Paraben-Free and Phthalate Free: What does it all mean?

Using Paraben-Free products can reduce health risks.

Well, that’s what it is – free of parabens – any and all of them. You’ve probably read, or you might not have, about the problems with parabens. If not, then please take time to read our blog about them. We knew about parabens long before it was cool to talk about parabens or being paraben-free. We had many people look at us cross-eyed and questioned our use of a different preservative in our products, but science and time have proven us correct. To make a longer story shorter and you can read more on our blog, parabens have been found to be endocrine disrupters, possible carcinogens (cause cancer) and can and will cause acne. You may think you have a really bad case of acne, spend lots of money at the dermatologists, when, in fact, you just need to start using natural, organic and paraben-free products. So – we’re recommending that you read your ingredients before buying and avoid buying makeup, creams, lotions, shampoos – anything- that has an ingredient that ends in “paraben”.

A relatively recent research document that details our concerns: (1)In vivo and in vitro studies have confirmed the ability of parabens to penetrate human skin intact and to be absorbed. The health risks from aggregate use of body care products containing parabens have been shown to include increased incidence of female breast cancer, interference with male reproductive functions, and increased development of malignant melanoma. Therefore, where possible, it is recommended to eliminate use of paraben-containing products. Darbre PD & Harvey PW. Paraben esters: review of recent studies of endocrine toxicity, absorption, esterase and human exposure, and discussion of potential human health risks. J Appl Toxical. 2008 Jul;28(5):561-78.

Phthalate Free products are better for your immune system.

Now that’s a hard one to pronounce, so don’t ask me to. But according to the dictionary (just in case someone does ask you), it’s pronounced with the “ph” silent – as in “thalate”. Now, if you go online and start to do some research you will run into a lot of controversy because a lot of people have vested interest in whether you buy phthalate free or not. Basically, for cosmetic purposes, as there are lots of uses for phthalates which include plastics and you should be aware of these also, phthalates are used in synthetic fragrances. We’ve decided it’s not worth the risk and we like natural fragrances using essential oils better anyway, so why use them when you know you have a better choice. There are still a few products on our website that are not phthalate free, but you won’t see the icon on those. Why you ask? Well, we still love our lilacs, apple and pumpkin fragrances, but we are in the process of purchasing these also in a phthalate-free form. These particular fragrances are not available in a natural form (go figure), but we only use them in our soaps as they are what are considered to be “wash off” products, so will not sit on your skin like a cream. If you have sensitivities to fragrance and we’re finding that many people do and more and more people are becoming sensitive, please shop for phthalate-free choices. Sensitivities to fragrances are growing leaps and bounds and a lot of that is caused by the overuse of Glade type products in our homes. Read my blog about that when you have a chance. Using synthetic fragrances and phthalates would allow us to make a much higher profit margin, but that’s not why we do what we do. Your ingredient labels won’t say “phthalate”, but if it says “fragrance” and it’s not an essential oil, then it has phthalates – unless it claims to be “phthalate-free”.

Now, to balance this popular and widely disseminated media definition, I’m also providing a link to the Personal Care Products Council, formerly CTFA. They have responded to an article in the journal, “Pediatrics”, which brought into question several types of baby care products. We have also addressed the necessity of choosing the right baby bottles in a recent blog about baby bottles.

Again, concerning synthetic fragrances, the Personal Care Products Council, has a slightly different view and we have provided that link as well. We, however, believe and practice that anything synthetic is a burden on one’s immune system – and that’s all we need to know. If we have a large synthetic burden each day, then our immune system is busy taking care of those invaders rather than more serious invaders such as viruses and cancers.

(Click on an icon to learn more about it)