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Parabens Are Not Killing Your Testosterone
Parabens are not killing your testosterone, and they aren’t causing cancer, despite what some influencers may say. They’re actually some of the most well-tested and high-performing preservatives available, with over a century of use. Parabens do an incredible job of protecting you from bacteria and mold in food and personal care products.
Strive is a science-based company first and foremost, so we are going to fight misinformation in the space even if it isn’t the popular thing to do. Really, it’s not some evil big pharma conspiracy. So today we want to shed light on why parabens in your products is actually a good thing when it comes to maximizing safety and satisfaction.
What Are Parabens?
Parabens are a group of chemicals that are widely used as preservatives in skincare, pharma, and food. On an ingredient list, they’ll look something like: methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, or butylparaben. Their purpose is to stop gram positive/negative bacteria, yeast, and mold from growing in products. This is what keeps your products safe to use and with a lengthy shelf life. Parabens have actually been used since the early 1900s, so they have 100 years of safety data and real-world usage to evaluate.
What Do Regulators Say?
Leading health authorities, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), have reviewed and rereviewed parabens thoroughly. Based on current evidence, these agencies regard parabens as safe when used within established limits(0.8%-1% in a formula). Strive used to use about 0.25% in our products, which is a standard level in cosmetics.
Where Did the Fear Come From?
Much of the public concern over parabens stems from two studies often cited – but often misunderstood. This misunderstanding gets echo chambered in social media and further pushed by groups like the EWG.
1. The 1998 Routledge Study
This study found that parabens were weakly estrogenic in rats, meaning they could bind to estrogen receptors. But the key word here is “weak”: the estrogenic effect of parabens was thousands of times weaker than estradiol, the natural hormone in humans.
Even more critically, the parabens were injected under the rats’ skin, not applied topically like in a skincare product. The dose, method, and concentration are drastically different. That’s why regulators don’t find this data concerning for real-world use.
2. The 2004 Darbre Study
In this study, researchers found parabens in 20 breast tumor samples, which sparked widespread alarm. But the methodology had major flaws:
- No comparison with healthy tissue
- Evidence of contamination (parabens were found in blank samples)
- Extremely small quantities (nanograms per gram)
The authors even clarified that the presence of parabens didn’t mean they caused cancer – but that clarification didn’t go viral like the fear did.
So, What Does the Research Really Say?
It boils down to two key points:
✅ Parabens Are Extremely Weak Estrogens
For example, butylparaben is:
- ~10,000× weaker than estradiol in vitro
- ~100,000× weaker than estradiol in animal studies
To put that in context: foods like soy, flaxseed, and green tea contain phytoestrogens that are much stronger than parabens, yet no one panics about those. Parabens would need to be applied at 25,000× the normal dose to have a comparable effect – and even then, you’re still not injecting them.
✅ There’s No Direct Human Evidence of Harm
Despite nearly 100 years of use, there is no credible evidence linking parabens to health problems in humans, aside from rare allergic reactions. And when something has been this widely studied and used for so long without clear harm, it speaks volumes.
Our Commitment to Safety
At Strive, we are in the process of phasing out parabens – not because they’re unsafe, but because we are a new, independent, and bootstrapped company. Meaning we should try to mitigate as many potential disadvantages as we can. Though we hope to bring them back as we continue to grow.
The issue isn’t that alternative preservatives are inherently dangerous or ineffective. Some can do a great job.
The real concern is this: when ingredients like parabens are demonized based on misinterpreted studies or flawed assumptions, it forces brands to switch to newer or “natural” preservatives that often don’t work as well. Meaning these options can lead to shorter shelf lives, contaminated products, and higher chances of irritation.
This creates a strange situation where fear-based decisions – not scientific ones – can actually increase risk for the end user.
At Strive, we don’t just follow trends – we weigh the science, the safety profile, and the real-world performance of every ingredient. That means staying open to change, while staying grounded in facts.
Conclusion: Don’t Fall for Fear Marketing
Parabens remain the gold standard for preservatives in skincare. Their long track record of safe and effective use makes them the most sensible choice for protecting your skin and the integrity of our products.
At Strive, we’ll always be honest and science-first. Dosage matters. Method matters. And correlation does not mean causation.
Thank you for trusting us with your skin.
REFERENCES
Routledge, E. J., Parker, J., Odum, J., Ashby, J., & Sumpter, J. P. (1998). Some alkyl hydroxy benzoate preservatives (parabens) are estrogenic in vitro. Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, 153(1), 12–19. https://doi.org/10.1006/taap.1998.8544
Darbre, P. D., Aljarrah, A., Miller, W. R., Coldham, N. G., Sauer, M. J., & Pope, G. S. (2004). Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours. Journal of Applied Toxicology, 24(1), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1002/jat.958
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). Parabens in Cosmetics. Updated March 2022. https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/parabens-cosmetics
Wong, M. (2017, February 9). Should You Be Avoiding Parabens? The Science. Lab Muffin Beauty Science. https://labmuffin.com/should-you-be-avoiding-parabens-the-science/
The Eco Well. (2019, June 28). A Case Against The EWG. https://www.theecowell.com/blog/a-case-against-the-ewg
Senapathy, K. (2016, July 12). Would You Rather Buy Organic Or Poison Your Family? EWG Wants You To Pick One. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kavinsenapathy/2016/07/12/would-you-rather-buy-organic-or-poison-your-family-ewg-wants-you-to-pick-one/
InfluenceWatch. (2023, July 26). Environmental Working Group (EWG). https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/environmental-working-group/
Bailey, R. (2009, May 21). Are Chemicals Killing Us? Reason. https://reason.com/2009/05/21/are-chemicals-killing-us/
Winter, C. K., & Katz, J. M. (2011). Dietary Exposure to Pesticide Residues from Commodities Alleged to Contain the Highest Contamination Levels. Journal of Toxicology, 2011, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/589674
International Fragrance Association (IFRA). (2023). Home. https://ifrafragrance.org
The Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM). (2023). Home. https://rifm.org
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