Avoiding Parabens in Products
Parabens
What are Parabens and why should you avoid them?
As an Aesthetician for 14 years I have always been aware of ingredient lists and what some are, which to avoid and why. Parabens are one ingredient that you want to avoid in any product as it is not natural and can be harmful to you through time. Looking at ingredients and choosing products that are more natural and healthier for your body will only keep you and your family in a more natural healthy state. Most natural health food stores carry lots of brands of body and skin care that are natural and healthier.
What are Parabens?
Parabens can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, cleansing gels, personal lubricants, topical pharmaceuticals and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives in some products. Basically, a huge percentage of the products you buy for everyday use contain some form of paraben, so it can be difficult to find products that do not use them.
or starters, Parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, which is known to play a role in the development of breast cancers. Do you really want to take the chance that they might do so? In the July 2002 issue of the Archives of Toxicology, Dr. S. Oishi of the Department of Toxicology, Tokyo Metropolitan Research Laboratory of Public Health reported that exposure of newborn male mammals to butylparaben “adversely affects the secretion of testosterone and the function of the male reproductive system.” If that is not enough to avoid a product that can easily be avoided, I don’t know what is! There are a lot of other reports available all over the internet, but most of them are all related to reproductive health in some way or another. Through time the build up of unnatural imbalances in the hormones in any one person can alter the natural state of a person. It seems more and more people are having issues with cancers, unnatural illnesses and lots of skin problems. Why not learn about ingredients as much as possible and avoid any that your body might be very sensitive to. Everyone is different and our bodies filter toxins at different rates, some people may be more affected than others. Keep in mind your kidneys and liver can only handle so much through time. The build up of all toxins on a daily basis can lead to disease.
The jury is still out on how and why parabens might affect development and growth of both babies and adults. But I decided a while ago to get rid of any products that have it and replace them with products that don’t. There is no harm being more careful with this kind of stuff…remember, things that were deemed safe in the past then came back to bite us all when we were told that they actually caused all sorts of diseases. And when there are safe alternatives available, I would rather not take the chance that I or future generations develop strange reproductive problems from using a product that was avoidable in the first place. You can find many organic lines of baby care products and organic skin care, organic or natural body shampoos and washes in natural health food stores.
