What's the Deal with Parabens?

This topic comes up every now and then but especially during my busy season right now. I had someone at a spa party ask about it and I really hope I answered the question for her. It was hard because I had not been asked about parabens in a long time so it took me off guard. Also, the topic came up on a message board and it got me thinking about it again. I looked up all my research and information that I had found a few years ago when I first started with Sensaria and then found some new information as well. It is REALLY hard to sift through all the rubbish and self-serving information out there so be warned if you do your own research. I just want to share the information that I have found. I hope it helps!

So, first of all ... What are Parabens?

Wikipedia defines it as: "Parabens are a class of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Parabens are effective preservatives in many types of formulas. These compounds, and their salts, are used primarily for their bacteriocidal and fungicidal properties. They can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, spray tanning solution and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives."

Sensaria's Director of Product Development has this to say about it:

"Parabens are preservatives that are added to skin, hair and body care products to protect the product and the consumer from the many types of bacteria and fungus that can grow in a product. These unwelcomed 'critters' can compromise the integrity of a product (make it separate, make is smell bad) and can in some cases can hurt you (from skin rashes all the way to blindness). Parabens are the most-used preservatives in cosmetics and drugs, yet they are the least likely among traditional preservatives to cause irritation or allergies. They’ve been used in cosmetics since 1938 and are among the safest ingredients used in cosmetics and drugs. Sensaria uses a blend of parabens in many of our products to protect against a wide range of contaminants (this is because some preservatives only protect against bacteria, some only get mold and fungus, etc). These blends of preservatives provide us with what we call 'broad spectrum protection'. The total preservative blend used in our products is less than 0.5% of the total formulation. That means, for example, that if you see five parabens listed on an ingredient declaration, that those five all together only equal less than 0.5% of the total product.

Because parabens are known to penetrate the skin, concern has been voiced by some watchdog organizations that those that are included in cosmetics might act as endocrine disrupters when applied to the skin. Cosmetic chemists who are familiar with the skin-penetration activity of parabens maintain that this is not possible because once they enter the skin, they form metabolites that are incapable of mimicking estrogen.

Additionally, both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society have web pages dedicated to addressing the internet rumor that antiperspirants and deodorants cause breast cancer.

The bottom line is that the safety of parabens applied to the skin is practically conclusive. Parabens are among the safest ingredients used in cosmetics and drugs. They keep the product safe to use and keep the consumer safe from harm. We will continue to use them in our products until a more effective and cost efficient alternative is identified."

I found a few more online articles that I found very informative and helpful. The FDA even has an article about parabens that says, "The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) reviewed the safety of methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben in 1984 and concluded they were safe for use in cosmetic products at levels up to 25%. [...] In September 2005, the CIR decided to re-open the safety assessment for parabens to request exposure estimates and a risk assessment for cosmetic uses. In December 2005, after considering the margins of safety for exposure to women and infants, the Panel determined that there was no need to change its original conclusion that parabens are safe as used in cosmetics."

You may have also read about this controversy that parabens cause cancer? This was referenced briefly above about parabens being "endocrine disrupters" which means they create estrogen. This is based on a flawed study conducted in England in December 2003. The most glaring fault of the study was that it was performed on a very small sample which showed the presence of parabens located near the area of the underarm. Therefore, the researcher concluded that the parabens must have come from the use of antiperspirants and deodorants. She did not take into account that the tumors were taken post-chemo and that the chemotherapy was preserved with, of all things, parabens!

Anyway, we all consume much higher amounts of parabens than I think you would put on your skin. Parabens occur naturally in such foods like blueberries and carrots! I thought this company had a great explanation of parabens and why they use them in their products. I have used Lush's products before and love how natural and good for you they are. It used to be my go to place every time I visited Vancouver, BC but they now have stores in Bellevue and Seattle. Yipee! Check out their bath bombs. Fizzy! The company originated from England so here is an excerpt from their UK article about parabens: "By choosing preservatives with long history of safe use, we have been able to tap into all the already existing information available, which makes parabens a sensible choice. There have been no substantiated health concerns about parabens. Instead many news articles simply repeat rumours and discredited information. Unfortunately a headline declaring that parabens are considered to be safe is not going to sell as many papers. However, the good news is that they occur in nature - and that the present research considers them to be safe, so you can carry on eating blueberries and carry on enjoying Lush’s fresh, handmade cosmetics on your skin!"

Finally, (I hope you stuck with me so far) I found another blog article about parabens with a similar idea. It is written in a different way and highlights some really great points. Here is just a brief excerpt, "Throughout this article you will find direct links to final statistics and reports from the necessary authorities on this subject. I hope this will finally remove the undue paranoia that has run rampant throughout the internet causing us to double-check our labels and throw out a lot of otherwise great products based on unsubstantiated theory and narrow testing."

Well said!