Parabens. Victims or Culprits?
It is increasingly common to read phrases such as “paraben-free” on the labels of most cosmetic products. The need for cosmetic marketing to include such wording stems from the alarmism spread on the internet and in newspapers about the alleged danger of parabens to human health.
The media message became so strong that cosmetic industries were forced to limit their use, to the point that today a product may risk remaining on the shelf simply because parabens are present in the formula. The discrimination suffered by parabens has therefore led consumers to believe that cosmetics containing them may be harmful.
What are parabens and what are they used for?
The term parabens refers to a broad class of molecules, namely esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid and their salts. The most widely used are short-chain esters and salts such as methylparaben, ethylparaben and propylparaben.
Parabens have been used for many years as preservatives in cosmetics, medicines and food because of their high efficacy even at low concentrations.
It should be remembered that all preservatives authorised for use in cosmetics and listed in Annex V of Regulation EC 1223/2009 undergo careful assessment by a scientific panel of experts (SCCS), which determines whether their use is safe at specific concentrations and for specific intended uses.
Why have they been accused of being dangerous to health?
Following the publication of some scientific articles, it was hypothesised that parabens could show hormone-like activity and that daily exposure to products containing them might increase the risk of breast cancer in women. Over the years, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) issued several opinions to address these concerns.
In summary, the evaluation made it possible to conclude that, regarding their general toxicological profile, acute, subacute and chronic toxicity studies in rats, dogs and mice have shown parabens to be practically non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, non-genotoxic or co-carcinogenic, and non-teratogenic. Parabens are not expected to accumulate in tissues and the ester bond is readily hydrolysed.
In a number of in vitro studies, parabens were able to bind the oestrogen receptor and activate oestrogen-controlled genes, but their oestrogenic potency remained between 1,000 and 1,000,000 times lower than that of 17β-estradiol. Paraben potency increases with side-chain length and branching, but remains far below physiological oestrogen activity.
Conclusions
As described above, parabens are a very broad class of molecules. It should be considered that:
a) The alleged hormone-like activity concerns mainly parabens with longer and branched side chains.
b) Regulation EC 1223/2009 prohibits branched and/or longer-chain parabens such as isopropyl and isobutyl parabens, and restricts the concentration of the others.
It is therefore clear that the alarmism around this class of molecules has been excessive and has led to their virtual disappearance from many cosmetic formulas. Moreover, denigrating legally authorised ingredients is not fair competition, as explained in Regulation 655/2013, which lays down common criteria for the justification of claims used in relation to cosmetic products.