What is a Paraben?

Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. They have been used in beauty products since the 1920s to increase the shelf life of products such as:

Over the last 10 years consumers have started questioning what ingredients are going into their beauty routine and parabens continue to be a cause of concern.

So what’s so bad about them?

Parabens can mimic the human hormone estrogen. This means that they may interfere with the hormone balance of your body, no matter your sex.

They have been shown* to interfere with the way that your body’s hormones regulate. This is cause for concern because it could mean parabens influence reproductive activities, like pregnancy and menstruation.

Research has highlighted that parabens are easily absorbed in the skin so daily application of beauty products with parabens can cause them to accumulate in your system over time.

Thankfully there are a number of paraben free products available now but if you’re not sure if a product is paraben-free, you can look at the ingredients list on the back of the bottle. Methylparaben, propylparaben, and butylparaben are three of the most common paraben ingredients.

Isopropylparaben and isobutylparaben also indicate parabens are present.

Look for packaging that states the product is 0% parabens or No Parabens like Raw Nature’s products.

You hold all the cards.

If you’re concerned about the impact of parabens, there’s a wide array of paraben-free beauty brands and paraben-free cosmetic formulas that can reduce your paraben exposure.

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