Parabens

[chrisgee47]

As a recent 'returnee' to wet shaving, I treated myself to two tubs of Taylors of Bond Street shaving cream, one Rose and one Almond fragrance.
I am more than pleased with the quality of shave they both give, and the smells are really lovely, however, I am a little concerned that they both contain the dreaded parabens, which seem to attract a lot of criticism, and have been dropped by a number of well known brands.
Should I be worried, or plough on, regardless of what dreadful ailments my new found creams are going to inflict upon me?

 

[michiganlover]

Should I be worried, or plough on, regardless of what dreadful ailments my new found creams are going to inflict upon me?

Taylors has been reformulated, if I recall correctly, to remove the Parabens, however, many of the common shaving retailers still have a backstock of the older creams.

I would just plough on, remember, that people have been using the Taylor creams for a long long time with no ill effects.

A lot of the information you hear regarding supposed dangerous chemicals, is poorly researched, poorly supported with actual data, and subject to scare tactics. The news media wants interesting stories, not necessarily accurate stories.

 

[soapbox]

Parabens are a preservative used to replace alcohol or other preservatives. Any proposed links to cancer are, as of yet, unsupported by real, solid research. I, myself, prefer to avoid artificial preservatives where I can, but it doesn't mean parabens are harmful. I'm also not going to avoid blueberries, which naturally contain some parabens!

 

[goby]

I would guess, and I think that this is a LOW estimate, that you are 10,000,000 times more likely to die in a car accident. Seriously.

Avoiding them is fine, and if you still have any concerns, I'll buy them off you. I have no problem with them.

 

[mr_economy]

Parabens aren't really a concern for adult men. Animal studies have shown some endocrine system disruption potential, so pregnant women and wee ones may want to limit exposure, but anyone not pregnant or past puberty is probably fine.

 

[ChrisS86]

To be fair, there is research being done on parabens, it's just that the studies as of now don't contain enough evidence to support the hypothesis that parabens can cause cancer or any other physiological abnormalities in the doses used in cosmetics (If i recall correctly, the studies examining estrogenic activity of parabens was shown in animals who received a dose upwards to 20,000 times higher than the amount preserving our shaving products). This is simply how research is conducted; to basically support or reject a null hypothesis with an alternative hypothesis by analyzing data from clinical trials and/or past research. In the future, you'll probably see studies that examine the levels of parabens that can/will accumulate in the body and what serum levels are significant enough to cause harm. So as of now, parabens are a-ok.

Any of the "scare tactics" associated with parabens are just that, and probably the work of lobbyist for natural/organic products who use people's lack of scientific knowledge to their advantage. Some of these alcohol and paraben free products at Whole Foods probably have poor shelf lives as a result, so you might even find yourself buying such products more frequently.

 

[njtnjt]

I have read that Parabens are found in breast cancer tumors in large amounts.

As somone whos family has been dealt a harsh blow by cancer I choose to avoid any chemical that is supect.

 

[kadett]

Personally I know err on the side of caution regarding this. I do tend to avoid products such as Proraso which contain a multitude of parabens due to the link, albeit vague, with cancer.