Hair care formulations continue to advance with sub categories and countless supporting hair and styling products within those. Today, there is not a single hair or texture that can’t find solutions. With the high demand in product performance and the ever-evolving curious consumer there have been some buzz words directed towards certain chemicals that have become non-negotiable to formulate without. One of these are parabens. Let’s take a deeper look at what parabens are, how they work and how their reputation evolved to what we know today.

What are parabens?

Parabens are a preservative system that aren’t just found in beauty products, they are FDA approved to be included in your food and other everyday products. Their job is to ensure fungi, yeast and bacteria to extend the shelf life of your products.

How do they affect you?

A lot of research has been done to conclude that parabens are found inside our bodies through a few entryways including topically and when you ingest them. Those studies also show that parabens don’t make a permanent home in your body – they flush out. However there is still concern and looming questions like how these parabens influence our bodies reactions that may lead to hormonal disruptions or even cancer.

Research

As scientific research is on-going without matter-of-fact links to health concerns the use of parabens becomes a stance for individuals just as much as it does for the brands providing a product to their audience.

Results from previous studies show that parabens have not been tested on humans but rather injected and/or ingested mice in high amounts may lead to the potential effects parabens may have on humans. Research has found parabens in cancer tissues as well as otherwise healthy unaffected cells in the body. Due to the uncertainty countries like the EU and South East Asia have banned the use of certain parabens to reduce any chances.

Where are parabens found?

• Cosmetic products like:
  • Shampoo, conditioner and other hair care products
  • Moisturizers and lotions
  • Makeup
  • Shaving products
• Foods:
  • Cereal
  • Candy
  • Meat
  • Beer
  • Veggies
  • Dairy products
  • Pickles
  • Jam
  • Syrups
• Pharmaceutical products

What are the benefits of parabens?

There was no doubt to rush claims that parabens were harming more than they were benefiting, however before that, parabens were seen as the choice ingredient to preserve because of its effective antimicrobial properties and they rarely prompted an allergic response. In addition to that, parabens were not that expensive. Where we see common paraben-free replacements can easily tick up the price of products and may require a higher concentration to be as effective.

Conclusion

While it may seem like you cannot escape parabens it can still be up to you as a consumer to request actions to be taken with your favorite brands to ask for products to be made without man-made chemicals like parabens. Alternatively some brands have already taken the steps to meet demands and provide hair care solutions paraben-free. While science has not concluded correlation with these specific preservatives and certain health concerns the freedom to choose is always in your hands. For some the risk outweighs benefits while for others, it may not pose much of a threat as it was once perceived.

Either way you land in perspective, you can rest well in knowing that there are more preservative systems available than parabens so you can enjoy the high performance end results through brands like Goldie Locks^® while avoiding parabens.