Question: I saw on TV that parabens are harmful, practically causing skin cancer. But they are on almost all product packaging from all different brands. How can their safety be explained?

The expert’s answer: Parabens are a group of compounds that are derivatives of benzoic acid. They are used as preservatives in the cosmetic and food industries.

Parabens have antibacterial and antifungal properties. They can deal with almost all germs and microscopic fungi. They even kill spores. They are completely non-toxic, do not cause allergic reactions or skin irritation in the concentrations permitted in long-lasting cosmetics.

1% is the maximum concentration allowed. This concentration has a safety factor of 100. This toxicological term means that you need to increase the maximum dose of 1% 100 times to get a result of skin irritation in 50% of cases. Our cosmetics have a paraben content of from 0.1% to 0.5% depending on the product. That is 50 times less than the maximum allowed dose.

The publication about the fact that parabens are carcinogens appeared several years ago in an American scientific publication. Their researchers found parabens in breast tumor cancer cells, and rushed to conclude that deodorants with parabens were causing breast cancer.

Several months later, they denied their statement because further studies showed that parabens do not cause cancer; cancer cells can accumulate parabens. Namely: parabens accumulate in already damaged cells, and do not have a connection to the root cause of cancer.

The only problem is that everyone heard the statement about the dangers of parabens, but not the negation of the statement.

By the way, benzoic acid is found everywhere in nature. For example, there is more in cowberries than in our cream. That is why cowberries keep for a long time without temperature control. If you believe that parabens are harmful, you should eliminate cranberries from your diet – they contain benzoic acid, which is the basis for paraben synthesis. You will also have to switch to other companies’ creams, where there may not be parabens, but you will be putting an excess of ozocerite, ceresin, and other so-called “healthy” oil components on your skin.