Written by: Jake Khalde
"Parabens cause breast cancer and disrupt androgen and estrogen hormones, so I only use paraben-free products." - this is just one of the many statements people have regarding parabens. Paraben-free products stock the shelves of local pharmacies, leading consumers to question why parabens should apparently be avoided. “With how much negative marketing present about parabens, they should not be used, no?” Not entirely. This article aims to scrutinize the claims against the use of parabens and why you should not fear the usage of preservatives, giving clarity to the fog of social media misinformation.
Before we dive into the research surrounding parabens, it is important to understand what parabens are. Parabens are a broad category of preservatives that keep microbes out of your products, food, and more. The main parabens used in cosmetic products are ethylparaben, butylparaben, methylparaben, and propylparaben. Parabens are derived from a chemical compound naturally found in fruits, vegetables, and plants called para-hydroxybenzoic acid. Yup, that’s right: every apple you eat contains parabens, essentially. Parabens keep the bacteria and mold out of what you consume, extending shelf life. Extended shelf life for cosmetic products is a good thing because it ensures that illness and disease as a result of the bacteria that may grow in your products stay out.
Parabens started being used in 1923. So, parabens have been used for about a century in cosmetics, food, and more. They only started to be viewed as bad in the past few decades. A 1998 study by the Routledge group found that parabens at high concentrations mimic estrogen in rats. Estrogen at very high concentrations has been linked to breast cancer, so it is understandable why this study caused a change in perspective toward parabens. However, the study is not strong because it tested parabens on non-human subjects, which offers limitations because of the physiologic differences between rodents and humans, and it used a full concentration of parabens, which no sold product has. In the United States, parabens are legal at 0.01% and 0.03%, nowhere close to the study’s paraben potency; common parabens used in our products are thousands to millions of times weaker than the parabens used in this study. This brings us to the pathology principle that everything is poisonous at a certain dose. Thus, the study is not applicable to the safety of
The Routledge group study was not all, though: a later study caused even more of a ruckus. A 2004 study by the Darbre group found that 19 out of 20 cultured human tissue samples showed parabens in human breast tumors. This study was what really kicked off the paraben fear train. Not so fast; the study had its problems: the parabens were measured in blank samples without any tissue (some of the blank samples had more parabens than the samples with tissue), and there was no control, an experimental component that remains unchanged so results can be compared. This means that there is a possibility that the lab materials were contaminated with parabens, especially due to the fact that non-tissue samples had more parabens than breast tissue samples, and that there was no non-cancerous tissue control to confidently conclude that the breast tissue samples with parabens result with, so the study has little merit. So, rightfully so, the study has been criticized by many scientists. The backlash towards the Darbre group became so intense that the authors had to say something. The authors stated, "Nowhere in the manuscript was any claim made that the presence of parabens had caused the breast cancer, indeed the measurement of a compound in a tissue cannot provide evidence of causality." The authors supported the fact that the study had little value regarding parabens and breast cancer.
“If even the authors denied parabens causing breast cancer, why are Clean Beauty platforms rampant with misinformation regarding parabens being safe?” One word: marketing. Scientific studies are difficult to understand, so it is hard for consumers to scrutinize the data around their cosmetic products. We cannot expect them to, either. After all, people do spend their lives trying to understand, communicate, and share scientific literature; however, brands have used the naivety of consumers to sell products with that sparkly, green paraben-free logo for the past few decades. Thankfully, some major beauty conglomerates continue to use parabens and steer clear of the marketing. That does not seem to be enough, though, because websites like the Environmental Working Group (EWG demonize preservatives in cosmetics.
Contrary to sites like the EWG, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and many other regulatory societies have continuously found that parabens are safe. These groups continue to study the safety and efficacy of parabens. In 1984, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel into study the safety and efficacy of parabens. In 1984, the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel in the United States found that parabens were more than safe. The FDA even states this on their website: FDA scientists continue to review published studies on the safety of parabens. At this time, we do not have information showing that parabens, as they are used in cosmetics, have an effect on human health.
Moving towards a world free of paraben fear-mongering may take a while, but it starts with consumer awareness. With consumers being aware of the safety of parabens, companies will be more inclined to quit with the marketing schemes and provide factual information to create informed consumers with health literacy skills.
References:
Image Source: Derm Store
Krowka JF, Loretz L, Geis PA, et al. Preserving the facts on parabens: an overview of these important tools of the trade. Cosmetics & Toiletries. http://www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com... /Preserving-the-Facts-on-Parabens-An-Overview-of-These-Important -Tools-of-the Trade-425784294.html. Published June 1, 2017. Accessed June 13, 2022
Cosmetic Info. “Paraben Information.” Cosmetics Info, N.D., https://www.cosmeticsinfo.org/hbi/paraben-information/. Accessed 14 June 2022.
Cosmetic Ingredient Review. “Final Amended Report on the Safety Assessment of Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, and Benzylparaben as Used in Cosmetic Products.” International Journal of Toxicology, vol. 27, no. 4_suppl, July 2008, pp. 1–82, doi:10.1177/109158180802704s01.
Hossaini, A et al. “Lack of oestrogenic effects of food preservatives (parabens) in uterotrophic assays.” Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association vol. 38,4 (2000): 319-23. doi:10.1016/s0278-6915(99)00160-x
Kirchhof, Mark G, and Gillian C de Gannes. “The health controversies of parabens.” Skin therapy letter vol. 18,2 (2013): 5-7.
Routledge, E J et al. “Some alkyl hydroxy benzoate preservatives (parabens) are estrogenic.” Toxicology and applied pharmacology vol. 153,1 (1998): 12-9. doi:10.1006/taap.1998.8544
Sasseville, Denis et al. “"Parabenoia" Debunked, or "Who's Afraid of Parabens?".” Dermatitis : contact, atopic, occupational, drug vol. 26,6 (2015): 254-9. doi:10.1097/DER.0000000000000147
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA). “Parabens in Cosmetics | FDA.” US Food and Drug Administration, 25 February 2022, https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/parabens-cosmetics#are_parabens_safe. Accessed 14 June 2022.
Wong, Michelle. “Should You Be Avoiding Parabens? The Science.” Lab Muffin Beauty Science, 9 February 2017, https://labmuffin.com/should-you-be-avoiding-parabens-the-science/. Accessed 14 June 2022.
“Are Parabens actually bad??| Dr Dray.” Created by Andrea Suarez, Youtube, 15 August 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_CCf7-ySBU. Accessed 13 June 2022.
“Let's Get Intimate: Parabens | Dr. Shereene Idriss.” Created by Shereene Idriss, Youtube, 10 July 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed6hSEz7_t8. Accessed 13 June 2022. [Original source: https://studycrumb.com/alphabetizer]
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