What's In Your Soap? Paraben's Edition

What's In Your Soap? Have you ever wondered how your soap or shampoo is made?

Most soaps are made with a concentrated base of cleansing agents using oils and butters and fragrance oils which are combined with a lye & water solution. Because bar soaps generally have a PH of 9-10, bacteria and mold growth are not a concern. But in other cleansing products like liquid soap and shampoo, it is another story.

We all know that water breeds life, so once you add water to these cleansers, a preservative needs to be added to minimize bacteria, mold and fungi growth. Enter parabens. Parabens are pesky preservatives found in many body care products. Parabens can mimic naturally produced estrogen in your body (regardless of your sex) and can interfere with cholesterol, blood sugar, thyroid, immune function and much more. Europe, Canada, and other countries have begun banning certain parabens in beauty & other products due to finding potential dangers. The US has also started to investigate, but parabens are still widely used today.

Parabens enter the body through skin absorption or ingestion. Lets talk about your skin for a minute. Skin is the largest organ in your body and it will absorb whatever you put on it. When your skincare has irritant's, they are absorbed in your body. The good news is the half-life of parabens is less than 24 hours. The bad news is, regular use of paraben-containing products could lead to chronic, low levels of parabens in the body.

So are they really necessary? Well... It is necessary to use a preservative in skin & beauty products that contain water. But there are options; and they are not all parabens. Parabens are a preservative that is used to minimize the risk of fungi, yeast and bacteria growth. They are commonly found in skin care, food, pharmaceuticals and personal care items. If you remove paraben containing preservatives from these products, it is important to add another preservative. Optiphen, Optiphen plus & Geogard ECT, are just a few of the paraben & formaldehyde free options. Formaldehyde you say? Yes! In my research, I have discovered that there are a slew of paraben free options that actually DO contain formaldehyde. Also known as embalming fluid. No wonder it kills bacteria.

All of our magical creations at Halo Aynie's Botanical are handcrafted without the use of parabens or formaldehyde. Our products are bursting with love and completely free from sneaky ingredients.