Parabens & Paraben-free products

Disclaimer:  I am not a toxicologist or certified scientist.  I just believe in open access to correct information that is without self-interest or anything of that nature.

Parabens are esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid, which is where it gets its name.  They are a cost-effective preservative that is commonly used in personal care products, including cosmetics, which is the cluster where the panic button was hit the most.  There's no doubt that this is thanks to the online community.

If you look at your bathroom products' ingredients, you will notice that there are either very little or lots of chemicals ending with -paraben or having E followed by a number.  The common ones are methylparaben (E218), ethylparaben (E214), propylparaben (E216), and butylparaben.  These are parabens.

Ok, so enough with the geektalk, are they good or bad? Are they worth the hype? Is it a myth or scheme?

I would highly recommend you checking out Colin's Beauty Pages, where he had done a podcast specifically on parabens.  I heard about his page through Gemsmaquillage's Youtube video, and I do agree that Colin does a great job in making scientific jargon more everyday in layman's terms.  I would highly recommend  you checking out his podcast, so you can receive better information that what a general google search would give you.

"There are no studies on long term small dose exposure, only studies on short term high dose exposure on animals."
"According the Japanese study where lab rat were fed parabens, it could be concluded that parabens may pose a long term small dose risk."
"The level of parabens in cosmetics poses a very small risk, but the fact that it is a small risk to such a big issue, is worth a look."

I think they are worth consideration though current levels of parabens within products impose very small risk. As mentioned by Colin within his podcast, one should also consider the advertising efforts of companies and whether or not they really have your best interests at heart.

Don't be attracted or distracted by the hype, do your own research and evaluate for yourself.  Most importantly, maintain a lifestyle of good habits.  If you smoke or eat badly, then you should be worried about more than just parabens.

I know this post is kind of flakey and doesn't really give any concrete conclusions, but with the feasibility of a one-all study being done so low, I don't think anyone can really give you any concrete conclusions.

- M