Skin Health Tips

Are Parabens Bad For Your Skin'S Health?

Ever wondered, are parabens bad for you? That may seem like a simple question, but answering it can become a little complicated. These artificial preservatives have a relatively long history of use. At first, many of them were derived from naturally occurring sources. They are produced synthetically, today.

There are always two sides to any argument, but there are several sides to this one. There is the mainstream cosmetic community that insists these ingredients are safe and necessary to prolong shelf-life and insure that the public is not exposed to rancid oils.

There are the naturalists that argue our exposure to synthetic compounds causes illness and disease. There are the scientists that have found these compounds in breast cancer tumors and urine samples. They wonder are parabens bad for our long-term health.

There are allergy experts that would like to see labeling changed, so that there patients know what they are being exposed to, without struggling to read the fine print on a label of ingredients. There are environmentalists, concerned about the effect that these synthetic compounds have on fish and other aquatic life.

Then, there is the opinion that I share, along with many, if there is a safe natural alternative, why not use it? Natural alternatives cost more. Cosmetic companies are concerned about continuing to make profits, without pricing themselves out of the market. I am relatively sure that the big manufacturers will continue to rely on parabens as preservatives, but for those of us that want an alternative, there are a growing number of paraben-free products on the market.

If you want to go a step beyond paraben-free, you could look for those that are free of all artificial preservatives. There are even some wonderful products that are free of artificial fragrances, colors and other additives.

Are parabens bad when used as a single ingredient? Could they become worse, when added to other synthetic chemicals? What happens when we use multiple products that contain them? That's another source of concern.

But, regardless of the answers to these questions, the ingredients provide no known benefit to the skin's health. Natural vitamin E, on the other hand, prolongs the shelf life of products, prevents rancidity and is good for the skin. The synthetic versions of vitamin E can cause irritation. As an antioxidant, natural vitamin E can prevent damage to the skin's cells from free radicals. That damage is one of the causes of an aged appearance.

There will probably always be those that wonder are parabens bad for our long-term health, because those things are hard to determine. Why not play it safe?

Make no mistake about it. If we want to do everything that we can to protect and improve our appearance, it is not necessary to use possible or probable allergens, toxins or irritants. It's not even necessary to use synthetic ingredients. The natural world has provided everything that we need. We just needed a manufacturer that was willing to find them and make them readily available. The actual answer to are parabens bad is probably not, but who wants to take the chance.

To learn more about natural skin care without the worries of dangerous parabens, visit my site today.

Laurel is a long time user and passionate advocate of natural skin care products. Visit her site now to discover cutting edge, anti-aging skin care products she recommends after extensive research: http://www.beautiful-skin-site.com.

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