Parabens?

Lately the moms that I hang out with are concerned with parabens being in their babies shampoo, lotions and their own makeup. So what is a paraben and why should anyone care? A paraben (methyl-,proply-,butylparabens) plays a key role in minimizing microbial infestations of many personal care products. They are scientifically constructed compounds that prevent disease and infection and stop fungal and bacterial growth in personal care products.

Moms are concerned about parabens being in products they use because of the media. There was a paraben-cancer link in a study published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology and like all things now days it was totally blow out of proportion by the media. Just because someone writes something doesn't make it a truth or fact. The study in a nutshell found parabens in 18 of 20 breast tumor samples but the author of this study theorized that the presence of parabens was due to to the underarm deodorants. The test did not confirm this and there was no direct link, it was a theory. So one small study with a theory is being taken out of context and all the numerous studies that support the safety of parabens is being forgotten. We all should know by now that the media takes one thing like this and runs with it scaring moms.

So what should we do? Well, health risks are a concern for us all and with the media throwing one things after another at us it is easy to be confused. We really have three choices. The first one is to not use any personal care products (stink, have dry skin and look dead without makeup). The second choice is buy products with formulas based on speculation and with ingredients that have no scientific data or research (ones that are on the market playing to the fear of the moms and making a huge profit). The last choice would be to use products from companies that have formulas that have scientific data and research (companies like this do exist).