Paraben Free

Dr.Nona's products - PARABEN FREE

WHAT ARE PARABENS?

Parabens are a family of preservatives commonly used to control the growth of microbes in cosmetics, toiletries, food and pharmaceuticals. They are esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid, a naturally occurring chemical found in many fruits and plants. Their chemical structures and actions are very similar.

Parabens are a class of chemicals widely used as preservatives by cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Parabens are effective preservatives in many types of formulas. These compounds, and their salts, are used primarily for their bactericidal and fungicidal properties. They can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, spray tanning solution, makeup,and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives.

The most commonly used parabens are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben, although many others (isopropyl-, isobutyl-, pentyl-, phenyl-, benzyl-) have been used in products as well. Different parabens work best under different conditions and act against different microbes, so you’ll often see them used in combination to enhance the preservative effect.

Parabens were developed in the 1920s and these days, they’re the most widely used preservatives in cosmetics, appearing in over 85% of products. Parabens are popular for good reason: they’re inexpensive, effective in very small amounts, work well in most products, and act against a wide range of nasty microbes. They have a very long record (almost 100 years) of safe use. The only reliably linked harmful health effect is allergy, which occurs in a tiny fraction of people, and it’s often only a problem on broken skin.

They are becoming increasingly controversial, however, because they have been found in extremely low concentrations in breast cancer tumors (an average of 20 nanograms/g of tissue). Parabens have also displayed the ability to slightly mimic estrogen (a hormone known to play a role in the development of breast cancer).No effective direct links between parabens and cancer have been established, however.

Allergic Reactions:
In individuals with normal skin, parabens are, for the most part, non-irritating and non-sensitizing. Parabens can, however, cause skin irritation and contact dermatitis and rosacea in individuals with paraben allergies, a small percentage of the general population

Breast Cancer:
Average levels of 20 nanograms/gram of parabens have been detected in a small sample of 20 breast tumors.

These findings, along with the demonstrated ability of some parabens to partially mimic estrogen, a hormone known to play a role in the development of breast cancers, have led some scientists to conclude that the presence of parabens may be associated with the occurrence of breast cancer. (No direct evidence of a causal link between parabens and cancer, however, has been shown).

Sun Exposure:
Studies indicate that methylparaben applied on the skin may react with UVB leading to increased skin aging and DNA damage.

Regulation:
The European Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) stated in 2006 that the available data on parabens do not enable a decisive response to the question of whether propyl, butyl and isobutyl paraben can be safely used in cosmetic products at individual concentrations up to 0.4%, which is the allowed limit in the EU.