Are Paraben Free Skin Care Products Safer

By Marcie Raymond


Parabens are a series of preservatives that are added to cosmetics to give their products a longer shelf life. There are no major cosmetic companies that make or sell paraben free skin care products. You will find that virtually every face cream, lotion, bath soap and deodorant contain parabens in at least one, but usually three or four forms.

These chemicals come under many different names but most will end with "ben". If you read the labels provided with your deodorants, soaps and face creams you may find several different strains of this chemical. Testing of this substance has shown that in face creams, when exposed to ultra-violet rays it actually causes your skin to age faster. This is the exact opposite of what it is supposed to be doing.

In studies of tumors taken from breast cancer victims more than eighty percent of studied tumors contained parabens in their makeup. The tumors in the participants were also found to be very near the under arm area of victims. These findings have lead to the conclusion that underarm deodorants are suspect as part of the source of the chemicals found in the tumors.

Some components of parabens are designed to mimic estrogen in the body. Estrogen has been shown to be a cause of cancer and it interferes with the natural balance of hormones in people. This has been shown to cause early puberty in children as well as lessening the sperm count in male subjects.

Children are entering puberty as young as eight years old and developing breasts and pubic body hair. When blood tests are done they have found measurable amounts of paraben present. Exposure can begin at birth because many infant health items contain this ingredient. It has been shown that the human body can absorb up to five pounds of these chemicals from cosmetics alone over a lifetime.

The average woman applies face creams to her face twice a day from the time she becomes an adult. Some part of the responsibility for the safety of these creams falls to the manufacturer. One thing that the consumer can do is read the labels to insure that there is nothing objectionable in the contents. Once you have been advised of the dangers that may be present it becomes your responsibility to guard against them.

The bottom line is that the manufacturer is responsible for making sure their cosmetics are safe for use by consumers. The consumer should not have to force them to act in an acceptable fashion when it comes to safety issues. It has been shown many times that consumer actions can and will bring around needed changes even when large corporations decline to address a subject immediately.

The best and nearly only place to purchase paraben free skin care products is the internet. There are several well known manufacturers listed that produce all types of creams, soaps and make up with no parabens in their ingredients. It may be wise to use the items that contain no parabens and remain on the safe side until proof one way or the other is available.




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