Parabens Anyone?
Asked if they would like to use parabens in their face cream, most people will say, No. But it should be understood that there is no truly effective natural preservative suitable for use in a cosmetic product. Before you get all up in arms I am not talking about anti-oxidants... there are plenty of those. I am talking about preservative in the sense of a substance that will inhibit the growth of a wide range of bacteria. The person who discovers a natural one will have found the holy grail of the cosmetic and toiletry industry. Currently the most popular preservative choices are Sodium Benzoate or a mixture of Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, and Potassium Sorbate and since the choices are still very limited, Parabens. Bacteria love our jars of cream, there is plenty of food for them and the water provides the ideal medium in which they love to live. Bacteria are easily introduced into the product by contact with human skin... double dipping (that is placing your finger into the pot and then onto your skin and then back into the pot) is the fastest way to introduce bacteria into your home made product. This bacteria will not only spoil your product it can pose a threat to your health too. Becoming infected from using a cream or lotion spoiled by bacteria is no joke - you could be left with severe scarring of the skin, at the very least. You may have read about Parabens in the press a few years ago. A report was published that the widely used preservative parabens was discovered in the tumor taken from a breast cancer patient. The inference of the article was that the parabens had caused the cancer. Immediately it seemed like the entire female poplulation of the world checked their bathroom cabinets and binned everything containing this substance. And then found that it was impossible to buy anything without it. Too late... the word Parabens was demonised forever. Lets put the Record Straight
Parabens has been used as a preservative for decades because of it being extremely effective against a very wide spectrum of bacteria. Actually, nothing else is as good in this respect. Scientifically it is still one of the safest preservatives on the market. You see, not only did they find parabens in that tumour, they also found other things too, from all sorts of foods and cosmetics. And of course, because one tumour does not constitute a viable scientific study - there is no proof that any of the substances found actually caused the unfortunate woman's cancer. I did promise no urban myths here. You will read on other websites that this substance is cancer causing and that you should avoid it... usually by buying whatever product that particular website is selling. The truth is that this is not proven... you can believe what you like... but that's the facts. In light of the outcry about Parabens they subsequently removed the controversial Butylparaben from the formula. Anti-oxidants & Essential Oils
Anti-Oxidants are things like Vitamin E, rosemary extract and grapefruit seed extract which prolong the natural shelf life of oils and fats. Their purpose is to interrupt the action of oxygene radicals which damage the integrity and function of various natural substances. They are useful in your product for two reasons. Not only will they help to prevent the natural degradation of the some of the raw ingredients in your formula, they will also help protect skin cells from similar damage, these effects include minimising age spots, imparting radiance to the skin and slowing down the formation of fine lines - so it could be said that they are anti-aging ingredients! A note about Grapefruit Seed Extract This is an edible extract produced as a by product of the fruit juice industry over which there has been quite a lot of controversy, in as much as quite often an undisclosed synthetic preservative is included at the point of manufacture. This means that sometimes when using this raw ingredient alone your product will be protected against some bacteria already. Since this is an expensive ingredient to include I think it is important to find out as much as you can about it's manufacture before deciding to use it - or you could end up with a product that is over-protected... not necessarily a problem unless you are very particular about managing the levels of synthetic chemicals you use. Essential Oils such as Tea Tree or Thyme have strong preservative qualities - that is to say they do inhibit the growth of bacteria, however the percentage required in order to protect a pot of cream for example is way too high for safe use on the skin - therefore their use as a preservative is not advised. How do I Protect my Product?
By making your own products YOU make the decision of which preservative to use and how much to put in. For example if you are including a fresh herbal tea or using flower water rather than distilled water you might choose to use a synthetic preservative at a slightly higher percentage than if your product is made with distilled water and includes tea tree essential oil. Each formula should be assessed individually as to it's purpose, how long you need it to last and therefore which method of preservation you are going to use, if at all. For example if you are making up a small quantity of body butter for a girlie pamper evening the following day you may decide not to use a preservative at all since the product will certainly last that long and will be entirely used up on the one occasion.Documented instances of allergic reaction to synthetic preservatives are rare but you do need to take this possibility into consideration. Always follow the cleanliness guidelines when making your products. Always follow the recommended percentage of use for the preservative and NEVER exceed it. Always make your products in small batches that will be used fairly quickly. Never Double Dip!!
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