Parabens are a category of preservative chemicals used in a wide variety of cosmetic and skin care products. Chances are you own hair care products, shaving products, makeup or moisturizers that contain at least one of the parabens. Should you be concerned about the risk these chemicals pose to your health?
Why Are Parabens Used in Cosmetics?
Parabens are the main preservatives used in cosmetics to prevent the growth of microorganisms. Many times more than one type of paraben is used in a product; this helps to reduce the amount of chemical needed in a product to assure adequate preservation.
Look on the label for ingredients such as butylparaben, methylparaben, ethylparaben and/or propylparaben.
What is Paraben?
Parabens are a group of compounds, synthetic preservatives, used to fight the growth and development of unwanted microorganisms in the products of which they are a part. These compounds mimic estrogen when they are absorbed by the body. Routes of absorption include intact skin and the gastrointestinal tract and blood when they are taken internally in the food and pharmaceutical products of which they are ingredients.
How Do Parabens Affect Your Health?
Because parabens are synthetic forms of estrogen, these compounds are considered to be endocrine disruptors, along with other chemicals such as bisphenol-A and phthalates.
Parabens are associated with breast cancer; in test tube studies parbens cause breast tumor cells to grow and proliferate. In animal testing, parabens are associated with reduced levels of testosterone and sperm, and suppressed platelet function (blood clotting). While it’s true that results of animal studies are not always replicated in human studies, the animal results warrant some concern until more human data is compiled.
Paraben-Free Cosmetics
There are more and more cosmetics and skin care products that are being made without the addition of parabens. To ensure that the product you want to purchase is actually free of parabens, read the ingredients label and be sure to look for the various types of parabens. Don’t take for granted that a product that advertises itself as paraben-free to be so until you have read the ingredients label.
Sources: U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Cosmetics — Parabens; March 2006 and Updated October 2007.
Breast Cancer Fund; Parabens;
Colby College; Endocrine Disruptors — Parabens
National Institutes of Health: Butylparaben; April 2005