Project Paraben Free

There is a ton of controversy swirling around parabens which are basically preservatives [antifungal / bactericidal agents]. The big corporations say they are perfectly harmless and there is insufficient evidence to suggest otherwise. The tree hugging granola crunchers say they are a terrible poison that should not be legal. There are many who think that the government agencies in charge of keeping our food, medicine, and cosmetics safe are in fact turning a blind eye to mass poisoning thanks to the big companies habitually lining the pockets of those in charge. I do love a good conspiracy theory, but Blumtastic is not a place where I'll be blogging politics.

So what is a cosmetic loving consumer to do? I'm not the kind of person who reads a headline or hears a news story and believes every word. I stand by the work published in peer reviewed journals written by people who have dedicated their lives to finding answers. That said, how many of us subscribe to a scientific journal? How about a medical journal? And how many of us catch snippets from a 24 hour news channel or browse news web sites? Marketers know it's confusing and journalists know sensational scary news sells. 

I could spend all afternoon citing analysis reports from The Archives of Toxicology and the American Journal of Medicine, but I'm saving all my research paper energy for actual graded assignments. If you're curious, look it up for yourself... what you find will astound you. Basically there is still a great deal to learn concerning parabens, but we do know that they affect reproductive health, growth and development of both babies and adults, and mimic estrogen. Some people even suffer from paraben allergies.

To me, the fact that there is a correlation between breast cancer and parabens is enough for me to eliminate these unnecessary chemicals from my life. Tiny amounts of parabens have been found in tumors, and as I said before, parabens have been known to mimic estrogen. Scientists have not figured out the physiological link that explains the what and why, but I suppose I'm just not in the mood to cross my fingers and wait for them to tell me it's all a big coincidence.

Everything from toothpaste to spray tan to shampoo and lipstick contain parabens. Start reading your labels... you will be shocked. As part of my 101 in 1001, I am ditching parabens altogether, which unfortunately isn't easy. I've spent hours reading labels and I'm sad to report that the local drugstore and corner market don't have much in the way of paraben-free anything.

I do think it's interesting that many companies seem to want to jump on the pink ribbon bandwagon and throw money at "the cause." They offer everything from pink ribbon nail polish to free pink ribbon tote bags with purchase. Revlon even sponsors a Breast Cancer Awareness Run/Walk and advertises such nonsense as "shower for the cure" gel and "kiss for the cure" lipstick... first of all, an undisclosed portion of proceeds goes to breast cancer research. Uhhh I'd like to know just how much! Avon calls their little marketing project a "Breast Cancer Awareness Crusade." Yet both Revlon and Avon openly use parabens and other chemicals that are linked to cancer.... as do the majority of cosmetic companies.

I came across the book Toxic Beauty by Dr. Samuel Epstein (thank you Amazon, for knowing what I'd like to read) and I ordered it on the spot. I'll keep you all posted on every tid bit of beauty health I learn from this book just as soon as I get my hands on it.

For now, though, I will share with you the few paraben-free brands I've found and love. I'm having a hard time finding decent haircare products...

If you're not choosy about what you're feeding your body (and that most certainly includes feeding your skin), then I hope you consider reading some labels sometime soon. If you're a natural product-loving granola cruncher like me, then for goodness sake recommend products! I'm still actively phasing out all the crappy paraben products, so let me know what to replace them with!