We read the label.
Here's what we found.
We set out to build the best detergent for people who sweat. The deeper we read into conventional formulas, the more one thing stood out: the scent was carrying most of the chemistry. Here's what we found, and what we did about it.
One word can legally hide dozens of ingredients.
On most labels the entire scent system collapses into a single word: “fragrance.” In the U.S. that word is a trade secret, so what's behind it never has to be listed. Held against warm, sweaty skin all workout, that's a lot to take on faith.
So we did the opposite. Athlete Fresh is unscented, and every ingredient in it has a name.
- Surfactants
- Fragrance
- Sodium Carbonate
- Sodium Bicarbonate
- Sodium Citrate
- Cellulose Gum
- Six-Enzyme Blend
We split clean and scent into two jobs.
Unscented by design
No fragrance in the wash means nothing bonds to the fabric but clean.
Five named ingredients
The whole list fits on one line. Every one does a job you can look up.
Six-enzyme clean
A six-enzyme blend breaks down sweat, body oil, and odor at the source.
Scent in the dryer
You add scent later, on your terms. A few drops of essential oil, or none.
Five ingredients. Every one named.
Sodium Carbonate
Washing soda. Lifts embedded sweat, body oil, and odor residue out of the fibers.
Sodium Bicarbonate
Baking soda. Softens water and neutralizes acidic odor at the source.
Sodium Citrate
Binds hard-water minerals so the enzymes can do their job.
Cellulose Gum (CMC)
Keeps lifted soil from settling back into the fabric.
Enzyme Blend
Six enzymes (protease, amylase, lipase, cellulase, mannanase, pectinase) break down sweat, oil, starch, and stains.
Sweat needs a system, not a detergent.
Unscented enzyme detergent gets the gear completely clean and leaves nothing behind.
A few drops of essential oil on a wool ball. You decide the scent, and how much.
Don't take our word for it.
Here's the published research behind why we left fragrance out of the wash. Every finding links its source so you can read it yourself.
Heat and sweat multiply what your skin takes in.
Warming skin from 25°C to 39°C increased how much passed through it by 202–275% over three hours in human-skin testing. Exactly the state of a workout.
Kilo et al., Toxicology in Vitro, 2020Scented laundry vents chemicals into your air.
Peer-reviewed testing of dryer-vent air during scented laundry found more than 25 volatile organic compounds. Seven are classified as hazardous air pollutants, two as carcinogenic.
Steinemann et al., Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health, 2013Fragrance is a leading cause of skin allergy.
In North American patch-test data, Fragrance Mix I ranked as the third most common contact allergen, positive in 12.8% of patients tested.
DeKoven et al., NACDG · Dermatitis, 2023More of the research
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One word can legally hide dozens of ingredientsThe U.S. treats “fragrance” as a trade secret; the EU requires 26+ allergens named outright.FDA 21 CFR 701.3EU 2023/1545
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Fragrance can carry hormone-disrupting chemicalsDEP, a common fragrance carrier, was absorbed through skin and interacted with estrogen signaling in lab studies.Krais 2018Fiocchetti 2021
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The chemicals in fabric reach your skinSecondary dermal exposure is an established pathway; a textile chemical permeated skin by up to ~62% over 24 hours.NIH Fact SheetIadaresta 2018
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Detergent residue can disrupt the skin barrierConventional detergent surfactants (SDS) impaired barrier integrity in human and mouse skin. Surfactants AF doesn't use.Rinaldi et al., Allergy, 2024
Athlete Fresh shares this research to educate about the laundry-care category. These studies describe ingredients and exposure pathways broadly; they are not claims that any specific product, including ours, prevents, treats, or affects any health condition. We link every source so you can read it yourself.
Clean gear. Nothing hidden.
Unscented enzyme clean in the wash. Your scent in the dryer. Every ingredient named.
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