“There is no ugly woman but poorly groomed”, so the saying goes, and it is completely true, all women are beautiful and therefore they like to take care of their skin, their hair, their nails, take care of their image, not so much for others people or men but to feel good about themselves, and for this reason they use a number of products that help them to be more beautiful than they are , such as cream to hydrate the skin, to rejuvenate you, shampoo to take care of your hair and that has a pleasant smell, in itself, an endless number of cosmetics that are in different presentations and different brands.
If you are one of those women who like to take care of their image and you use everything we mentioned, I ask you: Do you read the label of the ingredients that these products bring? There is a particular ingredient that we want to talk to you about, its name is Paraben, and it is a preservative that most cosmetic products, some foods and also pharmaceutical products contain, this chemical is the best to fight against fungi and yeasts, but also against bacteria that can reproduce in these and damage them in a short time. This information that we are going to provide below is important because you should know that this chemical that brings everything you use to keep yourself beautiful can be harmful to your health.
Parabens can cause irritation and redness of the skin, also dermatitis. And as if that were not enough, a study found that there was the presence of parabens in samples of breast cancer tumors and some can alter the hormonal balance of the body, that is, they act as endocrine disruptors. Which hinder the action of human hormones to the point of being able to cause cancer in women or decrease fertility in men. Not to mention that they can also affect you in pregnancy and babies under three years of age.
Index
How to identify parabens
You can easily identify them by reading the label of each product that is usually behind and at the end, it is the information of the ingredients. Check each one you use on a daily basis: face creams , body lotions, deodorants, makeups , shampoos , shower gels, nail polishes, sexual lubricants and toners, shaving or waxing products, pharmaceutical products for topical use, suppositories, ophthalmic solutions , local anesthetics, and even toothpastes and some foods.
There are so many products on the market that it is estimated that an adult can be exposed to 1.26 mg / kg / day, or what is the same, about 76 milligrams of parabens per day. This makes it almost impossible to avoid using them unless you go to cosmetics without parabens or parabenfree .
List of the most common
Once you read the ingredients of the products described above, you should generally find the following names written in English or Latin:
- Benzylparaben
- Butylparaben
- Ethylparaben (E214)
- Isobutylparaben
- Isopropylparaben
- Methylparaben (E218)
- Propylparaben (E216).
Are parabens good or bad?
Parabens are harmful to health, especially if the limit in their use is exceeded. Butyl parabens and propyl parabens have been limited by the European Commission to the use of these parabens to be a maximum of 0.4% and 0.8% if mixed. However, if they are used in very low concentrations between 0.05 and 0.2%, it is possible to enjoy cosmetics without putting our health at risk.
Some such as ethyl parabens and methyl parabens are not cause for alarm if they are used in the legal limit concentrations, they should appear in a maximum of 0.4% concentration in a product (or 0.8% if they are mixed). What makes them good or bad the use that people make of them, it should be noted again that they are safe and fulfill their role as preservatives to prevent the spread of fungi and bacteria that would also put your health at risk.
Read this article to learn about What are the most important mineral salts for our health?
Are parabens bad for the skin?
Between the 40s and the 70s, cases of skin allergies began to appear due to parabens, generally those that were applied on it, such as facial creams and moisturizers . There were several cases of dermatitis, however, these occurred because before the concentration exceeded the limits, they had a high concentration, so they are currently regulated, and the concentrations are low and cannot exceed 0.8%.
This does not mean that they are good and that they will not cause an allergic reaction on your skin, as already mentioned, it all depends on the use and that you check the ingredient label well to make sure that you are using the allowed amount of parabens.
Symptoms of allergy to parabens
In case of having an allergic reaction you should take into account these symptoms:
- Itching in the affected area.
- Red, streaked, or patchy rash
- Rash with red bumps that may ooze, and subsequently crust over
- The skin may be inflamed with prolonged exposure to the sun.
Are parabens carcinogenic?
They really are not, as it has been said, everything is in the use of people, in excess or in the allowed amount, there was a study that tried to determine if by applying a deodorant or cream they could be absorbed and reach the breast causing a tumor and later cancer, published in the ‘Journal of Applied Toxicology’ in 2004 by a group from the University of Reading (UK).
They found parabens in breast tissue samples, but the direct relationship between the use of these products and their presence in the samples studied could not be verified. As a result of this study, some parabens were banned years later.
Parabens prohibited
In October 2014 on April 9, the Commission prohibited the use of 5 parabens in cosmetics:
- Isopropylparaben,
- Isobutylparaben,
- Phenylparaben,
- Benzylparaben
- Pentylparaben
According to (Commission Regulation (EU) No. 358/2014).
Uses and benefits of parabens
We can, despite the information that we have provided about its causes and effects, see its benefit and it is that these are preservatives that protect the consumer from pathogens that would infect the creams and products that are used daily, it is In other words, they prevent them from expiring soon, attacking the fungi and bacteria that cause said expiration.
Parabens as preservatives in food
Just as parabens are used in cosmetics, they are also used in some foods, their use is allowed in confectionery products, sweet potato and starch-based snacks and coated nuts , due to their bactericidal and fungicidal properties. There is also an organic paraben naturally contained in some foods such as blueberries, this is metabolized in the body after being ingested and does not cause damage to health .
If you want a correct diet in an organic way, do not hesitate to read the following organic food article : Distinguish them, eliminate pesticides, disadvantages and why eat them .
Parabens in cosmetics and sunscreens
Parabens in cosmetics used mostly by women to prevent aging , or to hydrate the skin, or simply to protect it can cause opposite effects, that is, those that should protect and rejuvenate you could cause premature aging, since they tend to accelerate the process of skin aging.
Researchers at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan say that the type of methyl parabens increases sensitivity to damage caused by the sun, if you are exposed to ultraviolet rays for a long time, skin cells die at a rate much faster than normal. Therefore, you should read the ingredients to check for methyl parabens before buying beauty products for your skin. Such is the case with sunscreen , if they contain this kind of paraben then you will suffer more damage to your skin than you want to avoid.
It has been proven that they are not photostable, (photostability is the ability of a solar filter to remain stable when exposed to ultraviolet sunlight , and creams and sunscreens, especially, achieve this protection by absorbing the sun’s rays. .) so phototoxic reactions will be unavoidable causing the appearance of lesions and spots on the skin.
Effects of parabens in babies
Special products for babies generally contain the permitted concentration, that is, a very low concentration, however you should pay attention to products that are for the diaper area in children under three years of age , since irritated skin increases the risk of absorption of these substances more quickly and your baby may have a severe allergic reaction or diaper rash.
Do Parabens Affect During Pregnancy?
If you are pregnant, you should avoid creams and any product that contains parabens as much as possible, because your baby can be affected in his immune system , also with reproductive disorders, even his intelligence can be affected. The presence of xenoestrogens in parabens, in high concentrations, acts as false hormones that directly affect the uterus, causing the growth of the endometrium.
For pregnant women, the use of anti-stretch mark and anti-cellulite creams is common, you must pay close attention that they do not contain parabens or simply replace them with natural creams without any chemicals.
Paraben-free cosmetics, is it possible?
The work carried out by parabens in products is very important, keeping them in good condition for a long time, and if this work is not done by parabens, then who? If there are substitutes and there is also the possibility of natural and homemade products ,But what will prevent the development of molds and bacteria? If they are not attacked simply, the product will not serve you for long and if you use it despite everything, then you will suffer the same or worse side effects. The answer then would be that there could hardly be a cosmetic without parabens, although there are many products on the market that say “without parabens” you have to know that they have used some other preservative and in the same way it could have effects on your health if you use them excessively. .
If you want a more shiny and healthy skin what are you waiting to read this article Best Skin Scrubs: Tips and Home Remedies
Research references on parabens
To learn more about the study that was initially mentioned, visit:
http://www.dr-baumann.ca/science/Concentrations%20of%20Parabens%20in%20Human%20Breast.pdf
(Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller WR, Coldham NG, Sauer MJ, Pope GS. Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumors “Paraben concentrations in human breast tumors”. J Appl Toxicol. 2004 Jan-Feb; 24 (1 ): 5-13).
Kathie Sand always saw the world of beauty as the terrain on which to build her professional career, a goal that was clear to her when she was only 15 years old. Her great concern to expand knowledge led her to settle in Paris where she studied hand in hand with the best beauty professionals and with the most advanced techniques for skin care.