Parabens: What are They?
July 25, 2007 by Teri Cosenzi
Filed under Bath & Body, Cosmetics, Skin Care
Learning all I can about living a more “natural” life, especially through beauty and personal care products, I keep hearing the word “paraben” and “Paraben-Free” So, what exactly are parabens?
Parabens are a group of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. They can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, cleansing gels and personal lubricants. Parabens have been found to cause skin irritation, contact dermatitis, or allergic skin reactions.
There was also a study showing parabens present in breast cancer tissue samples, this was linked to use of underarm deodorants, but many say there needs to be more research carried out before a causal link between parabens in cosmetics and breast cancer can be proven. You might not see the word parabens, but that does not mean they are not there, as these chemicals might be listed as methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben or butylparaben. source:Treehugger
In glancing through just a few of my bath products, I notice many – too many, parabens listed. And while the main stream cosmetic industry deems Parabens to be “relatively” safe, I am going to be more vigilant in trying to use Paraben-Free products. How about you?
Some product lines that are Paraben-Free include: La Roche-Posay, Jane Iredale Products, and Skyn Iceland.
um, la roche-posay totally uses parabens. they are in almost all of their products. The dermstore website lists ingredients… go ahead, click on any of the products…
But, there are tonnes of brands out there that have made a conscious effort to avoid parabens, and more and more are phasing them out. Common lower-end ones include Avalon Organics, Aubrey Organics, Burts Bees, Giovanni Hair Care. There are also higher end brands, like Dr. Hauschuka, Juice Beauty, and Stella McCartney’s Care line that don’t contain any parabens.
Wow – thanks for pointing that out Margaret. In my research, they were quoted as being one who follows the paraben-free standard.
I am sorry for the confusion, and will definitely be checking that out myself.
I’ve been doing my best to avoid parabens and just wanted to share that I highly recommend Stella
McCartney’s line. It smells great and my skin feels so nice after I use it.
I don’t think parabens are as bad as you make them out to be, but I personally avoid them so I am basically in agreement with you. I have to point out that La Roche Posay is owned by L’Oreal so it isn’t surprising that they use parabens. Dr Hauschuka are also owned by L’Oreal. I was in their store in London a few weeks ago and some contained parabens and some didn’t. I don’t at the moment know whether they are in the process of taking them out or if they are switching them over to existing formulations.
Just one final point. Just about the only type of cosmetic that almost never contains parabens is underarm deodourants.
All the best with the blog.
Parabens occur naturally in plants such as soybeans and blueberries. You’ve most likely ingested more parabens in your life by eating food than any amount that could make it’s way past your epidermis and into your bloodstream transdermaly from cosmetics. ONE report showed parabens in breast tumours and there has yet to be any other report to back it up. That doesn’t mean they cause or contribute to cancer, there’s also a WHOLE LOT of other things found in tumours as well.
They are excellent, natural anti-microbials that plants have used for millenia to protect their fruit. You people are going to freak out about something like this and then they’re going to put in an alternative that REALLY will cause cancer, you wait and see.