Deodorants, soap, shampoo, creams and toothpaste - they smell good and make you beautiful. But one of their main ingredients is water. And this makes the products susceptible to germs and fungi once they have been opened. Many manufacturers therefore use so-called parabens as preservatives for cosmetics. And have been doing so since the 1940s.

Parabens: act like oestrogen

Parabens are chemical compounds that have a similar effect to the female hormone oestrogen and can allegedly even cause cancer. This is according to a British study from 2004, in which the preservatives were found in the tissue of breast cancer patients.

Parabens: Not harmful, as the dosage is low

However, the permitted amount in cosmetics is so low that no harm is to be feared. According to the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, parabens are very well researched preservatives that are well tolerated by the skin and have a low allergy risk. To replace them, various substances would have to be combined, which would increase the risk of allergies.