CHEMICAL FREE

Are supposedly ‘cleaner’ products worth buying?

THIS week: Bionsen Dermo-protective parabens-free rollon deodorant, £2.35, Boots

PARABENS are manmade compounds used in many health and beauty products as preservatives — stopping bacteria or fungus growth.

Parabens may mimic the female hormone oestrogen. As oestrogen is involved in many breast cancers, there are concerns such products could raise the risk.

The European Commission has banned certain parabens in products sold here, and limited the maximum concentration of two others.

There’ s a lot of literature on parabens’ potential health risks, says Paul Fowler, a professor of translation al medical sciences at the University of Aberdeen.

However, there’s no solid evidence f or a breast cancer link. One small study found traces of parabens in some breast tumours, but whether they came from the deodorant or had a causal role in the cancer is unknown.

Many deodorants are parabens-free.

‘I use para ben s-free deodorant, though this is just me taking the precautionary principle,’ says Professor Fowler. ‘ There’s no hard and fast evidence that such parabens-free products are less harmful.

‘I have eczema and try to avoid anything that might irritate the skin, though some publications suggest that parabens are not a particular risk to eczema. ‘The potential replacements for parabens in this deodorant are plantbased and/ or plant extracts (such as grapefruit seed extract).

‘But it has not been tested on animals, which could mean less certainty over the ingredients’ effects.’