How to Find Products Without Parabens

ToxinsFertility

Nov 19

Dr. Lora Shahine, Reproductive Health & Fertility Medicine, How to Find Products without Parabens

As a reproductive endocrinologist, I’m passionate about helping patients optimize their reproductive health through lifestyle changes.

Endocrine disruptors like parabens can affect fertility in a variety of ways—increased risk of miscarriage, lowered fertility treatment success rates, overall egg and sperm health—and they’re once you know how to look, you’ll find they’re nearly everywhere.

Parabens are a chemical preservative. This preservative is added to products you come into contact daily, including makeup, shampoo, laundry detergent, toothpaste, and even supplements. Check out my blog post Parabens and Fertility for more information about how parabens can impact your health and fertility.

Whether you’re looking to start your family or not, limiting exposure to parabens can help your overall health. And with parabens in so many products, it might seem like a hopeless task to try to limit exposure.

Here are a few tips for finding products without parabens:

1. Read the label

Fortunately, when you look at the ingredients label on the back of your products, parabens should be listed, so you can choose whether or not to purchase based on the ingredients.

2. Research with a product database

There are websites that provide iPhone apps like ewg.org (Environmental Working Group) and thinkdirtyapp.com that lists products by toxicity and ingredients.

3. Buy from a brand you trust

There are many beauty and personal care brands that offer paraben-free products. I recommend beautycounter.com as one of my faves.

4. Buy from a company that screens different brands for you

Companies like credobeauty.com or follain.com do trustworthy research on brand safety and toxicity so you don’t have to.

Aim for progress, not perfection

Living life without any exposure to parabens would be challenging. But, since parabens are also endocrine disruptors that alter hormonal function in the human body, aim to decrease exposure where you can.

For more information about parabens and fertility, check out my YouTube video.

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Lora Shahine, MD

Dr. Lora Shahine, reproductive endocrinologist at Pacific NW Fertility and Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Washington in Seattle, completed her residency in OBGYN at the University of California in San Francisco and fellowship in reproductive endocrinology at Stanford University. She is dedicated to educating and advocating for increased awareness of infertility, miscarriage, and the impact on environmental toxins on health through an active social media presence, teaching, clinical research, and authoring multiple blogs and books including best selling, ‘Not Broken: An Approachable Guide to Miscarriage and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.’