Grow Your Own HRT by Sally J. Duffell

Author:Sally J. Duffell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company

• methylparaben

• ethylparaben

• isobutylparaben

• propylparaben

(just as you’re probably getting the idea that they handily say “paraben” here’s a few that don’t ):

• hydroxybenzoic acid

• hydroxybenzoate

The EU has completely banned five parabens from toiletries. These are:

• isopropylparaben

• isobutylparaben

• phenylparaben

• benzylparaben

• pentylparaben

Two international brands that I was surprised to see still use parabens are the Simple range and the Body Shop.

The Simple website states uncategorically that parabens are safe and are indeed best for people with sensitive skin.253 They provide a link to a 2007 EU directive to prove this. I think they are assuming people won’t bother to read it, and I might not have myself, if it were not for writing this book.

However I followed that link and read it (in full!), and I’m glad I did. EU Directive No. 1223/2009 (oh yes, I’m getting sexy now) makes quite chilling reading. It bans some parabens, notes the hormone-disrupting effect of others, states that parabens try to attach to human estrogen receptor cells, and calls for more research. This is why, as mentioned previously, from 2015, the products themselves have to have maximum levels of 0.19 percent parabens.

The Simple website further justifies including parabens by saying, “Although the commercially available product is produced synthetically, parabens do occur naturally in plants and animals.”

So their argument is that because estrogen occurs naturally, it’s okay to put synthetic estrogens in cosmetics. Really? That’s like saying, “Although this blow-up dolly is made of plastic, natural females do exist, so she is a proper girlfriend. Honest.”

WHICH COSMETICS DON’T HAVE PARABENS?

All organic cosmetics and toiletries are paraben free. Be careful of products that say they are “natural,” because that term is meaningless. To qualify as “natural,” a product just has to have something in the mix that was natural at some stage.

A number of high street brands are paraben free, including:

• Nivea Pure & Natural range

• Palmers range of cocoa butter products

• Clinique have changed their formulation of Dramatically Different Moisturizing lotion and created Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion Plus, which is paraben free.

• Aqueous cream from BP doesn’t use them.

• Beauty Without Cruelty was the original anti-animal testing cosmetic company and does not contain parabens (or palm oil, for that matter).

• B range from Superdrug (UK only)

• CVS (USA only) has a list of 58 paraben-free products on its website.

For a complete list of paraben-free cosmetics and toiletries, go to the website of Breast Cancer Action. They keep an up-to-date list of all paraben- free brands and invite companies to write in with their status. And by the way, their website is unequivocal that parabens increase the risk of breast cancer. See more at www.bcaction.org/our-take-on-breast-cancer/environment/safe-cosmetics/paraben-free-cosmetics

SYNTHETIC ESTROGEN IN WATER

Firstly, the good news is that British and American tap water is the safest and cleanest in the world, with regulatory bodies making sure it stays that way. The bad news is that if you live in a building with old pipes or bad water mains, it could add contaminants and bacteria on the way. 254, 255

That’s mainly bacterial, though;

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