A Note On Preservatives

Educate Yourself About the Preservatives in Your Personal Care Products

WHAT ARE PRESERVATIVES?

A preservative is an agent added to a compound to protect that compound against spoilage by microorganisms. Such microorganisms include yeasts, molds and bacteria which thrive in natural products because these products contain water and plant sugars that nourish them and create an ideal breeding ground. Preservatives work by either killing or inhibiting the growth of microorganisms that can spoil a product.

WHY DO WE NEED PRESERVATIVES?

If a product spoils that means that it is vastly colonized by bacterial and/or fungal organisms. These organisms are living and breeding in the product, feeding off of its natural ingredients. Not only are many of the spoiling microorganisms pathogenic (disease-causing), their metabolisms also produce byproducts highly toxic to humans. No matter how careful and sanitary we are in preparing a product, or how clean the conditions in which it is stored, there will always still be microorganisms present in any common environment. We all know that germs are everywhere, and that our immune systems are able to prevent these germs from hurting us most of the time. But in a product providing so much nourishment, the quantity of such germs can increase rapidly to the point at which our immune systems will be overwhelmed and illness will result from contact.

AREN'T THERE NATURAL PRESERVATIVES?

There are many natural materials which can protect against spoilage organisms. High levels of sugar can preserve a product, as is seen in jams and preserves. Honey has been cited as a barrier to many bacteria. Alcohol can protect against some spoilage, as can desiccation (removing of water). Other forms of natural preservation are antioxidants like Vitamin E and natural compounds that protect a plant from self-degradation such as essential oils.

SO WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE JUST USE NATURAL PRESERVATIVES?

The problem with natural preservation is that there is no way to add naturally preserving compounds to a product in a high enough concentration to avoid microbial contamination without causing severe irritation or allergic reactions. Some gentler preservatives will not irritate skin, but then again they are not broad-spectrum preservatives. Broad-spectrum preservatives are necessary because rather than protecting against one type of organism, they protect against a wide range of potentially harmful bacteria, yeast, mold and fungus.

BUT WHAT ABOUT THE "NATURAL" PRESERVATIVES ON THE MARKET, AND PRODUCTS THAT ARE PRESERVATIVE-FREE?

This is simply a fallacy. CTFA and USP challenge tests have not found any conclusive evidence in favor of these so-called “natural” preservatives currently available. While many of these may have some relative success, they are all found to be very limited and can only provide protection against a handful of very specific strains.

Many products do not have any preservatives listed, but do have an ingredient labeled “Fragrance.” Manufacturers are allowed to list fragrance as an ingredient but are not required by the FDA to disclose the actual ingredients of the fragrance. This is one of the ways that many of the most popular and successful “natural” product lines on the market hide their use of preservatives.

Products that use tinctures or extracts could appear to have no preservatives, but many extracts are made with propylene glycol which is preserved with parabens. But since this propylene glycol is merely considered a processing aid and not an actual ingredient, it is not listed on the product. If such a processing aid is used in high enough concentrations, effective preservation can result without being disclosed. Also important to note is that many products simply do not require preservation. These would be products that do not contain any water, such as oil, fat or waxed based products.

HOW WE PRESERVE OUR PRODUCTS

At Emily’s Beauty In Balance we use a combination of natural inhibitors along with broad-spectrum preservatives to provide a paraben-free protection alternative and ensure a safe product shelf life of 1 year. The natural inhibitors that we use are Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Extract, Azadirachta indica (Neem) Oil, Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), Salix nigria (Black Willowbark) Extract, Essential Oils and Citric Acid. Our broad-spectrum protection is provided by a Phenoxyethanol and EDTA system.

Phenoxyethanol is a safe preservative because it is not pH-dependent, meaning it is very stable and will not break down into harmful substances in the body or environment. It is non-reactive, which means that it will not react with other product ingredients or air. So even in your body it cannot be used and will be eliminated in urine. It does not react with any chemicals in the environment. Phenoxyethanol has had some bad press because it was found to be an irritant at concentrations higher than 2.2%. But many organic substances are also found to be irritants at high concentrations, such as Tea Tree Oil, Thyme, Oregano, and a long list of other common essential oils. We use Phenoxyethanol in our products at a concentration less than 1% where it is safe, effective, gentle and non-irritating.

EDTA is derived from sodium salts and is a chelating agent. A chelating agent binds minerals such as magnesium which is essential for the growth of mold. This binding blocks the mold from using the magnesium. Because of EDTA’s binding ability it is commonly used in chelation therapy, which is the process of removing heavy metals from those who are suffering from lead or mercury poisoning. The EDTA is injected into the bloodstream of the patient where it binds with toxic heavy metals to form compounds that are easily excreted in the urine. It is safe and even beneficial because it can actually pull heavy metals from your skin upon application.

This system is far superior to the common paraben preservative system and much safer than adding no preservatives. We believe that it is the best option for products with many natural nutrient rich ingredients that micoorganisms would love just as much as your skin will!