History of paraben
Paraben is a class of commonly used preservatives mostly found in cosmetics and personal care products. Parabens are found in 85% of cosmetics. They can also be used in shampoos, toothpaste, shaving gel, and moisturizers. Products with water can be spoiled by the growth of bacteria or fungi. This can cause problems to the product because it causes mold, malodor, and discoloration. A product can be contaminated allowing harmful microorganisms to grow. Paraben is used in cosmetic mostly and those products come in contact with your skin, but paraben prevents the growth of fungi and bacteria, and it keeps it from spoiling. Paraben keeps the consumers of cosmetics and other personal care products safe.
Chemical reactions involved
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Paraben is a series parahydroxybenzoates or esters of parahydroxybenzoic acid. There are five major para-hydroxybenzoic acid esters: benzylparaben, butylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben, and methylparaben. Each one of the Paraben has a different solubility due to the chemical substitutions. Methylparaben is commonly used in cosmetics and personal care products, and it has a chemical formula of C8H8O3. Ethyl paraben has a chemical formula of C9H10O3, propylparaben has a chemical formula of C10H12O3, and butyl paraben has a chemical formula of C11H14O3. They all have the same appearance of whit to off-whit crystalline powder. The picture below is a general chemical structure of a paraben where R represents an alkyl …show more content…
Paraben prevent bacterial growth and that is the reason many companies use them in their products. Parabens are more useful to companies because they are easy to place in products and are very cheap. If a company uses paraben then their product can last longer on the shelf because it wouldn’t spoil and they don’t have to waste products by throwing them away. Longer lasting products also benefit humans because the product doesn’t spoil so quickly and consumers can use them longer. Technology has helped companies use less amount of paraben so it doesn’t affect the environment in a negative way, while still keep the product from