Ingredient Safety Part II will review Parabens. This is the second part in a series of educational posts to help increase your awareness about the safety, or lack thereof, in the products we use every day.
Parabens are endocrine (or hormone) disruptors, which may alter important hormone mechanisms in our bodies. Parabens are a class of preservative used in many skincare & cosmetics products to prevent the growth of bacteria & mold.
There are methylparaben, isobutylparaben, proplyparaben & others, but essentially, you want to AVOID anything ending in -paraben, since they mimic estrogen and may play a role in triggering CANCER and other SERIOUS health issues. FOUND IN: shampoo, face cleanser, body wash, body lotion, foundation.
You know what’s sad? We can’t walk into a store in the U.S. and buy a product off the shelf, like sunscreen for our kids, and TRUST that the product is safe. You would think, and about 80% of Americans do, that what we buy to put on our bodies is safe.
The truth is, it likely isn’t. There are 1.5 pages that govern the billion dollar beauty and personal care industry. There has not been a law passed since 1938 regulating this industry. Unfortunately, we see this impacting our health. Go to ewg.org/skindeep to start checking the safety of the products you currently use. If you need help, email me at sarah@lifepoweredbymom [dot] com. If you are in search of high performing, safer solutions, check out Beautcounter. To review part I on Phthalates go here. #switchtosafer #betterbeauty
