The Preservatives Issue for Natural & Organic Skin Care
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Some brands do tout their products as "preservative free". If they are creams (containing water) and are truly free from all preservatives, then they should carry clear instructions to store them in a fridge and use within 2-3 weeks. Products that don't contain water - such as oils and balms - do still require a mild preservation system. For instance, Pai uses a natural Vitamin E (from sunflower) as an anti-oxidant to prevent our Rosehip oil from oxidising and becoming rancid. Vitamin E in its natural ‘mixed tocopherol’ rather than ‘acetate’ form has great skin benefits too. Many think preservatives are a necessary evil for skin care products. Organic certification authorities provide exemptions for a few synthetic preservatives, though do disallow the more controversial ones or those with proven negative side effects. For instance, Parabens and Phenoxyethanol (from 2012) are not allowed in cosmetics certified by the Soil Association or new European COSMOS standard. Preservatives Commonly Found In Natural Skin Care ProductsThis is by no means an exhaustive list, but includes the ones we receive the most enquiries about: Ethyl Alcohol When used in these high proportions it can dry the skin and strip away natural oils. It is unsuitable for people with sensitive skin or Rosacea sufferers. Alcohol is sometimes used in addition to other synthetic preservatives as it is a good fragrance fixative (helps to prevent aromas degrading over time). Natural skin care companies sometimes claim their alcohol is different because it is derived from natural plant sources (e.g. grain or sugar). Natural alcohol performs in the same as any other form of ethyl alcohol and is no kinder on the skin. *denat. is an abbreviation of the term 'denatured' which means something has been added to the ethyl alcohol to make it undrinkable. Common additives include methanol, isopropyl alcohol and acetone. Ethyl alcohols are not to be confused with fatty alcohols such as cetearyl alcohol. These have the opposite skin moisturising effect and are used as emulsifiers in cosmetic creams. Further reading: If you have sensitive skin, we would suggest patch testing (applying the product containing it to a small patch of skin, such as your inner elbow) to ensure you can tolerate it. Further reading: In terms of skin sensitivity, we have not seen any data (positive or negative) to suggest it is an irritant. If it works like other parabens, then it is likely to be non-irritating to most people. Despite the innocuous name, this is a synthetic compound about which there is a great deal of controversy. Further reading:
This is to massively simplify a complex scientific question, and indeed there are several different parabens with their own individual benefits and issues. There are no studies that we know of that demonstrate or disprove the paraben-cancer link over the long term (i.e. over 15 years). Indeed it is almost impossible (or at least very costly) to do such a study to find out the long term effects of a particular cosmetic ingredient. If parabens did increase the chances of developing cancers from sustained use of cosmetics over a lifetime, it would take a very long time to prove or disprove the link - literally a lifetime! There are however studies that are considered to specifically disprove the link between the use of underarm cosmetics and cancer in the short-term. Parabens are disallowed for use in any certified organic skin care product due to concern over their long term effects. Further reading: chemicaloftheday.squarespace.com/most-controversial/2011/3/17/are-parabens-natural.html www.truthinskincare.com/2008/03/parabens-part-1-introduction.html personalcaretruth.com/2010/11/parabens-in-perspective-an-introduction/ Phenoxyethanol is thought to be a skin irritant and may have long term usage concerns. From 2012 it is disallowed as a preservative in organic certified cosmetics in Europe under COSMOS. It is already disallowed by the USDA. Further reading: chemicaloftheday.squarespace.com/todays-chemical/2011/2/28/phenoxyethanol.html It works by slowly breaking down into formaldehyde in the product, which provides the preservative effect. Formaldehyde is a skin irritant and should be avoided by anyone with sensitive or problem skin. In high doses (which you won't get from a skin care product) it is considered a carcinogen. It is not allowed for use in organic products certified by the Soil Association. Further reading: |
All skin care products found in shops contain one or more preservatives - otherwise they would quickly spoil.
