| Judging by the number of anti aging skin | | | | |
| products that contain parabens, you'd have to | | | | No problems, you may think, I'll just wear a |
| think they contribute in a big way in | | | | sun block. |
| protecting the skin from aging. | | | | |
| | | | Good idea, you should be wearing one anyway. |
| What are parabens? | | | | Just check the label though because... guess |
| | | | what? That's right, parabens are even found |
| Parabens are a large collection of synthetic | | | | in certain sun protection products. |
| chemical products found in most skin care and | | | | |
| cosmetic products including moisturizers, | | | | How can I tell if there are parabens in the |
| shampoos, foundation, face powder, | | | | products I use? |
| exfoliants, baby products... There are | | | | |
| thousands of skin care products that contain | | | | It's very difficult because they go under so |
| parabens, the list is endless. | | | | many different names! Some of the more |
| | | | recognisable ones are: Ethylparaben, |
| The reason parabens are put into skin care | | | | Methylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Aseptoform |
| products is they have an antibacterial effect | | | | Butyl and Benzoic acid. Parabens have many |
| and act as a preservative. | | | | synonyms so without knowing all the names, |
| | | | which is virtually impossible, reading the |
| So what? There are two problems. | | | | label will only add to further confusion. |
| | | | |
| The first and most serious one is the | | | | It's fairly safe to say if you see several |
| potential for parabens to be absorbed by the | | | | long names you can't pronounce on the back of |
| skin into the bloodstream from where they can | | | | a product, there's a paraben lurking |
| lodge in our fatty tissues. As women are the | | | | somewhere inside! Over 90% of skin care |
| main users of these products, the breast | | | | products, contain these chemicals. They are |
| tissue is of particular concern. | | | | there because they are cheap and until |
| | | | recently, considered relatively safe. |
| Parabens mimic the hormone estrogen and can | | | | |
| be absorbed by the breast tissue. In fact | | | | The FDA has requested cosmetic companies to |
| parabens, in their unconverted form, have | | | | test the various ingredients they use to |
| been found in breast tumours. | | | | manufacture their products (May 2005). While |
| | | | they are to be commended for this, the |
| What's the other problem with parabens? | | | | process is laboriously slow and ongoing. |
| | | | |
| Anti aging products are bought by both men | | | | How can I protect my family against parabens? |
| and women in the hope of preserving the | | | | |
| appearance of their skin. The problem is that | | | | Easy! Use natural cosmetics. The products on |
| some parabens can react to the UV rays in | | | | the site below contain no parabens whatsoever |
| sunlight to produce a substance that actually | | | | and are free of other cancer causing agents. |
| accelerates aging. | | | | And no, they're not expensive! |