Many people love The Body Shop’s products not just because of the smell, but also because they feel good on the skin, and are well known for containing natural and organic ingredients from all around the world.
The Crime
At the time I worked there, the majority of The Body Shop’s products still contained parabens, in addition to other irritant ingredients. I would have several customers come into the store, see all of the signs with appealing pictures of natural ingredients, start smelling and trying the products, be ready to check out, and then stop dead in their tracks once they started reading the labels. I lost many sales because these customers felt misled by the advertising and promotional materials. These customers came into the store for natural products, then looked at the labels and saw a laundry list of irritant and potentially toxic chemical ingredients mixed in with the beautiful organic, Community Trade, natural ingredients. It really was a shame.
A Glimmer of Hope for Change
I spoke to my manager about this on several occasions, and she was aware of this and shared my frustration. She did tell me that the company was well aware of the dangers of parabens, and was in the process of transitioning to paraben-free. Some product ranges were being discontinued and pulled from the shelves and were being replaced with paraben-free formulations. The new products coming in also were paraben-free. I left my position there feeling very confident that the company was headed in the right direction paraben-wise.
The Follow-up Investigation
It is now nearly two years later, and I am very sorry to say that The Body Shop is not yet paraben-free. Most of the product ranges that were being sold at the time I worked there, such as the Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Seaweed, and Wise Woman skin care ranges; several of the body butters; most of the hair care products; most of the soaps and shower gels; most of the makeup (except for the Nature’s Minerals range); and the list goes on.
There are several products that are newer, and do not contain parabens such as the Rainforest hair care line, Nutriganics skin care line, Deo-Dry deodorant, etc. However, there is a new skin care product range called Natrulift (not to be confused with Nutra-Lift) which has a serum that contains parabens. There are other preservatives in the formulation as well. This very unfortunate, and completely unnecessary.
Additionally, most of the products, even the paraben-free ones contain other irritant ingredients, such as sodium laureth sulfate, propylene glycol, polysorbate-80, and several artificial fragrance ingredients. If there are so many natural ingredients, why do they need artificial fragrances in the products?
The Findings
I would have thought that more progress would have been made in the last two years. The Body Shop is owned by L’Oreal, and they spend a ton of money on marketing. It’s not like they don’t have the money to put safer preservatives and less irritant ingredients into their products.
I am very disappointed in The Body Shop because as a company, they do so many wonderful things with Community Trade (their Fair Trade initiative), human rights advocacy, spreading awareness of issues like child sex trafficking and domestic abuse, and have always been against animal testing. Yet, in spite of all of these wonderful company values, they continue to put ingredients that are known irritants, toxins, and carcinogens into their products.
It pains me to say this, but The Body Shop is BUSTED by the Paraben Police.
*Thanks again to Christi for the Paraben Police badge!
8 comments:
Hi, I need to know what parabens do -- why are they harmful?
Hi Shelly,
Parabens are very commonly used, very inexpensive chemical preservatives that have been linked to breast cancer. A 2004 study showed evidence that parabens were found intact in breast cancer tumors. Of course after that study came out several paraben-supporting companies all countered these results with their own statistics, which always happens whenever someone blows a whistle. Other studies, since 2004 have, however found further evidence supporting the findings of the 2004 study.
A majority of the more health-conscious skin care lines have taken parabens out completely, since there are a number of much safer, and just as effective preservatives available. If there are safer alternatives available, why would companies knowingly continue to put their customers at risk? To keep costs down.
Companies like The Body Shop, who claim to have such solid core values and such a commitment to natural and organic ingredients really should be paraben-free by now.
Hope that helps...I think I will do a separate post on reading this topic in the near future. Thanks for reading and commenting!
Oh.... the paraben debate continues. I want to talk about the other side of this coin. I have a skin care line. I decided that the "right" thing was to take out the parabens. I have my lab take the parabens out. Now I have a whole group of people who were buying these products from me get really angry at me for changing the formulation because now the product is more irritating.
The fact is, that it takes FIVE times as much preservative than it does parabens to make a product safe - ask any chemist. And, I think that it is a huge myth and internet hoax that parabens cause all these maladies. I can direct you to articles about that.
Needless to say, I'm going back to paraben-containing formulations.
Laura thank you for your insight. I have read many articles and studies from both sides of the debate as well. I have personally used several paraben-free lines that are anti-inflammatory, non-irritant, and very effective.
I am not a cosmetic chemist (as of now), but I do know there are less risky alternatives that preserve and stabilize products just as well as the parabens. It is my opinion that the risk is not worth it, and I will not use paraben-containing products on myself, my family, or my clients.
Of course people will do what they think is best for themselves and their clients, and that is certainly their prerogative. This is probably a debate that will not be resolved anytime soon...but when it comes to skin care and personal care products I will take the more cautious route. Again, thank you so much for reading and for your comment.
Ok, so what actual ingredients would you use in a formulation that preserve and stabilize without irritation? I'd love to know.
Like I said, I am not a chemist...but the chemical ones I often see ethylhexylglycerin, sorbic acid, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and phenoxyethanol. Phenoxyethenol is still not the most desirable...but is considered to be less dangerous than parabens.
The lines I primarily use don't contain any of these though...they contain blends of lower pH essential oils and plant extracts that have naturally occurring antibacterial and antifungal properties, as well as traces of pure colloidal silver which is antimicrobial, antiseptic, and germicidal.
The essential oil and plant extract blends are proprietary formulas so you would have to contact those companies (Hylunia and Osmosis) directly if you want to know the specifics of their blends. Their products have a three year shelf life.
I am sure there are other alternatives out there because there are tons of paraben-free skin care lines out there that do very well. Hope that answers your question...thanks!
I know how infuriating this is. I just bought a bunch of Body Shop items for my birthday back in October of 2011. I did not read all of the labels and was at the time unaware of many of these ingredients. Now today I am unfortunately throwing about half of the products out (most of them practically full) because of the paraben and laureth/lauryl content...what a waste of my money!
Adrienne I know how frustrating that is! People shop at stores like this because of their heavily marketed natural and organic ingredients. They don't tell you about all the other stuff on the labels and they assume that most people won't read them which is unfortunately true. I plan on revisiting this store at some point in the near future to see if any progress has been made but I am doubtful. Sorry you had to go through that!
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