Parabens are natural preservatives often used in many different products.  There are methylparabens, propylparabens, there’s actually a whole list of parabens in general.  But there are recent studies and reports talking about the dangers of parabens.  Apparently, parabens actually break down the skin cells causing irritation, redness, swelling, inflammation, and other skin problems.  This is definitely something worth looking into as many different skincare products use parabens, and you don’t want them counteracting the benefits or even causing greater problems than you started out with.

But when I look into the supposed dangers of parabens, I am skeptical.  First of all, I’ve seen parabens in some of the best wrinkle creams out there, and while it’s better to air on the safe side of things, I think they’ve done their research, enough research to use the best ingredients in the best amounts.  Why would they sabotage that by using harmful ingredients that might damage the skin?

The other reason I am skeptical of these reports on parabens is because quite frankly speaking, the studies are small, limited, and not necessarily legitimate.  There are actually few studies at all, which denotes the idea that they could not repeat the results in bigger studies or more legitimate studies.  So this makes me skeptical. 

In an ideal world, we would never see preservatives or fillers of any kind.  But many ingredients used in any good wrinkle cream are biodegradable, they break down, they rot, they go bad.  So these preservatives are actually key in making your wrinkle cream last longer and be more effective down the road.  In short, preservatives are a necessary evil.  But I don’t believe that parabens are really harmful.