While reforming my company into what is now Sebon Organics, I received quite a number of calls from salons and home formulators wanting to replicate my products. Many of the calls and emails that came in were about their
struggle to meet the standard and requirements that I use when formulating.
Maybe I should have been a little miffed that they were trying to replicate
something that has taken me several years to perfect. The fact that they want
to make a difference to beauty products without harsh chemicals is enough for
me to give them a shove in the right direction, so I did, naturally.
I actually combine
several techniques and ingredients to preserve my products safely and I will add them in to a blog at a later date. One thing I want to make a point about. We buy food fresh so why not products we use frequently? Sebon Organics products use less than 2% preservative in our formulations compared to over 7% by 99.9% of manufacturers. That is why we add a use by date, we keep it fresh!
Preservatives,
by their very nature, are designed to kill things, specifically they work by
killing cells and preventing them from multiplying and are intended to prevent
the growth of bacteria and fungi in commercial cosmetic products – mainly
Candida albicans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherechia coli, Aspergillus niger
and Stephylococcus aureus – which could potentially cause serious infections on
the skin and in the body. The names alone makes my skin crawl.
Bacteria and fungi can get into cosmetics and body care products in several ways.
It would be easy for a formulators like myself to point a finger of blame at consumers for introducing microbes into a product with use – for instance from dipping unwashed hands into tubs, leaving tops off, diluting with water, storing in a moist warm bathroom and buying large, wide-mouth containers that the entire family can and does use. However, a significant amount of contamination actually occurs during manufacture – a problem that should be, but is rarely, addressed at the factory floor level by simply adding more chemicals to the finished product. A small manufacturer like myself has more control of contaminants, if we are aware of methods to take to control our environment selectively.
No preservative will prevent contaminants from getting into your product – their purpose is simply to keep their growth in the product to a minimum.
Widespread concern about the use of cosmetic preservatives stems from the fact that human skin is comprised of living cells and so preservatives, even if they are used in small quantities, present a risk to the integrity of the skin and, should they be absorbed into the bloodstream, to the rest of the body. For this reason most cosmetic preservatives generally have restrictions on their use – usually limiting them to a small percentage of the total formula.
For cosmetic formulators identifying and using effective preservatives is complicated because, in order to be considered effective, a preservative has to fulfill several criteria. It must be:
Bacteria and fungi can get into cosmetics and body care products in several ways.
It would be easy for a formulators like myself to point a finger of blame at consumers for introducing microbes into a product with use – for instance from dipping unwashed hands into tubs, leaving tops off, diluting with water, storing in a moist warm bathroom and buying large, wide-mouth containers that the entire family can and does use. However, a significant amount of contamination actually occurs during manufacture – a problem that should be, but is rarely, addressed at the factory floor level by simply adding more chemicals to the finished product. A small manufacturer like myself has more control of contaminants, if we are aware of methods to take to control our environment selectively.
No preservative will prevent contaminants from getting into your product – their purpose is simply to keep their growth in the product to a minimum.
Widespread concern about the use of cosmetic preservatives stems from the fact that human skin is comprised of living cells and so preservatives, even if they are used in small quantities, present a risk to the integrity of the skin and, should they be absorbed into the bloodstream, to the rest of the body. For this reason most cosmetic preservatives generally have restrictions on their use – usually limiting them to a small percentage of the total formula.
For cosmetic formulators identifying and using effective preservatives is complicated because, in order to be considered effective, a preservative has to fulfill several criteria. It must be:
- Effective across a wide range of microbes
- Long lasting – it continues to keep the product free from contaminants for the life of the product
- Rapid acting at the first sign of contamination
- Non-sensitizing
- Non-toxic and non-irritating
- Compatible with the other ingredients in the mix
- Stable – not break down during storage, stays active in a wide pH range
- Inactive, except as an antimicrobial – ie not interact with other ingredients
- Soluble – mix well with whatever base (water or oil) it is in
- Acceptable in odor and color
- Cost effective
No single preservative, synthetic or natural, fulfill all
these criteria, which is one reason why manufacturers often use mixtures of
several different preservatives in a single product. Another reason is
solubility; some preservatives are water-soluble and some are oil soluble – in
a water-oil emulsion such as a hand lotion formulators need to use both types.
All the most commonly used preservatives can cause dermatitis and other skin reactions; some carry larger risks. For instance, the most commonly used preservatives in cosmetics belong to a family known as Parabens. In the lab these substances act like estrogens. Traces of parabens have also been found in breast tumor samples, suggesting that they may have an estrogenic effect in the body as well.
Other commonly used cosmetic preservatives include Kathon CG (a mixture of methylisochlorothiazolinone and methylchlorothiazolinone – a neurotoxin and potential carcinogen) and the preservative DMDM hydantoin and quaternium 15 (formaldehyde formers, thus potential carcinogens). Mercury-based preservatives such as thimerosal are sometimes used in eye makeup and eye makeup remover. They are neurotoxic and can damage the eyes with long-term exposure.
Preservatives that end in EDTA (e.g. disodium EDTA) can irritate skin and mucous membranes and they are bad for the environment. EDTA preservatives don’t readily biodegrade and bind with heavy metals in the water supply, causing them to reenter the food chain.
All the most commonly used preservatives can cause dermatitis and other skin reactions; some carry larger risks. For instance, the most commonly used preservatives in cosmetics belong to a family known as Parabens. In the lab these substances act like estrogens. Traces of parabens have also been found in breast tumor samples, suggesting that they may have an estrogenic effect in the body as well.
Other commonly used cosmetic preservatives include Kathon CG (a mixture of methylisochlorothiazolinone and methylchlorothiazolinone – a neurotoxin and potential carcinogen) and the preservative DMDM hydantoin and quaternium 15 (formaldehyde formers, thus potential carcinogens). Mercury-based preservatives such as thimerosal are sometimes used in eye makeup and eye makeup remover. They are neurotoxic and can damage the eyes with long-term exposure.
Preservatives that end in EDTA (e.g. disodium EDTA) can irritate skin and mucous membranes and they are bad for the environment. EDTA preservatives don’t readily biodegrade and bind with heavy metals in the water supply, causing them to reenter the food chain.
While the idea of a preservative-free cosmetic sounds good,
it may be a misnomer. All commercial products require some degree of
preservation and while products based on botanical's, for instance, some may claim to
be preservative-free, this is often because the active plant ingredients also
function as preservatives.
Because there are few profits to be made from truly natural preservatives, many companies are formulating patented blends of ‘natural’ preservatives, which they market as natural preservative ‘systems’. Some are more natural than others and it’s always worth checking what’s in the ‘system’ before accepting that it is natural.
With natural preservatives such as essential oils, herbal and fruit extracts, sugars and even grains, the shelf life of the product may be shorter and the overall package may need to be smaller. However, the tradeoff is better skin health in the short-term and better overall health over the longer term.
Reduce your exposure to potentially toxic preservatives by buying plant-based products in smaller containers. Products that are hermetically sealed or provide a metered-dose (ie pumps and squeeze tops), allow fewer contaminants in during storage and use so require fewer preservatives. Likewise collapsible tubes discourage contamination, which is why they are so widely used in pharmaceuticals. Tubes made from aluminum have a preservative effect and they are recyclable.
Take action
1. Go into your bathroom and look at the labels of your favorite products. Do any of them contain the following preservatives?
Benzoic acid
BHT (butylated hydroxytoulene)
Butylparaben
C12-15 alkyl benzoate
Diazolidinyl urea
Disodium EDTA
DMDM hydantoin
EDTA
Ethylparaben
Formaldehyde
Isobutylparaben
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazolinone
Methylparaben
Phenoxyethanol
Propylparaben
Quaternium 15
Salicylic acid
Sodium benzoate
Sorbic acid
Tetrasodium EDTA
Because there are few profits to be made from truly natural preservatives, many companies are formulating patented blends of ‘natural’ preservatives, which they market as natural preservative ‘systems’. Some are more natural than others and it’s always worth checking what’s in the ‘system’ before accepting that it is natural.
With natural preservatives such as essential oils, herbal and fruit extracts, sugars and even grains, the shelf life of the product may be shorter and the overall package may need to be smaller. However, the tradeoff is better skin health in the short-term and better overall health over the longer term.
Reduce your exposure to potentially toxic preservatives by buying plant-based products in smaller containers. Products that are hermetically sealed or provide a metered-dose (ie pumps and squeeze tops), allow fewer contaminants in during storage and use so require fewer preservatives. Likewise collapsible tubes discourage contamination, which is why they are so widely used in pharmaceuticals. Tubes made from aluminum have a preservative effect and they are recyclable.
Take action
1. Go into your bathroom and look at the labels of your favorite products. Do any of them contain the following preservatives?
Benzoic acid
BHT (butylated hydroxytoulene)
Butylparaben
C12-15 alkyl benzoate
Diazolidinyl urea
Disodium EDTA
DMDM hydantoin
EDTA
Ethylparaben
Formaldehyde
Isobutylparaben
Methylchloroisothiazolinone
Methylisothiazolinone
Methylparaben
Phenoxyethanol
Propylparaben
Quaternium 15
Salicylic acid
Sodium benzoate
Sorbic acid
Tetrasodium EDTA
