There is an emerging trend that is taking place in the retail marketplace, and it is the removal of parabens from personal care products. You may have noticed that manufacturers are now placing “Paraben free” on some of their products. Parabens are a chemical compound of para-hydroxybenzoic acid and are added to hand creams, shampoos, shower gels and many other products ,including food items, as a preservative; they inhibit the growth of bacteria, fungus and other microbes. Microbial growth can happen rapidly in these products, especially since they are normally kept in a bathroom with a most and warm environment.
Almost all of the parabens used as preservatives in products are man-made and therefore not naturally occurring; though naturally occurring parabens have been found in blueberries. Some of the parabens listed in the table of ingredients on a product are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and isobutylparaben.
Parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, which is known to play a role in the development of breast cancer. Clinical research has found parabens in breast tumors and believes there is a linked relationship between both parabens and tumor growth. Dr. S. Oishi of the Department of Toxicology, Tokyo Metropolitan Research Laboratory of Public Health reported that exposure of newborn male mammals to butylparaben “adversely affects the secretion of testosterone and the function of the male reproductive system”. With continued use of products containing parabens, exposure risk to these issues can increase. It is ultimately up to the consumer to make the informed decision to continue or stop use of products containing parabens.
Basic Earth Essentials does not use parabens in any of our products. You can be assured we will never use them as an ingredient in products we hand-craft.