Parabens are one of the most widely used antimicrobial preservatives in cosmetics and toiletries. There are many parabens.. benzyl, butyl, ethyl, methyl, and polyparaben being the most common.

They are used in moisturisers, lipsticks, eye shadow, body sprays, deodorants, body lotions, face creams, sunscreens, toothpastes, cleansers and shampoos, so they can be hard to avoid, unless carefully you read the labels on products. One search found Parabens in over 17,000 products.

   

Parabens can be easily absorbed through your skin and metabolise in your liver before being excreted.

A number of studies link Parabens to a whole list of problems including reproductive, endocrine, cancer, infertility, contact allergies and respiratory problems. Studies have implicated Parabens in abnormal Estrogenic activity. Which means that any Cancer which is hormone driven can grow at a faster rate under the influence of Parabens. These diseases include breast, ovarian, uterine, prostate, and testicular cancer. Paraben has been implicated also in the 50% decline in male fertility in the past 40 years. This is a significant reduction.

It seems a very sensible choice for everyone to avoid any cosmetics or other products which contain Paraben derivatives. Fortunately, blood and urine measurements of Parabens can be reduced by 50% or more upon removal of Paraben containing cosmetics.

Our Natural Skincare Solutions products at Noosa Holistic Health are Paraben Free and free of all other nasties as well.

Our preservatives are based on Rosemary and Walnut Leaf Extracts. They cost us more… but your health, wellbeing and safety is well worth it.

References: Some of this material has been sourced with permission from Dr. Peter Dingle’s book. “Dangerous Beauty”. Dr. Dingle is a Perth based toxicologist. More information on his website: www.drdingle.com