paraben in cosmetics: do you avoid it??

I'm curious about how many people avoid paraben. I am not sure whether to avoid it or not. I use a lot of cosmetic products and I feel like i'm not the only one. I know some people, like my dad for example use very little cosmetics aside from soap. And yes most soaps have paraben in them but using just soap is probably not huge exposure. I on the other hand, use a lot more than just soap. I mean, moisturizers, lotions, shampoos, conditioners, hair gel, facial cleanser, facial exfoliator...It's a lot. So I'm considering starting to avoid paraben. I love antibacterial soap because i'm germophobic. But, I guess I'll be willing to start using some hand made soaps and start going to LUSH and wholefoods more often and buy all of my cosmetics from there. What do you guys think?? Are paraben free products for paranoid people or is it a legitimate concern?

paraben , sulfate and ammonia free only here.. I also avoid antibacterial as it is one of the factors making for antibiotic resistance

Honesty....I really don't care anymore.
Ya gotta die of something.

Paraben
PCBs
Where I live....probably dioxin.

With all the gloom and doom about everything under the sun...is there anything that's safe?

Originally Posted by Pookie-poo

Honesty....I really don't care anymore.
Ya gotta die of something.

Paraben
PCBs
Where I live....probably dioxin.

With all the gloom and doom about everything under the sun...is there anything that's safe?

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I see where you're coming from...But for someone like me using so much stuff I dunno. I think I use more cosmetics than the average person. I'm going to switch to mineral foundation and organic shampoo and organic cleanser and moisturizer for my face for now. That probably puts me at average exposure to those chemicals.
I was complaining to my dad and he told me that I should do just like my great grandfather when he was growing up: bathe annually . Joke aside, he lived until 98!

Honestly I never thought about it. I try to avoid lots of other things (HFCS, trans fats, artificial colors/flavors, saccharin, aspartame, anti-bacterial stuff etc.), but parabens are kind of new to me. I mostly use "natural" (Whole Foods type stuff) products anyway, and always have, so maybe that's why parabens have never come up on my radar. I'll have to look into that.

Honestly I'm not sure I trust some reports that are out about certain items being horrible for you. But I think part of that is because EVERY time something gets a report about being bad for your health companies jack up the prices of other items because they can advertise that there is none of that chemical or whatever it is in it.
Example: Water bottles
BPA which has been found in reusable plastic bottles. Now BPA free bottles are $10-15 a piece. But no one has been freaking out about it being found in water pipes or dental stuff.


I dont know. I'm just skeptical, and dont feel like paying twice as much for something that may or may not still be harmful to me for some other chemical that may be discovered in the future.

One study does not make a law. However, it does promote fear mongering. There is no evidence that any cosmetics containing parabens pose a health risk. The dosages are just too small.

Para-whats??

Originally Posted by sarahp

Para-whats??

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It's an ingredient found in cosmetics and antiperspirants that act as a preservative.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

It's an ingredient found in cosmetics and antiperspirants that act as a preservative.

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Yes, also in shampoos and almost every skin lotion product.
I am more careful than I used to be after I read about it being a carcinogen. Aveeno products are paraben-free and I have switched to organics if I can afford them. I wash my hair almost every day so I switched to shampoos and conidtioners that are paraben-free, too. Thanks, Natalie for posting!!

Oh good grief! More hype about something else that is bad for us. If you go back over the last 10-15 years, there are mega-warnings about something or other, then a year later they come back and say, "oops, sorry, it's not as bad as we thought". Bacon is one that comes to my mind readily since I wasn't about to give up my bacon.

Breathing in city air in any city in today's world is bad for your health if you want to be realistic about it.

As Pookie said, we're all going to die of something and we start dying the minute we are born so might as well get used to it. With my luck I'd give up stuff I like to live longer and end up getting hit by a bus.

^I think the general worry isn't so much that it will shorten one's life but that it might cause something horrible to deal with in that time.


Utopia - since you admit to using a lot of these items, being more aware of what you're using is a good idea. Whether some study says this or that, the basic fact is it is a good idea to try to use healthier products. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being able to read a label and understand what you're using.

I have to be careful what shampoos, soaps, and makeups I use. Not because I'm worried about anything being a carcinogen, but because when there tends to be a longer list of ingredients with a lot of chemicals I'm more at risk from some side effect - rash, burning skin, drying out my skin, hair thinning/falling out, or headache if the added fragrance is too strong or a particular smell that bothers me.
But that's just me, due to my odd reactions to things and even medications I'm suspecting chemical sensitivities which isn't odd with my health issues.

Originally Posted by capt_jordi

Honestly I'm not sure I trust some reports that are out about certain items being horrible for you. But I think part of that is because EVERY time something gets a report about being bad for your health companies jack up the prices of other items because they can advertise that there is none of that chemical or whatever it is in it.
Example: Water bottles
BPA which has been found in reusable plastic bottles. Now BPA free bottles are $10-15 a piece. But no one has been freaking out about it being found in water pipes or dental stuff.


I dont know. I'm just skeptical, and dont feel like paying twice as much for something that may or may not still be harmful to me for some other chemical that may be discovered in the future.

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I know exactly what you mean!! And then comes the question, the stuff that is in the "organic" brands that is 3X the price, is it bad for us also just in a different way??? I worry about this too. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it's good for us. There are tons of poisons in nature, mostly the plants' defense mechanisms.

Originally Posted by sashacat421

Yes, also in shampoos and almost every skin lotion product.
I am more careful than I used to be after I read about it being a carcinogen. Aveeno products are paraben-free and I have switched to organics if I can afford them. I wash my hair almost every day so I switched to shampoos and conidtioners that are paraben-free, too.

Thanks, Natalie for posting!!

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I found out about Aveeno and I think also Burt's bees are good and affordable. I'm curious though, maybe the lack of these ingredients will make them less effective in their cleansing abilities. I was reading the ingredients on the back of baby wipes, which I've been using to wipe off my make up at night, and on the back it said: "sodium lauryl sulfate (gentle cleanser)" I was like WHAAT By the way, sodium lauryl sulfate was another one of the ingredients that's in question.

Originally Posted by Yosemite

Oh good grief! More hype about something else that is bad for us. If you go back over the last 10-15 years, there are mega-warnings about something or other, then a year later they come back and say, "oops, sorry, it's not as bad as we thought". Bacon is one that comes to my mind readily since I wasn't about to give up my bacon.

Breathing in city air in any city in today's world is bad for your health if you want to be realistic about it.

As Pookie said, we're all going to die of something and we start dying the minute we are born so might as well get used to it. With my luck I'd give up stuff I like to live longer and end up getting hit by a bus.

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I know, I know ...But look at cigarettes no one thought they were bad in the 1960s..The same could happen for some other random product!

Originally Posted by strange_wings

^I think the general worry isn't so much that it will shorten one's life but that it might cause something horrible to deal with in that time.


Utopia - since you admit to using a lot of these items, being more aware of what you're using is a good idea. Whether some study says this or that, the basic fact is it is a good idea to try to use healthier products. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being able to read a label and understand what you're using.

I have to be careful what shampoos, soaps, and makeups I use. Not because I'm worried about anything being a carcinogen, but because when there tends to be a longer list of ingredients with a lot of chemicals I'm more at risk from some side effect - rash, burning skin, drying out my skin, hair thinning/falling out, or headache if the added fragrance is too strong or a particular smell that bothers me.
But that's just me, due to my odd reactions to things and even medications I'm suspecting chemical sensitivities which isn't odd with my health issues.

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I'm not necessarily worried about cancer per se. Like, I know sodium lauryl sulfate is dangerous if it gets into your eyes. That's why on most packaging of cosmetics it says: avoid eye contact. No matter how much you try to avoid it, a small amount of it goes into your eye every time you use it! So I agree with you, it's not like i'm saying "OMG if I use this I will die of cancer really early" and go crazy and paranoid worrying over it lol...If I was like this I'd probably be in a psychiatric hospital because I worked with ethidium bromide which is pretty dangerous..But look at some of my professors they were in their late 60s and still healthy even tho they used that stuff all their lives.

I have never even heard of it

never heard of it but i am into all that healthy stuff so im going to have to do some googling about it.

I'm happy to say I found some really affordable products that don't containt any parabens or sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates!! One of them was Naked Naturals organic shampoo and conditioner that was about $6 at CVS and the other was Vickery and Clarke apothecary natural facial moisturizer which was also about $6. I'm really excited to be trying those out. Vickery and Clarke also had a cleanser, and all kinds of products similar to Burt's bees. I can't wait to try those out. My goal is not to eliminate those chemicals from my use completely, I just want to lessen my exposure to them. I know I can't possibly avoid them. So I think for now I'm pretty happy with simply using those organic products in place of my usual ones and I'm not going to worry about every other product that I use that contains parabens.

I would be in the already have health issues and do try to avoid any further ... I will say since switching to much "safer" products my "eczema" has all but disappeared and my "dead" hair always gets my how healthy your hair is