We don’t have synthetic preservatives in any of our products. The main reason for the need of synthetic preservatives is when a formulation contains water. Our remedies do not contain water and some essential oils are natural preservatives, so our blends benefit from this attribute. When you add water to a formulation (in our case it would dilute the product, something we certainly don’t want as it would affect its efficacy), synthetic preservatives need to be added to keep the integrity of the product, stop bacteria from spreading and increase shelf life.
There are several products which contain preservatives, including other hair oils on the market, so we thought we’d take a look at cosmetic preservatives to help you make a more informed choice when selecting products. Today we’re looking at you, parabens.
Traditionally, companies that required synthetic preservatives would use parabens. Parabens are cost effective for mass production which explains the popularity of them with larger corporations. However, they have had an increasingly bad rep in the beauty world, and for good reason. Many studies have been conducted which link parabens to tumours and cancers (in both men and women), endocrine disruption, developmental and reproductive toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity.
Though companies have begun to steer away from them, many still use them as a there is no law prohibiting the use of parabens. There are no regulations against parabens in the EU, their use is restricted in children’s products in Denmark but that’s all really. So it’s very important to remain informed about what goes into your skincare and haircare, we know it can be daunting looking at some ingredient lists as they’re often very difficult to understand (which is why we make a point of having ours as easy to understand as possible).
When looking at lists, keep a look out for methylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben; anything that ends in paraben really, it’s surprising how many everyday products contain them.
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