Last week we posted about synthetic fragrance in the workplace, and a great (but also bummer!) conversation ensued in the comments. Over email though, one reader sent us a longer account of her personal experience working in a fragrance-filled environment, and we wanted to share it with you.

When I read this email I cried. It’s no small thing to be told that you’ve affected someone’s life in a good way, and we always get a little choked when we hear it. But mostly this story is so upsetting (but then redeeming!) that it touched me in a very real way.

Note: By publishing this, we are not in any way saying that one woman’s experience proves a larger trend. We have also removed the name of the store where our reader (who also asked to remain nameless, though she was happy to share the story) was employed because 1) you can guess, 2) we don’t want to get in trouble, and 3) it really could be any store that pumps fragrance in the air.

Hi ladies,

Thank you so much for everything you guys have done.  You have made an amazing difference in my life, and I’m trying to pay it forward by raising awareness with all of my loved ones.

First off, I love everything you guys are doing.  You both have changed my life with your book. Reading today’s blogpost on synthetic fragrance in the workplace really resonated with me, because synthetic fragrance in the workplace destroyed my thyroid.

It all started about 8 months ago when I was getting some routine blood tests because my husband and I wanted to start a family.  When my blood tests came back, my doctor informed me that I have hyperthyroid.  I got referred to an endocrinologist who ran a bunch of other tests, included one to see what my thyroid looks like because my different levels were really weird.  When my doctor got my test back, he saw that my thyroid had been completely destroyed except for a tiny portion where it looked like it was healing itself.  He asked me what had changed in my life that might explain my thyroid repairing itself.

For two years before this, I worked part time at [insert BEAUTY STORE] in order to pay for grad school.  I was constantly around synthetic fragrance and a whole slew of nasty products that made me feel and look like crap.  I was sick all the time and had terrible cystic acne.  After grad school, I quit [BEAUTY STORE] when I got my first real job at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.  This was also when I found your book.  I got out of the terrible environment that [STORE] provided and switched all of my products to legitimate naturals, not the green-washed ones for sale at [STORE].  In weeks, I felt better, my cystic acne went away, and little did I know, my thyroid began to be able to repair itself.

My endocrinologist is pretty conservative, and didn’t want to believe that changing all my personal care products and being out of [STORE's] contaminated air is what was causing the change.  However, two months ago, I had my follow up appointment and my thyroid has completely healed and all of my levels are normal.

I will never go back to [STORE] and will never use dirty products again, because I know that getting rid of all the crap has saved my life.  I wish that someone could go in and study employees of places like [STORE] and see how being in an environment with all the toxic products really has a detrimental affect on the human body.

Pretty powerful stuff, no? We so appreciate all the comments and accounts we hear, so keep them coming. If you too have a longer testimonial to share don’t hesitate to email us at nomoredirtylooks at gmail dot com. We would never publish anything without asking your permission, and when we get to the next book, you can bet that we’ll be contacting some of you for your stories.