What are Parabens ?
Parabens are a family of alkyl esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid that differ by various chemical substitutions. The six widely marketed para-hydroxybenzoic acid esters are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparaben, butylparaben, and benzylparaben. They differ in their solubility and range of antimicrobial activity. It is these antibacterial and anti-fungal properties that give Parabens their preservative qualities so valued by manufacturers for maintaining freshness in cosmetics and foods. The issue then becomes: Do we take in a potentially harmful substance to protect ourselves against bacteria and fungus, and is the trade-off really necessary at all?
What kinds of products contain Parabens?
They are used in a wide variety of cosmetics, as well as foods and drugs. Cosmetics that may contain Parabens include makeup, moisturizers, hair care products, and shaving products, among others. Most major brands of deodorants and antiperspirants do not currently contain Parabens.
Cosmetics sold on a retail basis to consumers are required by law to declare ingredients on the label. This is important information for consumers who want to determine whether a product contains an ingredient they wish to avoid. Parabens are usually easy to identify by name, such as methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, or benzylparaben.
Why are they used ?
Simply put Parabens are a very effective preservative that prevents mold, fungus, and bacteria from growing in the product for extended amounts of time. This greatly extends the shelf life of products.
The History of Parabens
Manufacturers began putting Parabens in their products when they discovered how short the shelf life of lotion could be. When a lotion or similar product becomes contaminated with bacteria, terrible health problems can occur.
In the 1950s, some people were struck blind after using spoiled lotions. As soon as the government discovered the dangers of skincare products gone bad, it became a law to add preservatives to lotions, exfoliators, and other similar items. The shelf life of products improved from a few short weeks to over 2 years. The manufactures used this increased shelf life to change the way they formulated and distributed products. No studies were performed about the safety of these preservatives until the last few years.
Why are Parabens Still being used Today ?
The Manufacturers and the distributors of products are faced with the reality of modern life that we need preservatives in certain products. To get many (especially natural) products from the manufacturer to you safely requires some sort of preservatives.
Products today are often manufactured in very large batches to save time and reduce costs. They are often stored for months before they are shipped from the manufacturer through distributors, shipping warehouses and other places that add time (and often heat) before the product ever reaches you. This can add 6 to 8 months or more from the time the product was made till it gets to you. Then we often buy a LARGE Bottle because its cheaper and keep it in the bathroom for many more months. The preservatives in the product need to keep harmful bacteria, molds, fungus, etc. from growing inside of it. Simply put the longer the shelf life of a product the more protection it requires.
To get that product to you and to have a reasonable shelf life requires that certain products be preserved, in some fashion. Otherwise, you’d shortly end up with some potentially unsafe critters growing in the product you paid for.
Parabens are very cheap and effective and can be used to extend the shelf life of products for many years. This allows manufactures to make large quantities of a product and store it for a long time before it is sold to you. This eases distribution problems and increases profits.
All cosmetic products need preservatives to protect you and natural products have special problems since they are using organic ingredients that are more susceptible to molds, fungus and bacteria.
The question is not whether we need preservatives, but how much and what kinds.
What risk do Parabens pose to You ?
This family of chemicals has been raising red flags to many health researchers because of some evidence of problems on several levels. Because Parabens have been proven to penetrate the skin and can be traced in the blood minutes after application, it is theorized that they may have adverse effects on the body. Some studies have found Parabens present in the breast tissue of cancer patients. Because presence does not prove causality, the researcher called for more studies to be done in this regard. Cosmetics products involve the ingredients being absorbed into the skin tissues without going through the digestive process, this allows the chemicals to remain intact in the tissues. It is not known how this affects the surrounding tissue, so it is an area for further study.
It is also known that Parabens break down into formaldehyde, a substance the FDA has said causes cancer. Formaldehyde just happens to be the same chemical dead bodies are preserved in.
Parabens have displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. In other words, these chemicals mimic the body's own hormones and can thus disrupt endocrine functions in virtually every system in the body.
Despite all the evidence connecting Parabens to cancer and other health issues, they are still legal to put in skincare products. The cosmetic industry is fighting to keep them legal because they are much cheaper to use than the natural preservatives and the cost for them to re-formulate their products would be very large.
What does Natalchemy use instead of Parabens ?
Natalchemy has used modern science methods to formulate products that are of high quality while using natural preservatives to protect the product. This involves the use of Botanical extracts, vitamins, and Essential oils that all work together. These ingredients work in a two fold way. They provide the health benefits to your skin and body and also due to their natural antibacterial and anti-fungal properties they act as natural preservatives. Vitamin E is a perfect example, it’s a natural preservative and also has many health benefits.
This allows high quality products that are safe and effective to be made without the use of Parabens.
The shelf life of Natalchemy products exceed 18 months without Parabens. We manufacture our products constantly in small batches so you always receive fresh product. Natalchemy ships direct to you thereby eliminating the long distribution chains. Natalchemy is constantly testing ( Cruelty free, Never animal testing) our products to ensure they are safe and effective.
Yes it can be done, naturally using Natural Alchemy principles with the knowledge from modern science.
In the end, it is the consumer who must decide.
Learn to read the labels and understand what’s going into your body.
Or allow the large cosmetic companies to earn more profits at your health’s expense.