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Are Parabens Harmful?

By Tiffany Moore

It seems that parabens scare stories have spread like wildfire across internet and the media in recent years, prompting more and more personal care product manufactures to label their products paraben-free. So, are parabens harmful to your health and should you worry about them?

Parabens are chemicals that are used as a preservative to inhibit microbial growth and prolong a product's shelf life.

They are normally found in many products including toothpaste, shampoos, moisturizers, shaving gels, lubricants, deodorants, cosmetics and skin tanning solutions. Parabens are also used in drugs and foods .

How Dangerous are Parabens?

Parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, which can cause breast cancer in women.

A study conducted by Dr. PD Darbre and colleagues at the University of Reading, United Kingdom, published in 2004, showed that there was substantial amount of paraben compounds in breast cancer tumors. It was suggested that parabens found in underarm deodorants migrated to the breast cells and eventually caused the growth of tumors cells in the breast.

When too much estrogen is absorbed by the skin, it can result in hormonal mood disturbances, weight gain, fluid retention as well as the early onset of puberty in young girls.

Parabens can also affect thyroid and hypothalamus function.

Most people do not have skin reactions to parabens but parabens may trigger various types of dermatitis and other skin conditions in some people. However, more research is needed to determine whether parabens will cause low level skin damage in the long term.

There are several varieties of parabens, including butylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben, or any other ingredient that contains "paraben" in its name.

Methylparaben, for example, may degrade releasing methanol, a potentially toxic chemical. Again, the amounts of methanol that might be released from methylparaben in skin care products are too small for any known systemic effects.

Although there are no concrete scientific studies that suggest parabens are bad and harmful to the body, long-term use of paraben-containing products may pose a more serious health risk in the future. Using paraben-free products that are made only of natural ingredients is a far safer option.

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