Lotions and perfumes found to affect ‘human oxidation field’ chemistry

Skin lotions and perfumes can disrupt the chemistry of the air surrounding us, although more investigation is needed to understand what, if anything, this means for human health.

Back in 2022, a team of researchers led by Jonathan Williams, an atmospheric chemist at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany, stumbled on the fact that the ozone chemistry taking place on our skin generates a sheath of hydroxyl (OH) radicals around us, which oxidise chemicals entering it – our personal oxidation field.