Published: 10/18/2014 - Updated: 05/18/2018
Author: MSc. Miriam Reyes
Cosmetic Parabens are the least expensive and most effective preservatives used in industrial cosmetics. And just like what takes place with the agricultural industry, manufacturers always resort to the cheapest products that allow them to pay less and gain more, without caring about their effects on health.
How to identify cosmetic parabens
Look closely at the ingredients contains in bath, beauty, or hygiene products (including deodorants and perfumes). They are generally written in English or Latin.
- BENZYLPARABEN
- BUTYLPARABEN
- ETHYLPARABEN (or camouflaged as E214)
- ISOBUTYLPARABEN
- ISOPROPYLPARABEN
- METHYLPARABEN (or camouflaged as E218)
- PROPYLPARABEN (or camouflaged s E216)
You are putting a chemical preservative on your skin that produces negative effects when used daily.
Parabens are the most commonly used cosmetic and pharmaceutical preservatives because they are extremely inexpensive, and because they act as a bactericide and a fungicide within the product. This means that it is an insecticide that prevents microbes and bugs from getting into creams and shampoos, but is it still an insecticide.
They can be found in shampoos, beauty creams, shaving or waxing products, sexual lubricants, topically applied pharmaceutical products, and even toothpastes and some foods.
These parabens are actually stearates from para-hydroxybenzoic acid. It has been proven to cause irritation and skin redness in several individuals, or even dermatitis. One scientific study surprised the international community by discovering parabens in breast cancer tumor samples (Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller WR, Coldham NG, Sauer MJ, Pope GS, Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours. J Apple Toxicol. 2004 Jan-Feb;24(1):5-13). Another study, supported by animal testing, criminalizes parabens for altering estrogen behavior in the human body.
80% of diseases come into play from buying like robots, without worrying what we’re really taking home.
Revised by: Dra. Loredana Lunadei on 05/18/2018
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