Healthy Natural Skin

Tuesday February 14th
Paraben Free Lotions – Why They Are Recommended
Just imagine of there were no parabens at all. These are used to stop nasty fungi growing in many cosmetics and personal care products. If they were NOT there, the shelf life of these products would be very short indeed.

The American Academy of Dermatology says that they perform a very useful function in stopping us getting some nasty infections. So, why is there all this talk about paraben free lotions?

The first problem is that they may well cause some skin irritations although everybody reacts differently, there might also be an allergic reaction.

But the main concerns are those about cancer. Although these parabens have been in use since the 1920s, we now know so much more so it is worth bearing in mind modern research rather than saying if it was alright for our grandmothers, then it should be safe for us!

As I said, the biggest problem is that these parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben and ethylparaben) can actually mimic oestrogen which is a major cause of cancer, especially breast cancer in women. Research at the University of Reading in the UK actually showed the presence of these parabens in the breast tissue of all the women they examined who had contracted cancer.

That is a very alarming statistic but of course it does not mean that parabens can cause cancer. But given their mimic estrogen capacity I would much prefer to play safe on this one and avoid them at all costs.

We should also keep in mind that the skin can actually absorb a large quantity of what we apply to it. There is also the question that these chemicals and nasties will not be necessarily excreted either. Which may account for the fact that they were found in the women’s breast tissue. They seem to be a time bomb there and I would much prefer to be free of them.

These parabens are in facial washes, body lotions and also fragrances. So, what can we substitute them with so that we are not running these risksso that they are truly paraben free lotions? What are the natural ingredients that can stop mould forming? Is there such a thing?

Yes, natural preservatives are used and when these are combined with other powerful skin friendly organic ingredients, we really do have a winning formula.