Thursday, November 20, 2014

Parabens, Breast Cancer and your Chapped Skin

The skin you wear is precious. Do not cheapen it by slathering on products heavy-laden with chemicals. Parabens have been linked to breast cancer and if you take a look at your common hand cream ingredient list, you will likely find at least one or two types of parabens listed.
For example, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Hand Cream, Fragrance Free
Ingredients
Water, Glycerin, Cetearyl Alcohol, Stearic Acid, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Dilauryl Thiodipropionate, Sodium Sulfate

Notice, the Methyl and Propyl parabens are both listed.
So, what are parabens? Why are they used in products and how common can this really be? I turned to BreastCancerFund.org for some of these answers.

“Parabens are a group of compounds widely used as antimicrobial preservatives in food, pharmaceutical and cosmetics products, including underarm deodorants. Parabens are absorbed through intact skin and from the gastrointestinal tract.
Measurable concentrations of six different parabens have been identified in biopsy samples from breast tumors.
Parabens have also been found in almost all urine samples examined from a demographically diverse sample of U.S. adults through the NHANES study.
Adolescents and adult females had higher levels of methylparaben and propylparaben in their urine than did males of similar ages.
Higher levels of n-propylparaben were found in the axilla quadrant of the breast (the area nearest the underarm). This is the region in which the highest proportion of breast tumors are found, although paraben concentration in the tissue samples was not related to location of breast tumors in individual women.
Parabens are estrogen mimickers (agonists), [and] can bind to the cellular estrogen receptor. They also increase the expression of many genes that are usually regulated by the natural estrogen estradiol and cause human breast tumor cells to grow and proliferate in vitro....”

I urge you to stop using parabens as a great first step to cleaning out your beauty regimen!

To start, let’s make our own solid lotion bar to keep in our purses, cars and powder rooms! Using just a few ingredients and about 15 minutes, we can make a  few silky smooth bars.

Ingredients:
½  c coconut oil
½  c beeswax (mine is locally sourced through  my great friends at Le Bleu Bee)
⅛ c cocoa butter (or another hard butter like Kokum)
⅛ tsp grapefruit seed oil (preservative)
30 drops essential oils (I used a combination of citrus and vanilla)

Melt the first three ingredients in a double boiler, or if you’re in a hurry, microwave 15 seconds at a time, stirring between, until smooth. Remove from heat and add the rest of the ingredients listed. Stir well and pour into heat-safe molds. I like to use candy molds and silicon baking molds. Allow to cool 30 minutes before removing.
The heat of your hands will cause the bar to melt just enough to spread over your skin. Keep in a plastic baggy and in cool place (don’t leave this in a hot car or near a heat vent!!).

I make this bar in a variety of scent combinations ranging from citrus-sweet to anti-sniffles! If you would rather I make this for you, please contact me here.

Sarah Fabisiak,
Wood Creek Naturals