Are Parabens Cancer Forming? Apr:09

Dr. Jason Rivers is often asked why he's included parabens in the Riversol Tplus line of skincare products.  He thought it was important to share his knowlege. 

In 1999, after having practiced medicine for almost 20 years, Dr. Rivers realized that many of his patients were confused about the ingredients and effectiveness of products available in the rapidly expanding skin care market. People said they wanted products that were well tolerated, even for the most sensitive skin.

As a result, Dr Rivers began to explore the medical literature in search of a combination of ingredients that would provide an effective skin moisturizing system with potent anti-oxidants. At the same time, he required ingredients that would minimize irritation to the skin and reduce the risk of allergic reactions.

"Parabens are used in Riversol products because they have a long history of safety in the concentrations used.   These preservatives are highly effective against bacteria, viruses and fungi.  The risk of allergic contact dermatitis is much reduced compared with other preservative systems, especially formaldehyde releasing agents which are used in many products.  The concern about parabens arose from one paper that suggested there was an association between these chemicals and breast cancer.  That is microscopically,  parabens were seen in the tissue around breast cancer cells.  This paper did not show that parabens cause breast cancer.  Further, the paper suggested that women avoid products that come in contact with the armpit (deodorants),  not creams applied elsewhere on the body.   Parabens keep products from going rancid better than "natural" preservatives.  Riversol was created with science in mind - should there be any data forthcoming that parabens or other molecules are hazardous, then we will modify our ingredients.   Until then, we maintain that we should go where the data is."