When I first read about Natalchemy , as a substitute for parabens, memories of Harry Potter and the Philosopher`s Stone sprang to mind. Who could forget Nicolas Flamel the alchemist and only known maker of the Philosophe's Stone , a legendary substance with incredible powers?
Natalchemy is founded on the principles of Modern Natural Alchemy. The word alchemy comes from the Arabic al-and the Greek word khumeia , meaning "cast together". Natural Alchemy uses the natural materials from mother earth. These are Botanical extracts from plants, flowers, trees, and natural isolates from the earth itself.
Natalchemy uses modern science methods to formulate products that are of high quality while using natural preservatives to protect the product. This involves the use of Botanical extracts, vitamins, and Essential oils that all work together. These ingredients work in a two fold way. They provide the health benefits to your skin and body and also due to their natural antibacterial and anti-fungal properties they act as natural preservatives. Aloe vera is a perfect example, it's a natural preservative and also has many health benefits.
This is purely informed guessing on my part (I am not a cosmetics professional ) Some companies have succeeded in avoiding the use of preservatives altogether in their products by replacing the use of water with the use of aloe vera juice, the first ingredient in their lotion. Aloe vera is known as a "self-preserving" substance Its unique properties resist microbials while still retaining a large amount of water ( suspended in the aloe).
Parabens have been raising red flags to many health researchers because of some evidence of problems on several levels.
Because parabens have been proven to penetrate the skin and can be traced in the blood minutes after application, it is theorized that they may have adverse effects on the body. Some studies have found parabens present in the breast tissue of cancer patients. Because presence does not prove causality, the researcher called for more studies to be done in this regard.
Cosmetics products involve the ingredients being absorbed into the skin tissues without going through the digestive process, this allows the chemicals to remain intact in the tissues. It is not known how this affects the surrounding tissue, so it is an area for further study.
It is also known that parabens break down into formaldehyde, a substance the FDA has said causes cancer. Formaldehyde just happens to be the same chemical dead bodies are preserved in!
Parabens have displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. In other words, these chemicals mimic the body's own hormones and can thus disrupt endocrine functions in virtually every system in the body.
Despite all the evidence connecting parabens to cancer and other health issues, they are still legal to put in skincare products. The cosmetic industry is fighting to keep them legal because they are much cheaper to use than the natural preservatives and the cost for them to re-formulate their products would be very large.
