some products with organic essential oils are contaminated with phthalates due to plastic tubing used in processing. After a month to six weeks of avoidance of all fragranced products (once all people in the family are healthy), then quality products with wildcrafted or organic essential oils, processed with no plastic components and without solvents, can be introduced to see if they are tolerated. 

We are listing products in our list that do contain essential oils that are marked with an asterisk, which we only recommend using after removing all fragranced products, and experiencing a fragrance free home. See this testimony of how finally removing essential oils changed her life.

Now onto our list of our recommended men’s fragrance-free personal care products…

Shaving Cream/Aftershave

Hair Gel/Spray

Deodorant 

Body Wash/Bar Soap

Shampoo/Conditioner

Helpful Hint for Dry Hair: Every three washes or so, try adding 1 drop (from a dropper) of organic argan oil into shampoo before lathering to help prevent hair from getting too dried out. Fun Fact: We've decided we're going to try out our Concentrate as a shampoo. If you want to try it too, let us know what you think!

Moisturizer/Lotion

Beard Oil/Balm

Cleanse/Face

Face Serums/Oils

Lip Balm/Balms

Body Powder

Flushable Wipes

Organic Clothing

Marilee Nelson

Marilee Nelson

Marilee Nelson is an Environmental Toxins expert who has spent nearly 30 years advocating for the chemically-sensitive and chronically-ill. She is a Board Certified Nutritionist, Certified Bau-Biologist and Bau-Biology Inspector and specializes in Food As Medicine. She has helped thousands of families and individuals identify, heal and recover from toxic exposures and is on a mission to revolutionize the way American families view their health.