This is a story from last fall, but it's worth the reminder for anyone who might be looking for more "natural" sunscreens - especially for their kids. Last September, Badger recalled about 30,000 tubes of their baby and kids sunscreen, because they were contaminated with bacteria and fungi. Gross. That was apparently because the organic preservatives they contained were not sufficiently effective. They are reformulating those sunscreen lotions and will be putting out a new (hopefully safer) product in 2015.
Here's a good preservatives primer from The Beauty Brains.
Yeah, I'm definitely with you on this one. Things that are meant to be used up really quickly (like those LUSH "fresh" masks) are OK without preservatives, but the average person keeps their skincare goo for a long time and sometimes in varied temperatures ... blah. Having accidentally applied moldy skin cream to my face before I think some preservatives are probably OK. :P
ReplyDeleteEwwwww terrible. I am horrified on your behalf.
DeleteI disagree. Sure, things that dont have preservatives risk the chance of earlier contamination, but that doesn't mean preservatives are good. It just means they prolong the life of a product. But what does that equate to on our bodies?
ReplyDeleteParabens, for example, are known hormone-modifiers. For those of us who are sensitive to hormonal changes, this isnt good news.
My anecdotal experience with parabens have never been good. I always broke out when its one of the ingredients, regardless of how tiny of an amount it contained. Whether thats related to hormones, or just topical effects it has, i dont know. But i just know my body doesnt like it and it damages my skin. Not to mention this stuff is toxic to the environment.
I'm aware that there are many people out there who disagree with me on this point, but the best evidence suggests that the absence of effective preservatives in cosmetics outweighs any potential risks they may pose. From what I understand, hormonal disruptions occur at much high concentrations than appear in these products - many things, like lead for example, are toxic in high doses but safe in very small quantities.
DeleteOf course, if you personally have sensitivities to any ingredients, then you absolutely should avoid them. It's important to read ingredients lists and be aware of what you're using. But even though my skin doesn't like zinc oxide, I don't believe that means it shouldn't be used in sunscreens, because it works well for others. Whatever annoyance it may cause me to try to avoid it is outweighed by the benefits for others in protecting them from skin damage and cancer etc. As for environmental toxicity, I have done a (very) little research and not come across much to suggest that parabens pose a problem in that respect. I'd be interested in reading more, if you will suggest something.