FAQs - Parabens

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I am asked almost on a daily basis for my views on parabens.  I am met with outrage by some commenters who are mortified that I am recommending something that is 'toxic' and can 'give you breast cancer' (erm, no).
In short my response to those comments is always polite and explanatory but my response to websites spewing out this nonsense would really be 'bollocks' if I was being honest. Goop and the EWG have a lot to answer for. For example, in this article, Goop rages about how untrustworthy the beauty industry is because it uses the term 'non-toxic' because it means 'absolutely nothing'. And then in this article, not only uses the term openly and frequently, but puts it in the title. Confused.com?

I have no problem with parabens. I don't see them as toxic. I'm really beginning to hate the way that websites and some brands use that word for scare tactics or to make sales.
The word toxic is always dose-dependent. If a venomous snake bites you, you could die. If you take a little of that venom and use it to make an antivenom, it could save your life. It's no longer 'toxic'. It's absolutely 'toxic' in large doses. But the word is not appropriate in the latter situation.

Yes parabens have been found in breast cancer tumours.
They are also present in breast tissue that has no tumours or cancer present.
They are also present in your wee.
That's because you mostly break them down and pee them out.

I'm not a doctor, I'm not a cosmetic scientist, but tellingly, I have yet to work with one who has a problem with parabens.

Whilst it's true that the USA do not do a good enough job of regulating the ingredients of beauty products, the FDA have done research on parabens and found them to be 'completely safe for use in cosmetics'. Similarly the EU and Canada's governing bodies. I'm even in agreement with Paula's Choice website which has some great links to documented research if you want further reading.

Honestly? It will always come down to your personal feeling but I would just do your own research, try not read the Daily Fail, and the next time you go to a counter and say 'Is it paraben-free?' at least know why you are asking the question.

pepta-bright from indeed laboratories - Review

My love affair with Hydraluron (Hironsluron) is well known. Well, Indeed Labs have done it again.

This is one of those products that you don't know you need until you use it and then can't bear to be without it. I wanted to use it for a few weeks to test the claims of fading scarring and pigmentation.

Let me say this from the off: if you are young, have bouncy fabulous skin and no pigmentation or uneven skin tone - you won't love it like I love it. Because bitch you may not need it. (You will still see the benefits - but they won't be as WHOA as someone my age.)

If, however, you have a face that shows you're 30+ and have lived a good life (ahem), worship the sun enjoy sunbathing, have suffered with adult acne and the resulting scarring - any of the above really - then you could do a lot worse than to check this out.

Presented as an 'Intense Brightening Treatment' it claims to do the following (with my subtle comments next to them):

1. Even skin tone - YES
2. Reduce and lighten pigmentation - YES
3. Prevent, treat and diminish dark spots - YES
4. Restore luminosity and radiance - OHMYGOD YES
5. Prevent photoaging - WHO KNOWS?
6. Stimulate cell turnover - TOO EARLY TO TELL
7. Maintain skin's hydration - YEP, USE LESS HYDRALURON AS A RESULT

In short, for me - its all about No. 2 - My acne scars are fading - and No.4 - as soon as you put this on your face it looks like someone has used QVC's soft-lighting-reserved-especially-for-you-know-who to make you look awake, alive and glowing.

What's impressive is what is left out of the formulation. 

It does not contain any:

• bismmuth oxychloride - the ingredient most commonly used to give 'radiance' in eyeshadows/eye creams - also one of the most common allergens and the reason I can't use Bare Minerals.
• hydroquinone - banned in the EU but still widely available in a lot of high-end brands - naughty
• kojic acid - like hydroquinone - skin bleach
• mercury - d'uh - its mercury
• parabens - I don't actually mind about parabens - a lot of fuss about nothing that now has a myth attached to it. Parabens don't give you cancer. Chillax.

Now a part of my staple skincare wardrobe - if you look at pictures of yourself when you were 20 and say 'GOD I look so YOUNG' - this is for you.

pepta-bright is available from Boots for £29.99 - and is at the time of posting on 3 for 2. *sits on bank card*

Sidebar: I use it AM and PM religiously. Its a commitment people. Keep it up.

* PR sample

Parabens and Animal Testing - a quick word...

After a few comments this week on Twitter about parabens and a post from the lovely Sarah on London Beauty Review about animal testing - (more of that here)  I just wanted to highlight a couple of things very briefly from my own experience...

Parabens
Regardless of where you lie in the paraben debate - do you/don't you - if you are in the 'don't want them in my products at all' group - you need to look further back than the original inci list on your product.

A product listed as paraben-free means that there are no parabens in that particular product.  It does not mean that the source ingredients in that product were not preserved in parabens. In other words, companies can say that their product is paraben-free - but the source ingredients that make up that product may have been swimming in them for months, even years.  If you are unsure, ask questions - and don't ask the counter staff/shop staff - ask Head Office.
If you want something that is absolutely paraben-free you may need to do more than look on the box - and if you want to be absolutely sure - you need to go certified organic . Not 'natural' - ORGANIC.  There are a lot of brands out there calling themselves natural - (a product only has to have 6% of something (anything) natural in it to call itself natural) - very few walk the walk and talk the talk.
One of the few that do is The Organic Pharmacy.  Margo and Francesco Marrone are two of the most passionate people I have met in the industry.  They also get rid of any cliched ideas you may have about organic = dowdy, dull, frumpy and boring. There are no grey areas in The Organic Pharmacy.  It's either in - or it's out.  If you are concerned about what is in the products that we routinely put on our skin - check out TOP -  for more info on their philosophy and background  - visit their website - here.  And if you haven't yet tried any of their products - start with the Carrot Butter Cleanser - phenomenal.


Animal Testing
At the other end of the paraben scale is Liz Earle.  Liz Earle Cosmetics actively and openly use parabens - and defend them in their literature (although they are noticeably missing from all of their newest products released - make of that what you will).

Where there are no grey areas with Liz Earle is in animal testing.  So much so that a few years ago the EU revised the law on all self tanning products because they were concerned about the effects of inhalation in tanning booths.  The new EU testing regime for self tans involved testing on animals. Liz Earle refused to let their (very good) Self Tan be tested on animals and so discontinued it rather than go against one of their fundamental principles.
The customers were not happy - but LEC were unrelenting. They still do not carry a self tan in their range.  More on LEC and their philosophies here.

If you use any form of self tan - odds are it has been tested on animals - maybe not by the company - but by their source manufacturer.

Forewarned is forearmed.