Walk down the soap aisle and you'll find just about every scent imaginable. Lavender. Vanilla. Citrus. Fresh linen. Ocean breeze. Some of them smell wonderful.
But not everyone wants their soap to smell like something.
For some people, strong scents are simply unpleasant. For others, fragrance is something they intentionally avoid because of sensitive skin, eczema, headaches or migraines. And some of us just prefer products with fewer unnecessary ingredients.
Whatever the reason, choosing fragrance-free products can be a simple way to remove one more source of fragrance from your everyday routine.
When fragrance is more than just a smell
If you've ever gotten a headache after walking through the perfume section of a department store or sitting next to someone wearing a strong fragrance, you already know that scent can be more than a matter of preference.
There is actually quite a bit of research on this when it comes to migraines.
A systematic review and meta-analysis published in 2025 looked at 58 studies involving 22,299 people with migraines. Researchers found that about 48% experienced osmophobia, which is an increased sensitivity or aversion to smells. About 40% reported odors as a trigger for migraine attacks, with perfume identified as the primary odor trigger.
Source: Osmophobia in Patients With Migraine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
View the study on PubMed
That doesn't mean fragrance causes migraines in everyone, and it certainly doesn't mean fragrance-free soap treats or prevents migraines. But it does help explain why someone who experiences migraines might choose to reduce the number of fragranced products they use every day.
Soap is a pretty easy place to start.
What about sensitive skin and eczema?
Fragrance can also matter to people who are careful about what they put on their skin.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends fragrance-free skin-care products for people with atopic dermatitis, a common form of eczema. Their advice is refreshingly straightforward:
“Choose fragrance-free skin care products.”
The AAD goes on to explain that fragrance can cause atopic dermatitis to flare and recommends choosing products specifically labeled fragrance-free. Their guidance also points out that other ingredients can cause reactions, which is one reason testing new skin-care products can be important.
Source: American Academy of Dermatology, Atopic dermatitis: Skin care
Read the American Academy of Dermatology guidance
None of this means every fragrance-free product is automatically right for every person with sensitive skin or eczema. People can be sensitive to all sorts of ingredients, including perfectly natural ones. If you have a diagnosed skin condition, your dermatologist is still the person to ask about what belongs in your routine.
But if fragrance is one of the things you already know you prefer to avoid, reading the label matters.
Why we leave it out
For us, leaving fragrance out wasn't about following a trend.
It was about making the kind of soap we wanted in our own home.
We wanted simple formulas made with ingredients we could actually identify. We wanted to be thoughtful about what went into each bar and just as thoughtful about what we could leave out.
So we don't add fragrance.
We don't add dyes.
And we don't think a good bar of soap needs either one to do its job well.
That philosophy eventually became a pretty good description of everything we wanted Del Toro Ranch to be:
Real Ingredients. Clean. Simple.
Fragrance-free doesn't necessarily mean “no smell”
This is where things get interesting.
Our soaps don't have added fragrance, but some of the ingredients themselves have a natural aroma. Cacao, for example, can give a bar a faint chocolate aroma. Other ingredients may lend their own subtle character to a finished batch, like shea butter.
We don't add anything to make those bars smell like chocolate, honey, coconut, matcha or anything else.
What you get is simply the bar itself.
And because our soap is handmade with real ingredients, you may notice subtle differences from one batch to another. We're perfectly happy with that.
Maybe you just don't want fragrance
You don't need to have eczema or migraines to choose fragrance-free products.
Maybe strong scents bother you. Maybe someone in your household is sensitive to them. Maybe you're tired of having five different fragrances competing in your shower. Maybe you've started paying more attention to ingredient labels.
Or maybe you just don't think your soap needs perfume.
We can relate.
Every Del Toro Ranch soap is made without added fragrance or dyes. That's not a special collection or a handful of products we set aside for people looking for a fragrance-free option.
It's simply how we make our soap.
Looking for fragrance-free soap?
Explore our handmade Signature, Tallow, Coconut and Shop Bars. Every bar is made without added fragrance or dyes.
Shop Del Toro Ranch Fragrance-Free Soaps
And while we're here, fragrance-free and unscented aren't necessarily the same thing.
But that's a story for another day.
Real Ingredients. Clean. Simple.
Sources & Further Reading
Briggs EE, Shah AH, Nguyen SA, et al. Osmophobia in Patients With Migraine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. World Journal of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery. Published online November 12, 2025. DOI: 10.1002/wjo2.70069.
PubMed: Osmophobia in Patients With Migraine
American Academy of Dermatology. Atopic dermatitis: Skin care. Dermatologists recommend choosing fragrance-free products and explain that fragrance can trigger atopic dermatitis flare-ups.
American Academy of Dermatology: Atopic dermatitis skin care
American Academy of Dermatology. How to treat eczema at home. Includes dermatologist guidance on choosing fragrance-free rather than unscented products.
American Academy of Dermatology: How to treat eczema at home
