One chemical that people are becoming more aware of are Parabens. You hear this word all over the place, but what are they?? Parabens are preservative chemicals used by cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries that can be found in many types of formulas. Parabens have been found in breast cancer tumors, and also mimic estrogen, and may affect development and growth of babies and adults. This is why I’ve come up with four simple tips to help you clean your beauty routine from this unhealthy chemical.
Now, lots of people don’t really think twice about products you put on your body, but remember that your body is like a sponge. When you put topical things on your skin, it will absorb into your body. I mean, that’s why you buy all these expensive beauty products, right? So that your skin absorbs these great minerals, moisturizers, age prevention ingredients so that it goes down deep into your skin. If you truly believe that these ingredients will do you good through skin absorption, then wouldn’t the chemicals in these ingredients be absorbed the same way?
What do you find them in?
Most of the formulas they’re found in are shampoos, conditioners, pre-washes, face washes, shaving gels, lubricants, makeup, toothpaste, spray tanning solutions, deodorant, and many other things you buy for the purpose of looking & smelling good.
How do you know if your product has Parabens?
You will be surprised that these Parabens are found in some of the MOST expensive creams!! It will be a shock and disheartening to find these ingredients in your favorite products, however there are better alternative solutions. Make sure that you read the label of whatever you put ON your skin!!! Some examples of Parabens are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben. But those aren’t the only ones.
So now what?
Here are some quick tips to help stay away from Parabens in your beauty routine:
1. Check if the packaging says “Paraben Free”, if it does, then you’re in the clear! (yay!)
2. If you don’t see “Paraben Free” Do a quick search on your beauty products’ (this DOES include makeup!) ingredients label! Look for something that has “Paraben” in the word, like methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben.!! (check out the examples below).
3. If you DO find parabens, consider slowly (or quickly) finding better alternatives. You WILL find better alternatives. What I did was go to Sephora and the local drug store, and truly spent hours reading the labels of everything that could replace the products I was currently using. (I have to admit that it was fun searching for new makeup, I mean, who wouldn’t?)
4. Always remember this too…in a single line of cosmetic products (makeup, lotions, anti-aging, etc) NOT ALL of the products in the line will have parabens. So don’t get too discouraged if one your favorite product line(s) has/have parabens, chances are the entire line won’t have them.
