Can Natural Skin Care Products Contain Parabens?

Are all natural skin care products good for your skin? Will they make your skin look and feel younger? Well, it depends on the product and the various ingredients that make up that product.

Not all natural skin care products are going to give you the results you are looking for.

Some may actually cause your skin more harm than good.

So what makes so-called natural products any better than commercial cosmetic products? Well, a good natural skin care product will contain vitamins, extracts, and antioxidants.

It will also not contain the toxic chemicals found in many commercial cosmetic products. These toxins actually accelerate the aging process of your skin.

Is natural the way to go then? Generally speaking yes, but you need to be careful and you need to be aware that natural does not always mean 100% safe or healthy. The key is to learn what is good for your skin and what is bad.

Always review the ingredients list on the product’s package or container.

Good natural skin care products will include only ingredients that will make the product do what it is supposed to do - improve your skin. You also need to understand that not all the ingredients in natural skin care products are necessarily natural. This doesn’t mean, however, that they are bad for you.

A perfect example of this is parabens, which are synthetic preservatives found in most skin care products. Parabens, such as methylparaben and propylparaben are used in the majority of cosmetics and natural skin care products because they are effective in protecting the product against microbial growth. This affords the consumer protection while maintaining product integrity.

Are parabens used in natural skin care products safe?

Yes, a conclusion reached by various studies. Citing the conclusions of these studies, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has determined that presently there is no reason for consumers to worry about the use of cosmetics (or natural skin care products, for that matter) that contain parabens.

A 2002 study (The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Volume 80, Issue 1, January 2002) shows that the amount of parabens in skin care products is so tiny that it cannot pose a threat to a person’s health. Any damage done to human cells in the study resulted from the use of enormous amounts of parabens in the tests, amounts thousands of times greater than those that have been used in cosmetics and skin care products for decades.

A French study (Experimental Dermatology, 2007, volume 16, issue 10) showed that the parabens used in cosmetics and natural skin care products do not accumulate in tissues after thirty-six hours, suggesting that skin care products can be used safely over the course of a lifetime.

There are many factors that will determine what skin care product you decide on.

Not all natural skin care products are the same. Some will have a proprietary blend of natural substances. Research those ingredients. Check also those under "Other Ingredients." Don’t be alarmed. Not all long odd-sounding names pose a threat to your health.

Ask for free samples from manufacturers. They are often happy to provide samples to potential customers. This way you can see if your skin responds well to the product. Sometimes even a natural ingredient can cause an allergic reaction in your skin. That makes sense, doesn’t it?  Pollen and animal dander, for example, are natural substances. So is poison ivy. But the allergic reactions they cause in some people can be quite extreme.

Use common sense. If you are concerned about an ingredient look it up in more than one place. What do the professional journals like Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology or Critical Reviews in Toxicology have to say? What does the FDA think about it? Look for objective answers, not biased generalizations.

Too often people pay good money for inferior products because they think they are safer or more natural.

Oprah Magazine’s beauty editor, Valerie Monroe, cites both the FDA’s and Cosmetic Ingredient Review’s assessment that parabens in cosmetics and natural skin care products are safe.

Once you can accept that, your choices increase dramatically. And your chances of finding natural skin care products that are perfect for you are increased. However, as Ms. Monroe writes, "If you're the kind of person who double-locks your doors," you may be more comfortable looking for paraben-free products. The bottom line is, be comfortable in your own skin.