Concerns Re: Urban Decay Surreal Skin Mineral Makeup

EEK! I read the following review at another site. Is this true? Thanks in advance for your help and time!

I was thinking about buying this from reading all the good reviews, but I researched the ingredients and was disappointed to see such a high concentration of parabens! Yuck! These things are linked to breast cancer and reproductive problems. Methylparaben, Propylparaben, May Contain: Mica, CI 77163 (Bismuth Oxychloride), CI 77891 (Titanium Dioxide), CI 77492 (Iron Oxide), CI 77499 (Iron Oxide)

Disclaimer: I did not write the review above. It was written by someone at another forum.

My birth mother is dying due to breast cancer (and I've already lost my father to brain cancer), so I'm really scared to purchase this now. Not to mention my husband and I are planning to conceive in the not-so-distant future.

Ick! Scary stuff! I might have to rethink trying it. Thanks for posting!

I will have to research about it, but I doubt that topical products such as foundation get absorbed in enough amounts; goes to your bloadstream, and causes breast cancer or reproductive problems. Now if you told me it was associated with skin cancer, then it would be a problem. Just because someone made an association between paraben and breast cancer, doesnt mean that paraben in THE FOUNDATION that you apply on YOUR SKIN will cause cancer too. You know what I mean? As I always say, don't believe everything you read. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Plus, when we read a list of risk factors for breast cancer for instance, you will find age, family hitory of breast cancer, early menarche, late menopause, use of hormone replacement, etc etc, but you will NEVER find paraben in that list. /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> That I can guarantee!!! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

Thais, I agree. Knowing you're training as an MD (was curious as to specialty) it makes me glad you responded! I've worked for 13 years in the field of pathology / histology and cancer is something I see every day.

The concentration of parabens in any cosmetic product is very low. Color ingredients do not have to be listed in order of concentration according to the FDA. Usually it's a very small percent like 0.1-0.3% that they are used in products. Parabens are used in a LOT of products like lotions, creams, makeup, antiperspirants, etc.

The research on this appears shaky. Breast tumors can sometimes have estrogen and progesterone activity and parabens have been known to have weak estrogenic activity. But, our natural hormones have more of this activity than parabens do.

American Cancer Society on Parabens:

One small study recently found trace levels of parabens (used as preservatives in antiperspirants), which have weak estrogen-like properties, in a small sample of breast cancer tumors. However, the study did not look at whether parabens caused the tumors. This was a preliminary finding, and more research is needed to determine what effect, if any, parabens may have on breast cancer risk. On the other hand, a recent large study of breast cancer causes found no increase in breast cancer in women who used underarm antiperspirants or shaved their underarms.

National Cancer Institute:

Other research has focused on certain preservatives (parabens) that are used in deodorants and antiperspirants, as well as many cosmetic, food, and pharmaceutical products. Parabens have been shown to mimic the activity of estrogen (a hormone) in the body’s cells (5). Because estrogen promotes the growth of breast cancer cells, some scientists have suggested that the use of deodorants or antiperspirants could cause the accumulation of parabens in breast tissues, which may contribute to the development of breast cancer. This hypothesis was supported by a 2004 study that found parabens within 18 of 20 samples of tissue from human breast tumors (6). However, this study did not prove that parabens cause breast tumors (5). The authors of this study did not analyze healthy breast tissue or tissues from other areas of the body, and did not demonstrate that parabens are found only in cancerous breast tissue (6). Furthermore, this research did not identify the source of the parabens, and cannot establish that the accumulation of parabens is due to the use of deodorants or antiperspirants. More research is needed to specifically assess whether the use of deodorants or antiperspirants can cause the accumulation of parabens in breast tissue, and whether these chemicals can promote the development of breast cancer.

FDA on parabens (It's long so I didn't want to copy/paste it)

Thanks for your indepth answers Thais & oceanmist!

I read the exact same thing! Thanks for clearing that up!

anyways just because it says the word mineral on it it doesnt mean it will always be good for you but thanks for posting.

I'm so embarrassed. Thank you both for addressing my concerns.

I don't think you should be embarassed at all! It's very important to understand what's in your products and if they can be harmful. It's also important to know that we can't always believe what we hear or read. Someone else may have had your concerns, but didn't ask.

I'm an ingredient junkie so I try to find out about ingredients all the time!

Unfortunately, EVERYTHING has parabens in it, unless you go for organic paraben-free products which are hard to find. I guarantee that all the MU and skincare you and I have are filled with parabens. :sleepyhead:

Thanks for the info ladies.

Thanks for all the great information

Thanks for the info Thais & Oceanmist!

No need to be embarrassed!!! /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

That's why we can't go through our lives worrying about the smallest things i do this lol.

There's good and bad in every product and if it's not one ingredient it's another. To be honest i hate reading stuff like this it's depressing if you search the net for "harmful ingredients in cosmetics" you'll find thousands of pages with bad ingredients in our cosmetics linked to brain tumours, cancer and everything else, it's a wonder we haven't all dropped dead lol.

thanks so much for the info!

Hi everyone, I'm new here and cannot look at the link that started this thread. But I am a cancer survivor, and I have been looking into preservatives in make-up and everything else. I disagree with whoever said that they doubted that ingredients in foundation can be absorbed through your skin and go to your bloodstream. If that is the case, then why all of the claims in skincare? Your skin is the largest organ in your body. When you think of all of products we put on our skin that has parabens, no matter how low the amount is, you have to think of the TOTAL amount that is absorbed into our skin and THEN see if you are concerned. Body lotion, deodorant, face moisturizer, foundation, shampoo, conditioner...add up the total amount of things you use before you step out the door in the morning, and see how many have parabens. THEN add up the amount you are getting and ask yourself if you should be concerned. I'll leave it up to you because it's up to each of us to decide for ourselves. Me? I'm just concerned about toxic overload.....

Cheekymonkey, first of all, congrats for being a cancer survivor!

I agree when you say that the skin is the largest organ in the body, and it is tramendously vascularized. However, I still do not think that the amounts of chemicals in make up/cosmetics could cause toxicity. If everything we put on our skin would be promptly absorbed and delivered to the bloodstream in high amounts; then there wouldn't be any need for IV, SQ or oral medications: Why use the IV or oral routes if all we would have to do would be to put the medication on our skin? Imagine how nice it would be if the diabetics could just apply the liquid insulin on their skin rather than injecting it in their subutaneous space, for instance!

Now, there are medications available in patch form, such as estrogen, nitroglycerin, nicotine replacement, clonidine, fentanyl, etc, but remember, those are high dose patches and the patches are specifically designed to allow effective absorption of the active substance. This is much different than cosmetics; whose main purpouse is NOT to deliver substances to the bloodstream. See the difference?

Thanks for the info ladies.

OMG Katie,yay,this is such a great news,woohoo,I am so happy for your plans Cant wait to see lil Katie or Donnie