Is paraben really harmful to skin??
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free skin care · Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:27 pm

Please also suggest the ingredients which you discover harmful to your skin??

Thanks!!!

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:50 am

Parabens are not harmful for the skin, but they might be harmful for your body when they are absorbed through the skin. Parabens have been linked to breast cancer in some studies, and it has been suggested that the use of deodorants containing parabens might increase the risk of breast cancer. I have to say that I only use crystal deodorant (without parabens) from the health food store because of this risk.

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:47 am

Well I read that parabens can cause skin irritation. I usually look up ingredients and skin care brands on the website...
www.cosmeticdatabase.com

It tells you the side effects of each ingredient used in skin care and cosmetics. You can also look up some of your favourite brands to see how they rank in the ingredients department.

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:01 am

Thanks so much Septembergirl & Sophias1920.
The information so useful for me!!!

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:39 am

Just take some of the information inwww.cosmeticdatabase.com with a grain of salt. The website is run by The Environmental Working Group (EWG), and they are known to be rather alarmist and not always entirely accurate, according to posts from other forum members lately.

Skin irritation is not a common side effect of parabens. Parabens are commonly used as preservatives (actually in about 90 % of all skin care products) because it's well tolerated by most people.

According to the blog Futurederm, parabens are safe based on current scientific findings. As we know, future research may come up with new findings, and I will use my "alternative" paraben-free deodorant because parabens have been found in breast tumors. I am not too worried about small amounts of parabens in serums and creams, though.

Here's a useful post on parabens from Futurederm with references to scientific research:

http://www.futurederm.com/2008/02/15/spotlight-on-parabens/

Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:41 am

I've heard that parabens can affect your homone levels and so in turn affect your skin.

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:08 am

Actually, I am quite worried for that I have lots of skincare with "paraben", like sothys, so are there any other good substitute for paraben as preservatives for skin care products?

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 10:48 am

Here's a comment about parabens from Dr. Pickart of Skin Biology.

The original question:
Dr. P. Could you please comment on the use of parabens in your products? You write that sunscreens contain harmful ingredients that enter the blood stream. It is my understanding that parabens are more harmful than avobenzone. Many companies now avoid using parabens. I am really concerned abou this and so would truly appreciate your reasoning. Thank you...

Dr. P's resonse:

Posted 15 August 2008 02:52 PM
Infection deaths are the fourth leading cause of death in the USA. While cosmetics are relatively safe, the emergence of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria makes keeping product sterile more important.

I often am told, "There are successful natural and organic skin care companies that have been able to preserve their products in a natural way. " I know people who test products for safety and the "natural and organic skin care companies" always have the highest levels of skin irritations and problems. They say their products are safe but there is zero evidence to support this. They never do or fund any serious research that reaches the scientific community. We have tried a number of these "natural preservative" approaches and they did don't effectively keep products sterile. I have met many of the heads of many "natural" companies. The common thread among this group is a very minimal level of education and culture but a high level of promotional skills. A significant percentage have very checked background (swindles, tax evasion, fraud). There are more hustlers selling skin products that stock market schemes.

Carcinogenicity is not cancer. Carcinogens break DNA but rarely cause cancer. Common foods are the major source of carcinogens. Look at http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s214.html. Bruce Ames ("Ames Test for carcinogenicity, UC Berkeley) virtually created the EPA from his work on carcinogens but later said most carcinogens are harmless.

Parabens.........

Parabens are not linked to cancer.

Parabens are molecules from plants, such as blueberries and soybeans, that are used as preservatives in foods and cosmetics. Parabens have some estrogenic activity and there have been concerns as to their safety with respect to cancer.

The Scientific Committee on Consumer Products for the European Union wrote an Extended opinion on: the Safety Evaluation of Parabens covering in addition isopropyl paraben. <http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_risk/committees/04_sccp/docs/sccp_o_019.pdf>

Adopted by written procedure on 28 January 2005. In summary, they said there was no link between parabens and breast cancer and criticized the data used in previous studies.

While parabens appear to be safe, this may not be true for other estrogenic materials such as sunscreen chemical oils, such as avobenzene, and the thousands of alien chemicals that the cosmetic industry adds to products.

So why the difference? Normal foods contain most of the carcinogens to which our bodies are exposed. But our metabolic systems have long been adapting to these molecules and have methods to detoxify them. So parabens, being nothing new to the body, can be detoxified by our bodies. In contrast, estrogenic chemicals such as sunscreen chemicals, PCBs, and DDT are alien chemicals to our body. There is nothing in our
genetic heritage to tell the body how to detoxify and remove them molecules. This is the danger of alien, unnatural chemicals.

Preservatives

The preservative that we use are all on the FDA's GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) list. They have a long history of safe use. Our creams kill most dangerous pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, and pseudomonas.

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:16 pm

I find that many skin care products are gimmicks. Gimmicks that in turn ruin the skin after prolonged use. Their effectiveness are quite limited. I would not be surprised if the ingredients such as parabens is A cause of skin irritation, especially for those who already have skin problems.

Of course, we should research first before taking certain facts into consideration.www.cosmeticdatatabase.com, does aid in helping one understand the ingredients in skincare and cosmetics because it gives information on the origins of the ingredient as well as possible side effects. Now, of course you have the right to use other sources before making the ultimate decision. However, I have noticed great skin results because I chose to avoid certain ingredients. I would rather be safe than sorry.

I likewww.cosmeticdatabase.com because it gives you a list of ingredients of many products, which is very convenient.

free skin care · Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:05 pm

I don't think so. It is safe to our skin, otherwise FDA won't approve it.

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