A word (or two) about preservatives Part I

Well what began as one innocent blog entry has turned into a three part series because as I went through my books and other resources I found that there was a lot of information and wanted to paint a whole picture for the reader.  Please enjoy my little preservative series.

This is something we are often asked about regarding our lotions and scrubs.  In a word, yes we use preservatives because we are a responsible company who wishes to do no harm to our wonderful customers.  Now let's explore why we consider it responsible and safe to use preservatives.  While we are at it, let's explore different types on the market as well as "natural" versus synthetic.

We will discuss some commonly used preservatives which can be found in products produced by smaller companies such as Soapsmiths.

1. Germaben II- Ingredients: Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben
I know you see the word "paraben"  we will discuss this in another blog post.  This preservative is ideal for both oil and water emulsions.  It is a complete antimicrobial preservative system which has broad spectrum coverage.  The two parabens listed help to make it effective against bacterias as well as yeast and mold.  According to the material safety data sheet (MSDS) while this product can cause irritation to eyes and skin at full strength (this is NEVER the case when used in formulations) studies indicate that there are no known chronic health hazards.

2. Phenonip- Ingredients: Phenoxyethanol (and) Methylparaben (and) Ethylparaben (and) Butylparaben (and) Propylparaben (and) Isobutylparaben.
Much like Germaben in what is will protect against.  This preservative will work in both water and oil based emulsions.  It is a broad spectrum antimicrobial and also effective against yeast and mold.

3. Optiphen Plus- Ingredients: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Sorbic Acid
ISP's second globally approved preservative in the Optiphen family developed as an alternative for personal care formulations requiring a paraben and formaldehyde-free preservative system, particularly within lower pH systems. Optiphen Plus performs best in formulations below 6.0 pH, but is also proven effective at pH levels above 6.0.  From personal experience I know that this preservative performs better in oil based emulsions.  Also it has pH restraints which must be taken into consideration.

4. NataPres- Ingredients: Glycerin, leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate, lonicera japonica (honey-suckle) flower extract, lonicera caprifolium (honeysuckle) extract, populus tremuloides bark extract, glucono-lactone.  This is a newer preservative to hit the market and you will probably start hearing about it and seeing it more in the future.  We could not find it's MSDS sheet but will keep looking as that is a good source which will measure this preservative and challenge as the previous ones have been.  

A reliable vendor did an independent test in their lab and published their findings, here they are:
NataPres™ it turns out is just another ineffective natural preservative riding the wave of consumer demand.  We tested out NataPres™ in our lab and the intital results were promising.  It passed early testing, but eventually failed.  When Ryan called the NataPres™ manufacturers with our failed results they revealed that NataPres™ needed to be used in conjunction with an anti-fungal agent to create a properly preserved emulsion.
Ryan asked if their lab results with NataPres™ were similiar to ours and found that indeed they had found in their testing that it failed against fungus.

Don't be fooled by ingredients that sound too good to be true.



Resources:

 http://essentialu.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/12/review-of-natapres-preservative.html (review of the NataPres preservative)

Milady's skincare and cosmetic ingredients dictionary, 3rd Edition By: Natalia Michalun and M. Varinia Michalun


The green beauty guide By: Julie Gabriel


www.lotioncrafter.com (for the MSDS sheets and ingredients)


www.chemistrystore.com (for the MSDS sheets and ingredients)

Stay bubbly my friends

~Your Soapsmith

Natural vs. Synthetic

Now that we have defined what organic really means scientifically, lets explore natural vs. synthetic and try to better understand what that means to us as consumers.

It's unfortunate that the word synthetic has such a negative connotation in today's world, there are many natural substances which are harmful and we would never think to use (snake venom and poison ivy for example), but the second someone sees or hears synthetic it is automatically bad and will cause some awful ailment.

Let's look at this more closely.  Synthetic ingredients can be just as effective and may have certain advantages over ingredients derived naturally from plants. Why?  Because they are formulated in a controlled and sterile environment and often times studies for months, even years and decades after they have been created.  They are tweaked and improved upon as new science comes to light.  Also synthetic ingredients are often times inspired by something that was originally natural and then improved upon in a laboratory.

For instance hyaluronic acid is an ingredient used to bind moisture in formulations, the natural version of this substance was originally derived from rooster combs. While a great ingredient its synthetic counterpart is more stable with more water binding properties and predictable when used in formulations not to mention the roosters are much happier to keep their combs.  If we as consumers all only wanted natural ingredients our environment could be seriously affected adversely.  Whole races of animals would be wiped off the planet, forests would be completely gone, etc.  Let the scientists take the natural ingredients and work with them to produce the synthetic cousin so we can keep this blue marble spinning.

Are all natural ingredients bad?  Of course not, there are many that are great, the important thing to understand is to be able to find the balance between the worlds of natural and synthetic.  Some natural resources cause a negative environmental impact and should not be considered, synthetic ingredients really shine in this department.  Both have positive and negative drawbacks and both need to be researched with an open mind in order to make informed decisions. 

So the next time you are shopping for your new bath and body product, remember to read the ingredient list with an open mind, if you don't recognize an ingredient don't automatically think that it is bad, I encourage you to look it up, sometimes the long scary names are merely the INCI names or "International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients" which simply means the scientific name which is recognized world wide. 

We believe in education our already intelligent consumers with the correct information and not some marketing mumbo jumbo which has become the norm in society these days.  We encourage you to ask us questions about our products and ingredients, we are always happy to answer and help you to make the right decision for your skin and lifestyle.

 Stay bubbly my friends
~ Your Soapsmith

Organic Vs. Inorganic - The science behind the matter

This terminology is not to be confused with the terms Natural and Synthetic, although they seem to have become interchangeable lately, which is unfortunate because they are not one in the same.

Let's break this down.
Scientifically speaking:

• An organic object is an object that contains carbon
• All living things, whether they are plants or animals, contain carbon
• The term organic is often used to mean "natural" because of its association with living things, the term also applies to things that have never been alive.

Examples are: gasoline, plastics, synthetic fabrics, pesticides and fertilizers.  These products are manufactured from natural gas and oil, which are the remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago.   

Organic compounds will burn.

Inorganic objects:

• do not contain carbon
• they are substances that are not and never were alive

Examples: Metals, minerals, pure water and clean air are examples of inorganic substances,

Inorganic substances will not burn.

Stay bubbly my friends~
Your Soapsmith