Paraben free, is it as scary and hard as it sound

I’m a freelance Make up Artist in the TV and beauty industry and starting to, get my body ready for the changes for my healthy baby.

I wanted to do some research to find out if going paraben free is as hard as it sounds.

So what are paraben’s and why are they in our cosmetic brands? Do we really need to quit them? Are they dangerous to an unborn baby and why am I only now considering this now in my quest to be a mum?

Its scary when you start to look into something you have been putting on your body for half your life, its like typing into Google your cold symptoms and coming back with a deadly life threating illness when all you really have is a common cold. But.. if it helps me in having a healthy baby then I want to know all about them. Before we go into the ‘scary’ facts I should point out the FDA have giving the thumb’s up to brands that use them, they do say individual product’s may contain safe levels of chemicals, it’s the cumulative impact of many products over the years that can cause health issues.

I was shocked to read there has been some links to breast cancer, miscarriages, hormone imbalance, higher oestrogen levels and we all know to much oestrogen can effect fertility. So lets dig a bit deeper. Over 75% of skin care products available to buy contain parabens. They are used to preserve and help stop the growth of moulds, fungi and bacteria. When paraben based products are applied to the skin some of the parabens are absorbed into the blood stream, obviously I don’t want to use anything that can grow bacteria or open my favourite expensive cream and see a furry mouldy rim looking back at me, so what’s out there today and how are they making these products so they don’t need to include the chemicals. Do we need to give half our fridge space for our many cosmetics and skin care? Will I spend 30 pounds on a cream that has a shelf life of a week?

I’m going to be testing products from skin care, nail vanishes, hair products, cosmetics and anything we typically use daily in our quest for beauty all paraben free.

First up, Skin Care.

The lovely people at Utopia have sent me all these fabulous products to try. More and more of my clients are requesting vegan friendly and clean beauty brands, my pro kit is constantly changing since I first started as a MUA, people want to know what’s in there products, and of course they should, its your face, you wear it every day you want to look after it!

Here’s the important bit.. Utopia Skincare technology is suitable for all skin types, the entire collection is both vegan and vegetarian friendly and of course parabens aren’t used to preserve any of the products.

These are my top 3 from the range;

Hydrating day cream:
The cream is SPF 30 and UVA protection. Its rich and super hydrating. I’ve been using this for 7 days now and my skin already looks firmer and fresher and a fabulous base for my make up, This is now a staple in my pro make up kit and my clients love it!

Nourishing night cream
This is an intensive overnight cream. Now in my late 30s I’ve started to think about using a night cream, your skin goes through so much during the day, the tube alone is enough to make you want to sit in a hot clean steam room and flush out all the germs you’ve picked up through the day. Before I used this night cream my skin looked dull and grey when I braved the mirror first thing, now it looks like I’ve had an over night facial!

Instant firming eye serum
Utophia says this serum has proven technology that gives the effect of a collagen injection after 2 weeks use!! If you leave this hero product in the fridge it cools the eye area decreasing puffiness. I’ve really noticed a change in my eyes in the last few years, obvious crows feet have replaced what I used to put down to laughter lines, in just a few applications I’ve noticed a difference. I recently used this on a shoot on a presenter who has dark circles and dryness under her eyes [don’t we all]. This serum brightened her eyes and hydrated her dryness. I highly recommend it!

Thank you so much Utophia for sending us the range to try out, it’s a winner, beautifully packaged, rich, luxurious products that have made my skin glow with much needed hydrating and not a parabens in sight!!

I adore skin care and make up, after all its my job, I’m not saying cut out all products that contain parabens, but it cant hurt to trim down the products you do use, and we use a hell of a lot these days. We still eat bread when we are on a strict no carb diet and that cheeky glass of vino when you’re on a detox, we’re only human, but in the quest of mother hood learning about your products and the effect it has long term can only be a positive thing.

Read the labels;
Methylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, basically look for words ending in paraben and you should be ok!