PARA-BIN IT
Have you ever looked at the back of a product and checked the ingredients only to find a bunch of long, meaningless words? It’s generally not a good thing when you have no idea what your putting on your body, right? Quite a few years ago this is exactly what made me curious as to what these eight syllabled ingredients actually were.
After a lot of thorough research, I found some pretty important discoveries. A lot of these un-natural chemicals that we are putting on our bodies can actually have a link to many health related problems. Unfortunately, we can’t stop big companies from putting these chemicals into their products, but we can pick wisely. Whilst there are a lot of these chemicals, one of the most damaging is parabens.
Parabens:
What are they? By definition, parabens are preservatives used in pharmaceutical and cosmetic products. Many large-scale companies use parabens in their products to increase shelf life, even with the knowledge of how treacherous the chemical can be.
Why are they bad? Whilst there is no direct evidence to confirm that parabens are cancerous, many medical researchers have agreed that it is definitely possible. According to paraben.co.uk, “there is little question that these chemicals are found in some cancerous tumour tissue,” giving evidence towards the idea that parabens can lead to certain types of cancer.
The undeniable presence of parabens in breast cancer tumours has already persuaded many women to steer clear of the chemical. The awareness around parabens has also lead many companies to cut them out of their formula, making it easier for you and many other women to find paraben free products and brands.
How to avoid them: If you want to stay on the safe side, simply cut them out of your life. It’s as simple as checking the ingredients on the products you use. When looking for parabens in the ingredients, remember that there are different types, so they may come up as Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, etc. Another good sign that a product is paraben free, is when it says something like 'no nasty chemicals' on the front, like the EcoStore body wash below. This is a definite indicator that the product is paraben free.
I think it is really important that we are all aware of these nasties! Afterall, your life is more valuable than any product you’ll ever use. So, go through your bathroom and scan the ingredients list for parabens and I bet that you’ll be surprised as to how many products they are in.
If you’re interested and want to find out more, here are some websites you might find useful:
Disclaimer: I am by all means, not a health professional or a doctor, so do not mark my words exactly.