The truth about preservatives.
Preservatives got their share of negative press, sometimes justified, sometimes not. While some preservatives are known to be strong skin irritants, especially for people with sensitive skin, or even cyto-toxic (meaning they cause cell death), some of them are proven to be mild and non-toxic.
Preservatives are used in cosmetics to prevent the growth of bacteria, fungus, and mold in the products. Scientific research has proven that using a contaminated skincare product is extremely harmful for the skin and can cause irritating, allergic or even toxic reactions, leading to skin disorders and diseases.
We use extremely mild or even food-grade preservatives
in the smallest amounts possible and necessary
to protect your skin.
Preservatives to watch out for:
Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben (so-called parabens)
The FDA believes that at the present time there is no reason for consumers to be concerned about the use of cosmetics containing parabens. Parabens are considered to be safe because of their low toxicity profile and their long history of safe use; however, a few recent controversial studies have begun to challenge this view. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their report "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: Agents of Subtle Change?" reported that the chemical preservatives called parabens displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. This means that these chemicals mimic your body’s own hormones and can have endocrine-disrupting action when they are rubbed into your body. The scientists stated that "It is a known medical fact that estrogen stimulates breast cancer." and that "...anything absorbed through the skin may be as high as 10 times the concentration of an oral dose."
For someone with normal skin, parabens are, for the most part, non-irritating and non-sensitizing. Parabens can, however, cause skin irritation and contact dermatitis.
Triethanolamine (TEA), Diethanolamine (DEA), or Monoethanolamine (MEA)
As with any amines, they may have the potential to create nitrosamines which are carcinogenic (cancer causing) substances that can potentially penetrate skin.
Methylisothiazolinone (MIT)
Methylisothiazolinone is a powerful antimicrobial used to control slime-forming bacteria, fungi, and algae in cooling water systems, fuel storage tanks, and other industrial settings. It is frequently used in personal care products such as shampoos, shower gels and skincare products. Some studies have shown MIT to be allergenic and cyto-toxic, and this has led to a ban of MIT through the FDA for skincare and haircare products other than rinse-off products. However, some companies are still using it in creams and lotions.
Quaternium-15, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Diazolidinyl
Urea, and 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol
(bronopol)
These are all formaldehyde-releasing preservatives. In addition to localized reactions to cosmetics containing formaldehyde or formaldehyde releasers, people who are sensitive to these preservatives may have a more widespread outbreak due to the ever-present use of formaldehyde by-products.
Chlorphenesin
There are known cases of facial dermatitis due to chlorphenesin in cosmetics.
Glucose Oxidase & Lactose Peroxidase
These are natural enzyme preservatives, extracted from plants (Glucose Oxidase) and milk whey (Lactose Peroxidase). As much as we love the idea of having natural preservatives in skincare products, these two ingredients have a huge drawback.
Initially, these enzymes work great in preventing the growth of harmful bacteria. However, about 6 months after manufacturing of the product, the enzymes break down and eventually become ineffective. Now think about how long a product is stored in a warehouse after production, and then gets shipped to the store where it sits on the shelves for a while before somebody buys it. This process can take much longer than 6 months. So basically, once the product is purchased buy a customer, it does not offer the necessary protection from the growth of bacteria, fungi and mold anymore.
In addition, these enzymes are not stable at high temperatures. When the products get hot on the truck during shipping, the preservative system fails as well.
