What are parabens and why is there a growing movement by consumers of personal, beauty, cosmetics and skin care products towards paraben free skin care products and other products?
Parabens are a class of chemicals that are used as preservatives of a wide range of personal products like shaving creams, moisturizers, cosmetics, shampoos and skin care products. If you have some of those to hand at home look on the label and see if parabens are listed there.
They are extremely effective as anti bacterial and anti fungicidal agents, hence their use. They have been used as preservatives for many years.
But there is now some questioning of the safety of using parabens in our personal products that are applied right onto our skin. Why?
When you apply a product to the skin the parabens are absorbed almost immediately and are found in your blood soon after. This doesn’t mean they’re dangerous, but it’s not a nice thought.
But there are studies linking parabens to a range of cancers including breast cancer and other studies have suggested that they may have a hormonal effect on the body. And they have been linked to skin rashes and more. They are thought to disrupt the endocrine system.
And none of it is fully proven and it’s not even clear when something is fully proven, and of course the big companies argue it’s all a storm in a teacup.
Regardless some people aren’t convinced and are looking for paraben free products like skincare products on the principal that it’s better not to take the risk if you don’t need to.
There’s no need to use anything that may cause health problems.
Why use it indeed. There are other more natural preservatives available that work well, so why do the big companies still use parabens? It’s all about profit. Parabens are much cheaper than the more natural alternatives.
So although there is no conclusive studies proving that parabens are dangerous many people are looking for parabens free products. There really are excellent paraben free alternatives that are available right now. And they work well.
Find out on my website where to source safer alternatives to modern skin care products that actually work better.
