FACT - Without a preservative - organic matter - food, lotions, creams and pastes - will, in a short time, attract bacteria and fungi.
- Parabens are preservatives - cheap and readily available, they are used in many brands of adult & baby skin care products. Parabens entered mainstream use during the 1920s and increased in the 1950s following reports of lotions causing bacterial harm. Their was a need to increase product shelf-life and parabens were to hand.
FACT - When you apply body lotion, baby lotion, lip balm, shaving balm, baby shampoo, moisturising cream, eye cream, conditioner, toothpaste, shaving cream, deodorant and foot cream, for example, your skin absorbs the ingredients.
FACT - Parabens enter the body. In the US, the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) tested urine from 100 adults and almost all contained parabens.
- Parabens and the endocrine system - parabens mimic the body's own hormones and disrupt the endocrine system.
- Parabens & cancer
FACT - In a study of human breast tumors in 2004, Dr Phillippa Dabre, Reading University, found evidence of parabens in every cancerous case. This was the first major research to link parabens with cancer and "the first study to show their accumulation in human tissues," Dr Dabre said in the Journal of Applied Toxicology, vol 24.
Later, in 2008 Dr Dabre, published a further report highlighting the link between oestrogen-mimicing parabens and female breast cancer, the interference with the male reproductive organs, and the development of malignant melanoma. (Jul;28(5):561-78).
BUT, as parabens are commonly used in foods, toiletries and household detergents, many scientists doubt a link to cancer.
So, the wisest thing you can do is decide for yourself.
The companies that favour the use of parabens do so because parabens are convenient, cheap and, until proven otherwise, a safe preservative. Companies who chose not to use parabens as preservative do so because they feel that any connection with cancer, or other health concerns such as allergies, is enough to create change.
What do you think? - Read the ingredients & decide for yourself. It's your body! Don't be put off by long words with silly spellings. Parabens are easy to spot: methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and benzoic acid.
While the brands that contain parabens might be those brands you are familiar with, there are plenty of alternatives and, due to health risks, paraben-free products are growing in number.
Check out: I am Natural, PurSkinCare, Naked or Miamoo (Mother & Baby award winner).
Learn more and if you're having a facial or other skin care treatment, ask whether you therapist uses paraben free products on your skin. Remember: the skin can absorb doses up to 10 times higher in concentration than an oral dose - that's how nicotine patches work!