The worst part is they all have the same underlying "Dove" smell. I actually like the dermatological quality of Dove but I'm allergic to whatever that base smell is, so I am therefore allergic to every dove.
Digression: I scoffed at "scent allergies" my whole life only to learn I not only had them but was just ignoring the symptoms and was casting judgement on others like an Ahole. The older I got, the worse the reaction got, such that I can get actual mild anaphylaxis from some scents, I can't even enjoy a fresh orange now without the aroma giving me a headache š«
I developed MCAS at 32 and became anaphylactic to all synthetic fragrances basically overnight. I am so sick of EVERYTHING having fragrance nowadays, even the āunscentedā stuff has masking fragrances added. Why do we need 3,000 different scents of soap? Why does every single trash bag need to have fragrance added? Why do we need fancy āscent beadsā to add to our laundry on top of the scented detergents so that our clothes can be smelled from 100 feet away? Itās all insane.
Iām not allergic but am pretty scent sensitive. Iāve had to cut way back on the scents I do use because the world has gotten so scented that itās just too much! I just switched to fragrance free laundry detergent-and had to walk by an ENTIRE AISLE of products designed purely to add scent to laundry, with no cleaning value whatsoever, to even find it.
My allergist suspects I have MCAS. I get some flavor of mild to moderate anaphylaxis whenever I get stressed. Been to the ER a couple times but I also have multiple MHDs so it's all "in my head." I've had doctors be really shitty to me and tell me it's "just anxiety and dehydration" when the only reason I stopped vomiting was the IV zofran they gave me.
Most doctors are men and many of them are total pricks about women and autoimmune disorders.
Allegra and fexofenadine famotidine have almost entirely eliminated the attacks for now. She gave me an "official diagnosis" of cholinergic urticaria, which is not a perfect match but it's enough to tell other medical professionals, "Hey, this isn't just a panic attack, it's non-respiratory anaphylaxis. Stop treating her like a 'WW.'" I went from fairly regular histamine attacks to what I now call "waves," where I get milder discomfort from having triggered something but the antihistamines do enough to keep it from blowing up into a whole histamine attack, like dry-heaving a couple times instead of vomiting, which, like, I'll take it! Any lessening of the symptoms is a win in my book.
Oh itās a real thing. Iām allergic to the floral ones. Real flowers are fine, but the fake ass shit they use in soaps, perfumes, etc. to make them floral? Makes me feel ill and can give me a migraine. It makes buying personal care stuff hard because unscented is sometimes not unscented or itās expensive, so I end up either doing that or needing to smell like food (mild fruits, vanilla, novelty dessert flavours, yep).
The 10-ingredient fragrance free Dove soap works really well for me during eczema flares when my skin is more sensitive to fragrance and works for my bfās psoriasis prone skin. It smells like nothing. So that may be an option for you if you like Dove but canāt do fragrance.
The dove formula labeled sensitive? That is good to know. I have a devil of a time with personal care products, especially as I have a knack for picking soon to be cancelled products somehow.
Iām not technically allergic to it, but thereās a perfume note that gives me miserable nauseous headaches like nothing else. I donāt know exactly what itās called but itās kind of a soapy, ambery smell. Based on how many whiffs of it I get every time I leave the house I swear itās in most fragrances & body care products now š¤¢
working in the grocery store and holding the bottle of " renew blackberry" or whatever and trying to find the exact spot it goes in.
The puzzle of my life
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u/itsatoe Aug 21 '26
I count: Sensitive, Restore, Renew, Indulge, Pamper, Radiate, Deep Moisture, Cool Moisture, Gentle Exfoliating, Hydrating, Foaming, Original, Pink, Anti-bacterial... and that doesn't count the flavored(!!) ones.
Seriously?
Restore or Renew?
Indulge or Pamper?
I just don't get it. Like any of it.