Are Parabens Bad For You?

In this mini-episode, hosts Dr. Sandy Skotnicki and Chantel Guertin immerse themselves in a giant pool of parabens! Just kidding. Actually they examine the hype and hysteria around the controversial preservative. Do parabens cause cancer? Are they safe to use in skincare products? In the end, Sandy and Chan reach some wholly surprising conclusions.     

Okay, now that we have the show summary out of the way, let’s wade in to PARABENS!

Parabens, one of the least allergenic and non-irritating preservatives out there, were discovered in 1924. Think of everything from shampoo to moisturizer. All of it has water in it, and anything with water can go bad, especially if it’s in a humid environment like the bathroom. To avoid having to keep these products in the refrigerator, manufacturers tend to put preservatives in these products, to give them a longer shelf life and protect against bacteria and fungus. 

Four types of parabens are in use:

Methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, butylparaben. 

Then in 2004, Philippa Darbre at the University of Reading, in England published a pivotal study that detected parabens in 18 of 20 samples of tissue from breast tumour biopsies. Her study didn’t prove parabens cause cancer, only that they were easily detected among cancerous cells. The study was criticized for not comparing paraben levels in normal tissue, but nevertheless, the results triggered concern in the industry about the use of parabens in beauty products.

Since 2015 the EU banned two parabens in all personal care products, and these parabens are also banned in personal care products in 10 southeast Asian countries. In the US many major retailers have planned or have in place active bans or restrictions—Whole Foods bans all 4 parabens. CVS has committed to removing them in their stores by the end of this year. Target has committed to removing them in all beauty, personal care and baby products by 2020. 

But Sandy points out that the dangers from parabens is probably overblown. Health Canada, the FDA and the Cosmetic Ingredient Review have all said parabens are safe at current exposure levels when concentrations range between 0.4-0.8%. And in fact, parabens are ubiquitous in our environment and have been documented in pond water, tap water and house dust. Some naturally occurring sources of food, like blueberries, produce a type of paraben. And the exposure is higher from foods than via skincare products due to poor absorption from skin compared to foods. In an interview with L-Official, clean beauty guru Tiffany Masterson, the founder of Drunk Elephant, said she thought parabens were fine. 

And the problem is, companies still need to preserve their skincare products. Otherwise we’ll have to refrigerate them. Some manufacturers started to use a product known as MI—methylisothiazolinone. But that turned out to be much more allergenic and irritating than parabens. In fact, in 2013, the American Contact Dermatitis made methylisothiazolinone its contact allergen of the year. 

Speaking of academic papers, the medical journal Dermatitis recently selected parabens as its (non)allergen of the year, saying, “Paraben reactions are quite uncommon and generally relevant. Parabens remain one of the least allergenic preservatives available. The unsubstantiated public perception of paraben safety has led to its replacement in many products with preservatives having far greater allergenic potential.”

Finally, speaking of preservatives, the PAO symbol on cosmetics refers to the “period-after-opening,” and refers to how long the product is safe to use once you’ve opened it. Learn more. 

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This episode was sponsored by the Silk'n ReVit Prestige Microdermabrasion Device.