What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?
The poor little paraben has had a lot of negative publicity lately - and with good reason. This little chemical compound has recently been found in around 90% of breast cancer tumors.

Now to be fair, studies are still inconclusive as to why it is there and how it got there in the first place and there has been no evidence to suggest that parabens actually caused the breast cancer, but it is still a worrying statistic.What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

But what actually is it?

Paraben is a common chemical substance that is used as a preservative in many beauty products. It can be found in skin care, shampoo, bubble bath, and even some toothpaste!What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

It's really cheap for companies to use (hence why it's so prevalent) and actually works very well as a preservative.What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

Why is it so bad?

Well apart from that it has been found in so many breast cancer tumors, it also known to have an estrogenic effect on the body. It works in a similar way to the regular hormone estrogen but obviously since it's synthetic and not natural can interfere with hormone balances in both male and females.What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

It has already been proven that excess estrogen is linked with certain cancers.

Even at low levels, hormone disruption can cause depression, weight gain and infertility in both men and women.What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

Yikes! How do I know if it's in the products I use?

It's pretty easy to find out by just reading the ingredient list at the back of your product. If any of the ingredients contain the word paraben anywhere then you are using a product that contains it. It might be called methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben or any other chemical sounding name.What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

How can I avoid it?

Look for labels such as 'paraben free' or 'contains no parabens' on the front or read the ingredient list at the back to make sure you are choosing a safe product. There are many paraben free beauty alternatives so you should try to seek them out.What's All the Fuss About Parabens - Do I Need to Choose Paraben Free?

By Tracey A Edwards