Should Your Eczema Care Products Be Paraben-free?

Recently, there has been some concern in the media that parabens are endocrine disrupters, and some people have been skeptical about using products containing these preservatives for fear of irritating their skin. However, experts say they’re actually considered pretty safe to use and have been for over 70 years. 

To clarify this confusion, the National Eczema Association (NEA) spoke to Dr. Margo Reeder, a dermatologist and paraben researcher at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. She co-authored of the paper “Parabens” in the journal Dermatitis, where she discussed parabens as the “(non) allergen of the year” in 2019. 

Here, she explains some of that research on what parabens are and the impacts of using them in personal care products for eczema or general use.

What are parabens?

“Parabens are a type of preservative that have been around for a long time,” Dr. Reeder said. “They’re commonly found in all sorts of personal care products, such as soaps or lotions.”

They do naturally occur in some types of food, such as sweet potatoes, she explained. They can also be added to foods and some types of drugs to act as preservatives.¹

Parabens are a family of chemicals, known as esters, derived from p-hydroxybenzoic acid. The most common types include methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and ethylparaben.¹

Why are parabens in skincare products?

These chemicals are added to skincare and cosmetic products to prevent harmful bacteria and mold from growing, which helps extend the products’ shelf life and protect users from getting sick.¹ 

“They’re are an essential part added to prevent microbial growth,” Dr. Reeder said. “We need preservatives. They are really important because you don’t want to open your shampoo bottle or lotion and have there be mold or bacteria in it.” 

Should people — specifically those with eczema — be concerned about parabens?

“In general, I don’t recommend avoiding parabens in personal care products because the concentration is very, very low,” Dr. Reeder said. “These are all evaluated for safety and toxicology data. And parabens are recognized as a safe ingredient. In patch test studies, parabens show very low rates of allergic contact dermatitis — only around 1%.”

She’s more concerned about fragrances in personal care products and preservatives companies might add to products to replace parabens.

“The unsubstantiated public perception of paraben safety has led to its replacement in many products with preservatives having far greater allergenic potential,”¹ wrote the authors of the journal article “Parabens” published in Dermatitis. 

A lot of unfounded claims by the media have led to fear among consumers, and therefore a shift in the market where companies are making products using other preservatives, explained Dr. Reeder.

“There’s been a lot of concern in the media about parabens being endocrine disruptors, but there are not good studies in human subjects showing that this is the case,” Dr. Reeder said. “Unfortunately, instead, when [companies] remove parabens, they have to put in a different preservative. And many companies put in preservatives from the isothiazolinone family, and that’s caused an epidemic of allergic contact dermatitis.”

Oftentimes, the paraben alternatives companies use as a preservative in their products can end up causing allergic reactions. In one study, researchers found that 79% to 89% of the 186 “paraben-free” products they reviewed contained one proven contact allergen and more than 50% of the tested products contained two or more.¹

Can people with eczema have a paraben allergy?

Paraben allergy is not common, Dr. Reeder said, but she does see it occasionally. 

“When patients have allergic contact dermatitis to parabens, that is a situation where I recommend avoiding them,” Dr. Reeder said. “But the only way to diagnose allergic contact dermatitis to parabens is through patch testing. For most eczema patients who don’t have allergic contact dermatitis, it’s not necessary to avoid [parabens].”

Where does the idea that parabens are unsafe come from?

Over the past 15 years, concerns around parabens have included endocrine disruption, carcinogenicity (specifically breast cancer), neonatal and perinatal exposure risks, fertility, spermatogenesis disturbance, emotional disorders and environmental impact.¹ 

But the problem with these claims is that all of the claims have been refuted by scientists¹ and there’s been no population study of people, which shows that parabens increase rates of certain types of cancer, Dr. Reeder explained.

“The public can generally be reassured that the exposure that they get to parabens through personal care products is overall low and safe,” she said.

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Podcast on parabens

Learn more about parabens in this Eczema Answered podcast with Dr. Peter Lio, clinical assistant professor of dermatology and pediatrics at Northwestern University.

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Browse eczema-friendly products

Find dermatologist reviewed products in the National Eczema Association’s Seal of Acceptance™ Product Directory. 

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References: 

1. Fransway AF, Fransway PJ, Belsito DV, et al. Parabens. Dermatitis. 2019;30(1):3-31. doi:10.1097/DER.0000000000000429. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30570578/