"Parabens: pretty safe after all?
Posted Wednesday, December 02, 2009
Just as mainstream brands have started taking paraben concerns into consideration and taking parabens out of many products, the organizations that take a stringent anti-paraben stance have been dealt an investigational blow.
Europe's Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety performed tests involving propylparaben and butylparaben, two common parabens used as preservatives in numerous personal-care products and accused of engendering hormonal effects and health problems by several environmental groups, some of which won't give a product its seal of approval if parabens are present.
According to the results, the parabens are only partially absorbed when applied to mouse skin; furthermore, they're completely metabolized before getting a chance to enter the bloodstream. Blood plasma tests showed no presence of the compounds.
The findings confirm for many pro-paraben pundits that parabens, at the level used in beauty products, are incapable of producing an adverse effect, as mammals metabolize the compounds too fast. The results will likely be interpreted by numerous manufacturers as a green light to continue or return to using parabens as a safe product-preserving option."
This is good news.
Although, I doubt this will be convincing to anyone who has already decided that parabens are bad for you. The truth is you can never "proove" that something is "safe".
If someone wants to poke holes in the study (didn't run it long enough, the dose was wrong, you can't extrapolate, government conspiracy...) it would be pretty easy to do.
But at least this makes it so chemical fearmongers have to think about their positions.
@Curses - a Dr Pepper sounds good to me too!
Me, I'm amused at the whole idea of being terrified of the fake or "synthetic" in makeup at all, and all the hype over natural beauty.
You know what's natural? Your face the way nature made it.
There's just really a serious disconnect in my mind between hyping the beauty of nature and still wanting your false eyelashes and purple eyelids. I'm all for SAFE personal care products, and I do tend to prefer things that our bodies have been dealing with for a long time, but ... jeez. Going on about the beauty of nature while painting all over your face to fake it up makes no sense.
Makeup isn't evil; I wear it from time to time. It's just the contrast between "I love natural beauty!" with "except for my face and hair the way nature made them!" that makes me do a head tilt.
that's great news now maybe people will quit wasting money on those "all natural 'safe" products and quit trying to make people feel bad for using non paraben free products
I have OCD and really fell for the paraben will kill you scam but I have an open mind and am a critical thinker so I have changed my views by seeing real evidence and not just making people afraid. I think fear marketing really gets to people with my condition!
What's really funny is that so many natural things are actually really bad for you. Like Lavender oil on your skin. That doesn't stop companies like Bobbi Brown loading it into their foundations.
@Jen so true its always marketed as skin calmer when nothing to farther from the truth. Some people just want something easy to fight against in my opinion all they have to do is buy something and feel morally superior.