~~~ What is Paraben~~~

              Paraben is a common preservative that is found is many health and beauty products from shampoo's to moisturizer and even some toothpastes. It is very effective as a preservative and it is inexpensive to use, which is why many cosmetics companies use it as an ingredient.

              You can usually tell if one of the products that you currently use contain a paraben because it will be contained in the chemical name somewhere in the ingredient list such as methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben and so on.

Why The Controversy?
A recent study was shown that Paraben was found inside the tumors of some women with breast cancer.

Many organic associations have decided it is best to err on the side of caution and avoid the chemical altogether.

Another reason that many people are starting to avoid it, is that experiments on animals have shown that it has an estrogenic activity on the body. This sort of hormone disruption can cause various effects on the body, not limited to the fact that it can interfere with the normal hormone balance in both males and females alike.

**Hormone imbalances have been blamed from everything from depression, low sex drive, weight gain and even infertility.**

Cosmetic companies continue to argue that there is no real evidence that Paraben is unsafe or that they pose any sort of health risk at such low levels.

Finding Paraben free products can be a difficult task since the majority of products on the market do contain the chemical preservative although some companies, such as myself are starting to embrace the use of healthier alternatives.