Jia lat liao... 
Methylparaben, an antiseptic agent
widely used in cosmetics such as foundation, advances the aging
process in skin cells when exposed to ultraviolet rays, causing
wrinkles and liver spots, researchers said.
Methylparaben is the most commonly used antiseptic agent for
cosmetics. It is included in powders, lotion and skin milk for its
high anti-bacterial effects and mild stimulation of the skin.
The agent, ironically, is also used in products intended to reduce
the skin's exposure to ultraviolet rays.
"I think women should avoid strong and direct sunshine when wearing
cosmetics containing methylparaben," said professor Toshikazu
Yoshikawa, who headed the team of researchers at the Kyoto
Prefectural University of Medicine.
Yoshikawa's team conducted the research to determine any side
effects from normal use of the agent, which has been deemed safe
under government standards.
The researchers added methylparaben to skin cells in a density
similar to that used in cosmetics.
The skin cells were then exposed to about 30 millijoules of
ultraviolet rays per square centimetre, about the average daily
amount on a summer day.
About 19 percent of the methylparaben-added skin cells died, while
the fatality rate for cells with no methylparaben was only about 6
percent, Yoshikawa said.
The amount of lipid peroxide-the driving force behind the aging
process-in the methylparaben-added cells was almost three times the
total in the untreated cells.
Lipid peroxide is generated inside oxidised cells when exposed to
ultraviolet rays.
Yoshikawa said the findings confirm that methylparaben, when
exposed to ultraviolet rays, advances the aging process in skin
cells
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/health/view/165072/1/.html
