New Cancer Risk: Are Parabens the New BPA?
December 19, 2013 By Melissa Rayworth
How dangerous are parabens, and should we avoid them?
Women are likely getting a steady dose of parabens through the use of common personal care products such as body lotions, makeup, and cleansers, according to a new study. Babies and toddlers are likely to be absorbing even more.
Use of these products, by the researchers' analysis, would expose infants and toddlers to a maximum 766 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day. That's about three times more than the amount adult women are believed to be exposed to—which is alarming because women were previously believed to be absorbing the highest levels of the chemical.
This comes in the wake of research published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology exploring the potential link between parabens and breast cancer; the research found traces of parabens in 158 of 160 breast tissue samples taken from 40 women being treated for breast cancer.
That research, released in 2012, noted that parabens were present in the breast tissue of every woman in the study—including those who did not use any "underarm cosmetics." That suggests that avoiding chemical deodorants and antiperspirants, once considered a useful way of keeping parabens from leaching into your body, isn’t enough.
What Makes Parabens Scary?
So parabens appear in a huge range of products. Scan your stash of makeup, lotions, cleansers, and shampoos: You'll probably see words like "methylparaben" and "propylparaben" in the ingredients lists.
Yet, avoiding them is becoming increasingly easy: Paraben-free skin-care options for grown-ups and babies are now common, and new ones are frequently hitting the market.
You can be assured that parabens are NOT in any of our products! We strive to keep our ingredient list short, healthy & vegan!
You can be assured that parabens are NOT in any of our products! We strive to keep our ingredient list short, healthy & vegan!
