How to Prevent Contamination in Cosmetic

Products
by Perry Romanowski
This recent article about scientists discovering bacteria living in hairspray provides a good
example of why cosmetic products need to be preserved. Microbes can grow almost
anywhere! And these tiny organisms bring with them some distasteful product changes or
even disease. As a cosmetic chemist its up to you to formulate properly and keep these
invaders at bay. You typically do that by adding preservatives to your formulas.
Unfortunately, youll have to know more than just the science as preservatives are some of
the most highly regulated and restricted ingredients you will use.

Why you need cosmetic preservatives

There are two primary reasons you need preservatives.
1. To stop microbes from spoiling your products.
2. To stop microbes from causing disease.
The microbes that can infect your formulas primarily include bacteria, mold, and yeast. In
small quantities they dont represent much of a problem but when they multiply, look out.
Bacteria like Pseudomonas can cause all kinds of health problems including skin and eye
infections, toxic shock, strep throat, and even food poisoning. Yeast like Candida albicans can
cause thrush. And many other bacteria can cause your products to smell awful, change color
or otherwise break down. (This is what stability testing is for).
The following is a list of common preservatives used in cosmetic and personal care products.
As a future (or current) formulator, you will undoubtedly be using many of them.

Parabens
Parabens are the most commonly used preservatives. They are derivatives of phydroxybenzoic acid and go by names like Methylparaben, Propylparaben, and Butylparaben.
They are typically supplied as powders and can sometimes be difficult to incorporate into a
system due to the water solubility limitations. They are effective against a broad spectrum of
bacteria and fungi. They do have pH limitations and are not effective against all microbes so
you usually will need an additional preservative.

Formaldehyde donors
Formaldehyde derivatives are the next most common preservative. These compounds
interfere with membrane proteins which kills microbes. They are effective against bacteria,
fungi, and mold. Bad press and real safety concerns have led cosmetic chemists to stop using
formaldehyde. Instead ingredients that dissociate into formaldehyde when put in a water
solution are used. These are compounds like DMDM Hydantoin, Imidazolidinyl Urea, and
Gluteraldehyde. They are most often used in surfactant systems.

Phenol derivatives
Phenol derivatives have been used in cosmetics for many years and can be effective against a
range of microbes. Unfortunately, they are not as effective as the previous ingredients so their
use is limited. The most common examples is Phenoxyethanol.

Quats
Compounds that contain nitrogen and have a positive charge when placed in solution are
called quaternary compounds (or quats). Many of them demonstrate an ability to kill
microbes. This include ingredients like Benzalkonium Chlroide, Methene aommonium
chloride, and Benzethonium chloride. Their cationic nature makes them less compatible with
anionic surfactants which limits their application & use.

Alcohol
Ethanol is a great preservative but you need to use it in high levels and it faces significant
environmental restrictions. Other compounds like benzyl alcohol, dichlorobenzyl alcohol, and
even propylene glycol all have some anti-microbial effect. In lower levels, these compounds
are less effective at preserving products.

Isothiazolones
Synthetic compounds like Methylchloro- Isothiazolinone and Methyl-Isothiazolinone are
effective at incredibly low levels. They have been shown to work at a wide range of pHs and
in many different formulas. There use has been stymied however, by at least one study that
suggested it could cause skin sensitization.

Organic Acids & Others

Various other compounds are used as preservatives but all face some limitations not
experienced to the same extent as the previous ingredients discussed. Some of the most
important include Sodium Benzoate, Chloracetamide, Triclosan, and Iodopropynyl
Butylcarbamate. Pyridine derivatives like Sodium pyrithione and zinc pyrithione are used to
kill the bacteria that causes dandruff.

Why cosmetic preservatives are vilified

More than any other ingredient, preservatives are most often called out as the worst
ingredients you can use in a formula. Even people who know nothing about chemistry have
likely heard about the evil parabens and formaldehyde.
Preservatives are designed to kill cells. Thats why they are effective. Unfortunately, thats
also why they are potentially hazardous. They dont easily discriminate between good human
cells and bad microbial cells. But ultimately, the risk from using preservatives is significantly
lower than that of using unpreserved cosmetics. There are safe levels of toxic chemicals.
All chemicals can be deadly if youre exposed to a high enough level. How many people die
from water exposure (e.g. drowning)?

Remember, its the dose the matters!

To be sure, cosmetic science research is ongoing in the field of preservatives since many
things previously deemed safe have been reclassified as hazardous. Suppliers who can come
up with even safer preservatives will likely make a lot of money. Hopefully, theyll do it soon
but there do not appear to be any promising materials on the horizon.
Tagged as: Formulating, preservatives, raw materials, Technology
{ 26 comments read them below or add one }
Stuart November 2, 2012 at 7:03 am

Hi there.
I was told that potassium sorbate and sorbic acid are excellent preservatives for the
use in skin care products. Is that correct or are there some better working alternatives?
Can I use Vitamin C for instance to have a better position for my adverts?
Reply
Perry November 2, 2012 at 7:09 am

I would not say that they are excellent preservatives. Those would be the parabens.
But potassium sorbate and sorbic acid can be good enough. It does limit your
formulation ability however. You can add vitamin C to your formula but it is not a
preservative.
Reply
Christine November 17, 2011 at 11:46 pm

Hi Perry. Concerning preservatives, can you give a list of the popular types of
preservatives that the all natural community do use? I am trying to appeal to that
market, and I am aware that they have to turn to some synthetics etc but unsure of
which ones. Thanks in advance
Reply
Ruby November 5, 2011 at 10:15 am

Can anyone recommend a vegetarian microbial test kit that can be used to test for
contamination? Thanks.
Reply
stan Idelsen February 9, 2013 at 3:58 pm

yes the Koko test of Shulk (Microcount) is excellent !

Stan
Reply
Liliana October 27, 2011 at 8:31 am

Thank you for the exciting topic and useful information!

More than anyone Im interested in understanding how do you, chemists, decide
which preservative system fits your needs and how much of it you need to use. Our
company has long experience with natural preservatives in the food industry (we have
a patent on rosemary preservative for foodstuffs). Based on this know-how, we
developped cosmetic preservatives from rosemary, olive leaves, pomegranate and
even onion extract. All challenge tests (US Pharmacopoeia) show excellent antimicrobial activity. The main problem is price. Phenoxyethanol for example costs
<4$/kg (which is around 8$/pound) and the prices of our products are higher. How
much should a 100% natural preservative cost? The dosage we recommend is 0,25
0,5%. Also, some of these preservatives have a color (for ex. pomegranate is reddish),
is this a nogo?
Thank you very much for your help

Liliana
Reply
Perry October 27, 2011 at 9:31 am

Hello Liliana Very good questions.

The primary considerations in picking a preservative are (in no particular order)
1. Effectiveness
2. Formula compatibility
3. Price
4. Marketing story

Of these, price is probably the smallest factor as the preservative usually doesnt add
much to the overall cost of the formula. It would matter if the price got too high
however. It sounds like your preservatives would have some niche application
because color and odor effects are a problem. In my opinion, the current preservatives
work and have no real problems associated with them. Indeed there is a push from
some areas of the market to have all natural preservatives but for cost and
compatibility reasons I doubt the market for alternative preservatives will ever get too
large.
Reply
LaNita Darden May 26, 2011 at 11:01 am

Yes, I would like recommendations on this also.

Reply
ratna May 24, 2011 at 3:43 pm

what are the process to avoid the contamination during manufacturing of cosmetic
products!!!!?
Reply
LaNita Darden May 3, 2011 at 1:31 pm

Naturagard Ultra which is Gluconolactone (and) Sodium Benzoate. What can you
tell me of this? It is considered an ECOCERT certified preservative. Will this do the
job for amore natural preservative?
Reply
Perry January 10, 2011 at 7:23 pm

@Prajakta,
Oil soluble preservatives inhibit growth of microbes at the interface of the oil and
water.
Reply

Prajakta Bhuskute January 10, 2011 at 2:13 am

Please Explain the mode of action of oil soluble preservatives.

If they are not soluble in aquas phase how do they prevent microbial attack in
emulsions.
Reply
David Steinberg October 4, 2010 at 7:53 am

I am always amazed about the use on non-preservative preservatives. Why? When I

ask companies who offer these, why dont you register them and get approved in the
EU and Japan. The responds is usally,the cost of all the safety testing. Duh!
Preservatives or any other chemical with cidal properities are bioloigically active. So
safety must be done.
People are so interested in using preservatives which have very limited safety and no
peer review, instead of preservatives which have undergone extentisve testing and
reviews.
Why? Usually marketing. If I dont know it cant hurt me. Nonsense.
Reply
Hamish October 4, 2010 at 6:18 am

Hi Perry,
Just in relation to article about traditional preservatives and you mentioned there was
no promise of any other new materials on the horizon. I would like to mention that we
have been doing some very successful production with Dr Straetmans preservative
systems of glyceryl caprylate, and p ansinic acid. There are also some other nature
identicals like Mackaderm GCP and various systems from Lonza. There is also some
other manufacturers based here in Australia who have developed some successful
systems as well, though questionable is they are in use in full production scale?
Preservation is not something that we tread around lightly either, being a contract
manufacturer certainly brings on more challenges than expected. Another point you
dont seem to talk about is water quality. Weve dabbled in several systems and find
our current system to be the best yet, based on ozone. I would enjoy finding out more
about reducing water activity as mentioned by David, this is something i have read
about in the book he mentioned and think this could be something of benefit in the
future with more natural options other than glycerine. Another question is, do you
know much about the method of milling and product preservation? Aparently its and

older system that was used in the food industry years ago and has apparently been
attempted in the cosmetic industry
Reply
Michael May 5, 2010 at 5:50 am

We test with 2000ppm MI in aqua. I do not know what the pH is, and the number of
positives is a part of the manuscript and therefore confidential at the moment.
Reply
David Steinberg April 29, 2010 at 7:28 am

What level of MI is in your test? What vehicle? What pH?

What number of positives compared to other allergens?
Reply
Michael April 29, 2010 at 3:26 am

It is correct when David Steinberg states that the test kit use the mixture with the
chloro and non-chloro. However, in the last years methylisothiazolinone alone has
also been part of the contact allergy test at the Hospital where I work, and upcoming
scientific articles will reveal that methy-isothiazolinone contact allergy is relatively
frequent.
This is not a recommendation to discard isothiazolinones or other allergenic
preservatives; they are a necessity but should be used with caution.
Reply
David Steinberg April 24, 2010 at 3:05 pm

Isothiazolinone is not a major sensitizer. The chloro derivitive is when left on the skin
and used at levels higher than about 15 ppm.
Michael just lumps everything together is incorrect. Because the chloro is sold with
the non-chloro versionat a 3 to 1 ratio, he assumes boith are the cause. As the pure
chloro is not a commercial product, the test kist use the mixture. The pure

methylisothiazolinone is a commercial product and is recommended for leave on

applications. It needs a anti-fungal agent with it to give complete protection.
Reply
Michael April 23, 2010 at 2:29 am

Concerning isothiazolinones; it is a wellknown fact that isothiazolinone can cause

sensitization. methylchloroisthiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (in a 3:1
combination) has been part of a standard series which tests for contact allergy in more
than 20 years, it is one the most frequent sensitizing preservatives. If you search
scientific databases you will find numerous studies that describes sensitization and
contact allergy to isothiazolinone.
PS. Drowning is not caused by high level of exposure to water. Drowning is caused
by increased CO2 levels in the blood that forces one to inhale water.
Reply
Perry June 12, 2009 at 3:36 am

Thanks for the clarifications David.

Heres another link to the work related to the bacteria found growing in hairspray. It is
not on the hair but in the concentrate. I have no idea how it survived the alcohol
exposure.
http://www.biomedexperts.com/Abstract.bme/18319473/Microbacterium_hatanonis_s
p_nov__isolated_as_a_contaminant_of_hairspray
Reply
Jonathan June 10, 2009 at 6:36 pm

Also ive been reading about Hyaluronic Acid, dr Loren Pickart wrote something
about it ,stating that it isnt good as an ingredient ?
1. HA sucks water out of the air and becomes wet. If you put dry HA on a dish, in
about 30 minutes you would have a puddle of water. It is a very hygroscopic material,
one which attracts moisture from the atmosphere. If not protected from contact with
the atmosphere (by being stored under vacuum or under a dry gas) some hygroscopic
materials will eventually attract so much water that they will form solutions.

2. Then this water wets or hydrates the outer skin proteins. This weakens the proteins
and loosens the protective skin barrier.
The weak skin barrier allows bacteria, viruses, and allergens to pass through the skin.
Often famous young actors in their late 20s have a very spotted skin (you often see
this on a large screen) from skin barrier damage from heavy use of make up and make
up removers.
3. The wet proteins slow keratin production. The signal for the skin to send up new
keratinocytes to the surface is a dryness in the proteins in the top of the skin. So skin
is replaced slower and damage accumulates.
4. Many years ago, women used Cold Creams to keep their faces moist when they
went to bed. If you have seen I Love Lucy or old movies, you have seem women
with these white creams all over their face. But they ended up with horrible wrinkles
as time went by because their skin had been keep too wet.
5. There is the idea of a limited cell life but many cell biologists doubt if this is
correct. Many cells line that die in about 40 generations will live very long such a
200 generations as normal diploid, cancer-free cells if they are given supplemental
growth factors such a fibroblast growth factor, GHK, and other hormones. No one
knows how long cells can live because very long cell culture experiments are very
expensive.
The body also makes stem cells even in adults that can keep setting up new cell
lines.
So is HA good or not for the skin?

Reply
Jonathan June 10, 2009 at 5:28 pm

what about airless packaging? will it be better in preserving a product?

Reply
Perry June 10, 2009 at 6:14 pm

Technically, airless can inhibit microbial growth. But that would require near sterile
manufacturing conditions and the consumer cant touch the product in the package.
Even in an airless system it would be better to have some type of preservative.

Reply
David Steinberg June 9, 2009 at 11:49 am

Yeast almost never grow in cosmetics as the water activity for yeast is very narrow
and is rarely obtained in any cosmetic formulation.
Parabens also show weak activity against some Gram negative bacteria. They only
function when dissolved in water. Exceeding the water solubility is a waste of money.
Formaldehyde donors rarely dissociate in water. What causes the release is the
breaking of the Nitrogen to Carbon bond: -N-CH2-OH.They are weakest aginst
molds. Gulteraldehyde does not breakdown to formaldehyde. It is a very strong skin
senistizer and is almost never used in cosmetics due to this and is bad odor.
Quats function best above a pH of 7. Most are very more at any pH against
pseudomonas.
Ther is a debate if propylene glycol is really anti-microbial or is it due to its lowering
of water activity. Either way the levels that show inhibition are much higher than
those used in cosmetics as above 10% it causes a burning feeling to skin.
Methyliosthaizoline is very weak against mold, the chloro is strongly anti-fungal. The
mixture is not recommednded for leave on products.
Chloroacetamide has been found to be unsafe by the CIR. It causes chloroacne.
Zinc prithione do not kill bacteria they are strongly anti-fungal and yeast. The gunig
cause dandruff- not bacteria.
As to the hairspray, I have these questions-did the bateria grow in the hair or in the
actual spray? How much alcohol was in the hairspray?
Reply
David Steinberg June 7, 2009 at 4:05 pm

Some of this information is incorrect. See the book Preservatives for Cosmetics.
I also do not believe the article of a abacteria growing in hairspray. If the hairspray
has over 20% alcohol, nothing will grow in it.
Reply

Perry June 9, 2009 at 3:07 am

Hello David! Thanks so much for commenting. For those who may not know, David
is one of the true experts in this industry.
The information about preservatives in this article is meant as an introduction. Im
curious which parts you believe are in error.
I agree that it seems unlikely, but the research about the microbes in hairspray was
published in the March 08 issue of the International Journal of Systematic and
Evolutionary Microbiology. Perhaps theyre missing some crucial detail.
Thanks again for your comments.

Natural Preservatives in Cosmetics A Trend

by Guest Author
This is a post by Nitesh Rajput
Cosmetic products become easily contaminated by bacteria and fungi. Containing water, oils,
peptides, and carbohydrates, cosmetics are a very good medium for growth of microbes. All
these factors contribute to the fact that cosmetic products need preservation to prevent
microbial growth, spoiling of the cosmetic product and potential skin infections.
Need for cosmetic preservatives

The need to control microbial activity is inherent in two major facets of personal care. The
first area is that of antimicrobial care where the product helps to retard the growth of topical
pathogens, or eliminates them. The second is in the area of preservatives that retard the
growth of microbes in personal care product formulations.
Preservatives have potent antimicrobial properties preventing personal care products
effectively from spoiling and prolonging substantially the shelf-life. Some of these agents
also have stabilizing effects able to preserve the function of various active ingredients
including anti-oxidants (vitamins), emulsifiers and surfactants.
Natural Preservatives

Among the most effective natural preservatives are essential oils and various herbs such as
rosemary, clove, thyme, cinnamon, tea tree and lavender,neem, grape seed etc. which are

more organism specific than their synthetic counterparts. This means they may be effective
against one organism but not another. They must be carefully blended to create a synergistic
effect against a range of organisms.
The subject of natural preservatives is one that probably has more academic interest than
practical or economic virtue because cosmetic preservatives have to fight a broad range of
microbes. However, natural preservatives do give a wonderful marketing angle.
Preservative assists

The preservative activity can be boosted by operating at as low a pH as possible. Natural

acidity could be obtained from one of the many of the alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) which are
obtained from citrus species, where the major components are citric and malic acids.
Antioxidants such as natural tocopherol and ascorbic acid will further aid in preservation, as
well as reducing the potential rancidity.
Why are preservatives necessary?

Most cosmetic products contain water and nutrients for microorganisms to grow and flourish.
It has been amply demonstrated that inadequately preserved cosmetics can be hazardous to
human health. Cosmetics with contaminants are not only unappealing to the eye and smell
bad, but they may also be pathogenic resulting in the need for medical attention. Skin
infections can result from contaminated body products, especially when applied to cracked
dry skin.
Cosmetics are often stored in the bathroom where the environment is warm and moist. Our
skin carries an abundance of microorganisms in addition to tap water which in turn is not
sterile. Often times this water is introduced into products in either accidentally or even on
purpose. The most carefully prepared products may become contaminated under these
circumstances.
What to look for when choosing a Preservative

Ideally, when looking for a suitable preservative for cosmetics there are many things to be
considered and to look for:
1. What ingredients are you using? Are they oil soluble or water-soluble?
2. What will the final pH of your product be?
3. Non-sensitizing: It should not have any allergic or sensitizing tendencies.
4. Broad Spectrum Activity. It should be active against both gram positive and gram negative
bacteria.
5. Long lasting: it should continue to work under normal conditions and even less favorable
conditions.
6. Rapid action: if your cosmetic should become contaminated the preservative should act
quickly to re-sterilize it.

7. What sort of packaging are you using?

8. Non-toxic and Non-irritating
9. It should be compatible with all the ingredients in the formula
10. Stability: It should be chemically stable to heat or not undergo disintegration during
storage.
Potential Natural Cosmetic Preservatives
Here is a brief list of materials that could be used as possible natural preservatives.
Neem Oil
Salt (sodium chloride)
Sugar (carbohydrates)
Lemon
Bee Propolis The propolis is effective in protecting the hive offering both antibacterial and antifungal properties.
Rosemary Extract
Grapefruit Seed Extract
Citric acid
Alpha tocopherol (also known as vitamin E)
Potassium Sorbate
Phenoxyethanol
Salicylic Acid
Potassium Sorbate
Sodium benzoate
Sorbic Acid
Citric Acid
Grapfruit Seed Extract
Cranberry extract
Essential Oils (various)
Lactic Acid

Alternative Cosmetic Preservatives What are your options?

by Perry Romanowski
Weve previously written about cosmetic preservatives and for the most part, there are
ingredients that are effective for almost any standard condition a cosmetic product will
experience.
However, for a variety of reasons standard preservatives are scary to some people. Cosmetic
marketing departments have discovered this and have started requesting that cosmetic
chemists come up with formulas that are paraben free, formaldehyde free, or worse,
preservative free.
They have no idea how difficult this is.
Why use preservatives?

The first thing to consider is why you are using a preservative in the first place. In a perfect
world, cosmetic chemists wouldnt use preservatives because they typically have absolutely
no beneficial impact on the performance of the final product. They are an added ingredient
which conflicts with the notion of minimalist formulation.

Unfortunately, the real world is populated with microbes, some of which spread dangerous
diseases. Gram negative, Gram positive, yeasts, and molds have all been found to grow in
various cosmetics. As a formulator, you need to ensure that these things do not grow and that
your cosmetics are not dangerous. Not only is it the ethical thing to do, its also legally
required.
Unless your product packaging is impervious to microbes (e.g. aerosols) and youve made the
product under aseptic conditions, you need some kind of preservative system.
Why use parabens & formaldehyde donors?

Now that weve established that you need preservatives, its just a matter of figuring out
which to use. By far the most effective, broad spectrum preservatives you can use include

Parabens

Formaldehyde donors

Halogenated compounds

Other preservatives just arent as effective against as many possible microbes.

Additionally, these ingredients have been used for many years with tons of safety data
supporting their use. Any new or alternative preservative you would use will not have as
much supporting safety data. When all these considerations are added together, there is very
little reason to use an alternative preservative.
But if your marketing department insists on handcuffing your formulating efforts by limiting
your preservative choice, you can consider some alternatives.
Regulatory issues

Before giving some alternatives, you should be aware of the regulations. Things are much too
complicated for this blog post, but here is a quick summary of cosmetic regulations.
In the USA, cosmetics are regulated by the FDA. The regulations are that essentially you can
use any preservative you want as long as your product remains safe. There are a couple
preservatives that have been banned or strictly regulated including mercury compounds,
hexachlorophene, bithionol, and halogenated salicylanilides. But the FDA does require that
you provide proof that each batch you ship for sale is adequately preserved. This means you
have to do microbial challenge testing and demonstrate that your product is not
contaminated with microorganisms which may be pathogenic, and the density of nonpathogenic microorganisms is low.
If youre going to use an alternative preservative, you must prove that it works!

In the EU they are a bit more restrictive. If a preservative is not listed on their Cosmetic
Directive 76/768/EEC, you cant use it. Of course, if you want to use a non-listed
preservative, there is a process for getting your system approved. Its just complicated and
expensive.
Alternative Cosmetic Preservatives

But if youre still not dissuaded from using an alternative preservative, here is a list of things
that can work. For many of these it will take a high level to get them to work so they would
be impractical for most cosmetics.

Alcohol

Benzoic acid

Boraxitrus seed extracts

Copper salts

Fragrance oils

Glycerin

Hinokitiol

Honey

Japanese Honeysuckle extracts

Melaleucol (Tea Tree) oil

Perillic acid

Salicylic acid

Salt

Silver Chloride

Sodium Gluconate

Sorbic acid

Sugar

Usnic acid

Wasabi extract

Zinc Salts

Cosmetic preservatives

The most important thing to remember is that your formula MUST be adequately preserved.
Its ok to try out new, alternative preservatives but understand that you are taking a risk. The
alternative preservative may not work as well, may break down over time, and may have
some unknown health risks.
Are you under pressure to use alternative preservatives for formulating? What ingredients
have you tried? Leave a comment below.
{ 28 comments read them below or add one }
Alyssa April 20, 2013 at 1:21 am

Hi Perry,
Can usnic acid be used as a stand-alone cosmetic-cream preservative, or would you
recommend using it in combination with something like potassium sorbate? Also, do
you have any information on the concentration of usnic acid needed if using it as a
preservative? (please specify whether the concentration is by volume or by weight
thanks!!)
-Alyssa
Reply
Dene April 26, 2013 at 2:32 am

Hi Alyssa,
As Perry has been very busy joggling his way around various cities in France, Ill
answer your question!
No usnic acid is essentially only effective against fungi, with no activity against
bacteria. Potassium sorbate has relatviely weak antibacterial activity, so this would
not be a good preservative to use in combination, as you need to be able to have broad
spectrum (ie against bacteria AND fungi) protection for your product. Sodium
benzoate would be a much better option, as it is broad spectrum on its own, but works
even better in combination with potassium sorbate. make sure your pH is as low as
you can possibly manage, as the activity of sodiujm benzoate and potassium sorbate is
much higher as the pH is reduced.
It is always risky suggesting a concentration without knowing the full composition of
the product, as many things can have an impact on the levels required but, as a very

rough guide, if your product is pH 6, you may need something like 0.4% sodium
benzoate + 0.2% potassium sorbate. If you can reduce the pH to 5.0 (maximum), then
these may be reduced to 0.3 and 0.1%. preservative efficacy testing is strongly
recommmended before launching the product.
I hope this helps
Dene

Reply
Hilario June 6, 2011 at 10:42 pm

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knows if germall plus is an effective preservative

and if is considered to be a natural preservative?
Reply
Perry June 7, 2011 at 5:57 am

Yes effective. No, not considered natural by most standards

Reply
Dene May 20, 2011 at 11:56 am

@ Alicia benzoin is benzoin it is not at all chemically related to sodium benzoate,

it just sounds vaguely similar. A tincture is a solution in alcohol (ethanol). I believe
that benzoin is extracted from nature, but I may be wrong (or it may be that it is, but it
can also be synthesised).
Reply
alicia May 19, 2011 at 4:27 am

Dene, thank you so much for the comments. Its hard to get to the bottom of
regulations.. Ive found PS maximums that differ an entire decimal place! Did find
this info:

The CTFA Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR) panel has concluded that sorbic acid
and potassium sorbate are safe as cosmetic ingredients in the present practices of use
and concentrationup to 1.0%.
The European Commission Cosmetic Directive has approved the use of sorbic acid
without restrictions or warning labels at levels up to 0.6%. This is equal to 0.8%
potassium sorbate.
The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare has approved sorbic acid and potassium
sorbate for use in hair-care products and cleansing, makeup, suntan and sunscreen, lip,
eyeliner, and bath preparations at levels up to 0.5%. This level of sorbic acid is equal
to 0.67% potassium sorbate.
Excuse my ignorance but is Benzoin Tincture a less concentrated version of sodium
benzoate? are these considered to be natural or nature identical products?
Reply
Dene May 19, 2011 at 2:26 am

@ Alicia I hope Perry will forgive me for answering before he does, but here goes . .
. Potassium sorbate is only really effective against fungi, so it would be better to also
use something to control bacteria. It is possible to control bacteria to some degree
with PS, but you would need a much higher concentration. I would certainly very
strongly advise against using PS at a concentration above 0.5% (the legal maximum in
the European Union is 0.6% as sorbic acid, but there is no specified limit in the USA).
Sodium benzoate would be a useful antibacterial (also having its own antifungal
activity) to use in combination with PS, probably at around 0.2 0.3%.
Reply
Alyssa April 20, 2013 at 1:00 am

Hi Dene,
Please forgive my ignorance, but when were talking percents, are we talking by
volume or by weight?
I have seen an allowance of up to 1%; why is it you advise to stay at 0.5% or lower?
Also, just double-checking that potassium sorbate works best between pH of 5-6?
Thanks!
Reply

Dene April 20, 2013 at 7:38 am

Hi Alyssa,
You dont need to ask me to forgive your ignorance no-one knows everything, and
the intelligent thing to do is to ask if you dont know something! It is usual (in my
experience) for cosmetic ingredients to be included on the basis of weight, rather than
volume. I dont know where youve seen a maximum permitted concentration of 1%
for potassium sorbate, but in the EU it is 0.6% (as sorbic acid, as I explained before).
The reason I suggest keeping it below 0.5% is because sorbic acid does have a higher
rate of incidence of skin reactions (compared to many other preservatives but I must
stress that this is a RELATIVE comparison the ACTUAL rate of skin response is
very low).
Regarding the pH, potassium sorbate actually works best at pH 1, and the activity
decreases as the pH increases, being totally inactive at around pH 6.3. Obviously, you
dont want your product to be pH 1, so its a case of compromise between the pH and
the concentration of potassium sorbate you would need to use. As a (very) rough
guide, for each 0.5 pH unit you increase, the amount of potassium sorbate required
doubles. In other words, if your product needed 0.3% at pH 5.0, you would need 0.6%
at pH 5.5. It is important to ensure that the microbial challenge that is needed to
ensure that youve got the correct preservation system is carried out at the high end of
your specification, as this will be the worst case scenario. If you do a challenge test at
the lower pH and your product is manufactured at a higher pH, you could easily get
microbial growth.
I hope this helps

Reply
Alyssa April 20, 2013 at 9:47 am

Thats very helpful thank you very much!

Reply
alicia May 15, 2011 at 11:40 pm

Perry do you have comments on preserving with Potassium Sorbate? I was told this is
effective for creams and lotions: PS combined with Benzoin Tincture at PS 1.5% and
BT 1% respectively. I know pH must be below 5.5. Is it true PS can be used up to a
2% concentration in formulations?
Reply
Perry March 13, 2011 at 12:10 pm

@Ren I do not know of glycolic acid can be produced from brown sugar. Im not
sure why you would want to use it.
@Elsa I have never used it so I do not know.
Reply
ren March 10, 2011 at 6:14 pm

Hi, Im going to ask if brown sugar can make a glycolic acid? as what I know brown
sugar is derived from sugar cane. (sorry, Im also poor at English) ^_^
Reply
elsa January 30, 2011 at 3:23 pm

what do you think of biosecur?

Reply
Rachel December 31, 2011 at 1:41 am

I have been testing with Biosecur with excellent results. It does lower the pH so care
needs to be taken to balance this, but bacterial testing is good.
Reply
Dene Godfrey November 16, 2010 at 4:44 pm

It is easy to use honey, sugar, glycerine etc to preserve products. All of these
substances (at sufficiently high concentrations) will reduce the water activity to the
point at which micro-organisms cannot survive (more or less as Mark stated earlier).
The downside is that, at the required concentrations, the skin feel is not good. They
are better used at lower concentrations in combination with other substances. They
can be used to reduce the amount of traditional preservatives required.
Reply
Perry November 11, 2010 at 5:59 pm

@Anjali you can use chlorhexidine digluconate, benzethonium chloride, cetyl

pyridium chloride, parabens, and triclosan
Reply
Anjali November 9, 2010 at 9:27 am

What are the preservatives that can be used for Toothpaste?

Reply
Perry November 8, 2010 at 5:53 pm

@PJ I havent personally tested sugar as a preservative so I wouldnt have the data
you request. I was reporting on alternatives that people have used as preservatives.
Sorry for the confusion.
Reply
PJ Lee November 8, 2010 at 5:50 pm

@ Perry I want to look your testing report using Sugar as preservative.

- Sorry, Im very poor at English

Reply

Mark Fuller November 8, 2010 at 1:09 pm

I was skeptical also since I came over from Pharmaceuticals. But there is enough hard
supported data. However, even so I used another preservative as well.
It was in a shower scrub and they get man handled in my experience.
Reply
Perry November 8, 2010 at 12:51 pm

@Mark Honey in a cosmetic at a level high enough to be a preservative? Wow.

Reply
Mark Fuller November 8, 2010 at 7:44 am

I have also replicated and tested another Organic product that used honey as its
primary preservative. I was skeptical, but it passed testing. Supposedly it takes up so
much of the free water as to inhibit bacterial growth. I still augmented it with an
secondary preservative as well since I wanted to be conservative as well.
Reply
Alyssa April 20, 2013 at 12:55 am

Hi Mark could you tell me please what was the concentration of honey used in your
product? (or is this classified information, i.e. a secret recipe?) I am a home hobbyist
still learning some of the formulation principles and have been on the hunt for some
time to find effective natural preservatives. Id be grateful if you wouldnt mind
giving me this information! Thanks!
-Alyssa
Reply
PJ Lee November 8, 2010 at 5:56 am

In fact, a large quantity of sugar used as a preservative too seems to be used.

Microorganisms at concentrations of 60% has been found. Do you have experimental
results?
Reply
Perry November 8, 2010 at 6:23 am

I dont understand your question. Results from what experiment?

Reply
MK November 8, 2010 at 5:29 am

I perfect agreed to your opinion.

Reply
Mark Fuller November 5, 2010 at 2:05 pm

I have used the Campo Plantservative WSR before in several Formulations. One of
these underwent a PET test and passed.

Why do you need multiple preservatives in

your cosmetic formula

by Perry Romanowski

We received this question here at Chemists Corner central and thought it would be a good one
to write an article about.
Why do the raw material suppliers recommend the combination of presevatives versus using
them alone..for ex: why do the manufacturers recommend a combination of sodium
benzoate and potassium sorbate rather than using them individually.

Why you put preservatives in cosmetics

With all the bad press about chemicals used to preserve cosmetics you might wonder why
companies dont just stop using preservatives. Well, the reason is that cosmetics that contain
preservatives are safer than ones that dont contain preservatives. This is because diseasecausing microorganisms can multiply at exponential rates in cosmetics if there are no
chemicals in there to stop them.
And if the consumer is putting a dollop of microbe laden skin lotion on their body, they are
bound to contract a disease. It is just not smart to use unpreserved cosmetics.
The other reason to include preservatives is that when microbes grow in your cosmetic
product they can produce foul smelling odors and strange colors. Consumers just
aesthetically do not want to use bacterial contaminated products. Its a bit like the same
reason people dont want to eat moldy bread.

What do preservatives do
Cosmetic formulas have all the key factors needed for microbial growth including water,
nutrients, and energy. At a suitable pH and temperature, it will be like a microbial cocktail
party. Preservatives stop growth by killing cells and spores (usually by disrupting cell
membranes) or by making the system hostile to growth. See this article for more about
cosmetic preservatives.

Why you need multiple preservatives

So that brings us to the question that started it all, why use multiple cosmetic preservatives?
Basically its because some single preservatives do not kill a big enough range of
microorganisms. As a cosmetic formulator you need to ensure that your preservative system
will kill any bacterial, mold, or fungi that the formula might encounter. Since you dont
know what will be encountered you have to plan for every possibility (or at least as many as
you can).
There are some preservatives that are able to kill a wide range of microbes (e.g. Alcohol,
Parabens, Formaldehyde donors). That is why these ingredients are so popular with
formulators. Other ingredients like Sodium Benzoate or Potassium Sorbate are only effective
against certain types of microbes. They are more active against yeasts and molds but have a
lower activity against bacteria. One way to compensate for the ineffectiveness of one
compound is to include another compound that has the ability to kill other organisms. By
combining preservatives, you increase the spectrum of microbes that your formula can
withstand.

Of course, if you used parabens and formaldehyde donors you could be more confident in the
effectiveness of your preservative system. However, for marketing reasons these compounds
must be avoided. It makes your job as a cosmetic formulator a bit harder.