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Are parabens really going to harm your skin or is it just a misconception? Keep reading to find out the truth!
For the longest time, I’ve stuck to paraben-free products, and do you want to know why?
Because I was not educated. I ran with something everybody was saying and, of course, the fact that every single brand was pushing out parabens-free products did not help.
One day though, I decided to dig a little deeper into this educational hole. Keep in mind that I have a very strong scientific background as I am a medical student and science lover. So, I wanted the truth and that is exactly what I got.
The concern about parabens is that studies seem to suggest that they can disrupt our hormonal balance. This could potentially result in fertility issues as well as an increased risk of cancer. On the other hand, the same studies, when interpreted scientifically, state different things, are inconclusive or affirm paraben’s safety.
What are parabens
First things first, parabens are a class of preservatives. Chemically they are esters of an acid called parahydroxybenzoic acid, tough name right? 😂
So what does this in mean in English?
Essentially, parabens are used to preserve cosmetics and pharmaceutical products. Meaning they avoid harmful bacteria and mold to grow in our skincare products so they make our products safer to use for a longer period of time.
Parabens have been around for a very long time and, interestingly enough, they are present in many vegetables and fruits such as bananas.
Also, remember that as far as cosmetics go, parabens need to be in controlled concentrations. In particular, in formulations, you will only find them between 0.1% and 0.3%.
Why parabens have a bad reputation
Everything we just said seems good, right? So, why is it that everybody hates them?
The concern about parabens is that studies seem to suggest that they can disrupt our hormonal balance. This could potentially result in reproductive organs and fertility issues, harm to birth outcomes as well as an increased risk of cancer.
In particular, we have two studies:
- A 1998 study found parabens can potentially disrupt hormonal imbalance.
- A 2004 study found 5 parabens present in the breast tissue of 19 out of 20 women with breast cancer.
Wow, these are serious concerns. So, let’s have a more-closer look at these studies, shall we?
1998 study deep dive
As we briefly said, a 1998 study showed that parabens mimic certain types of hormones, estradiol in particular. They found that, potentially, they could disrupt our hormonal balance.
This could obviously be cause for concern but, as it’s natural to do, this theory was tested. As a result parabens activity was found to be thousand to millions of times weaker than our natural hormones.
In simple words, even if they behave like hormones, they do not have the ability to disrupt our natural estrogen levels since they are too weak to do so.
Also, keep in mind that they tested in vivo, meaning they performed the experiment in living organisms (rats in this case), which is actually the best way to conduct experiments.
Here’s the catch though, they injected high concentrations of parabens into rats’ skin. There are three things I want you to reflect on here.
- Rats and humans are different: not necessarily humans would react the same way rats did.
- Parabens do penetrate into the skin but this type of ingredient delivery it’s not the same thing as an injection, they are actually distinct and could potentially lead to very different effects.
- The concentration in cosmetics, as we said, is limited to 0.3% whereas in the study they used very high concentrations. Again, not the same thing.
There is another thing I found quite interesting in this study. Methylparabens were found to be 2.5 million times weaker than estradiol (which is our hormone) and the others are even weaker than that!
Plus, to put it in perspective, phytoestrogens (the types we find in the food we eat) are 10.000 times more potent than parabens and we consume them almost every day!
Not to forget, how many women in the world do you think to take birth control? A whole lot. The pill contains ethanol estradiol which was found to be a million times more potent than metylparabens.
Also, it was shown that with birth control the risk of cancer was minimal.
2004 study deep dive
To freshen up your mind, this particular study found 5 parabens present in the breast tissue of 19 out of 20 women with breast cancer. This could POTENTIALLY mean that parabens could play a role in breast cancer.
This is a very serious implication. My opinion on this is that first, the mere fact alone that parabens are present in the breast tissue of women with breast cancer is not enough to confidently say parabens cause cancer.
Also, this study was done without a control group. This is a huge limitation. A control group – in this case, it should have been a group of women without cancer – is almost always necessary for studies to be conclusive.
In simple words, without a control group, it’s impossible to definitely determine whether the outcomes are not due to some other variable. This means this study is inconclusive and not trustworthy!
If you want an even simpler explanation (I know, not everybody loves science 😂), for all we know the majority of women without breast cancer could have parabens in their best tissue. This is exactly the point, WE DON’T KNOW.
Are parabens bad for you?
Honestly, I think reading and interpreting studies and statistics can be very confusing. I have to interpret them constantly as I am in med school but I am absolutely sure even doctors and researchers sometimes need a little bit of time to fully understand the information delivered by studies.
What I’m trying to say here is that, in my opinion, these studies were interpreted completely wrong. There is not enough evidence here to ban parabens from cosmetics on the contrary I personally think they are potentially safer than other things.
Actually, in Europe (which is known to have far stricter ingredients regulation than the US) not all parabens are banned! Methylparabens, ethylparabens, propylparabens and butylparabens are deemed absolutely safe to use.
Type of parabens in cosmetics
So, if you go and look at the ingredient lists of your products (obviously not the parabens-free ones) these are the most common parabens you will find in cosmetics.
- Methylparaben
- Ethylparaben
- Propylparaben
- Butylparaben
Basically, they all have the word “paraben” in the end, so you can’t get it wrong!
Final thoughts on parabens safety
In the end, you choose what’s best for you. You can absolutely decide that these studies are reason enough not to use parabens. I honestly think though, that you should take an informed decision that is based on science and facts.
I’m simply saying, here are the facts interpreted in perspective and without bias, from here form your own opinion and decide for yourself!
This post was all about parabens and whether they are safe to use.
- E J Routledge et al. Some alkyl hydroxy benzoate preservatives (parabens) are estrogenic, 1998.
- P. D. DABRE et al. Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumors, 2004.
