One of the most emotive issues in cosmetics is the desire
for natural materials and the avoidance of synthetics. Various campaigns have indicated that
cosmetics are toxic time bombs and can do a lot of harm. All cosmetics produced in Europe
by law have to list their ingredients.
Preservatives are used in small amounts and as INCI lists are written in
descending order of content, they normally appear at the end of the INCI
listing, with long, complicated chemical sounding names. In the Health Food shops, there are often
products that claim to be preservative free or contain natural
preservatives. How can that be?
Creams, lotions, oils, cosmetics are rarely used fresh –
i.e. used within hours of manufacture.
Such items that appear on our bathroom shelves, dressing table, drawers
etc. in real life are not looked after very well. If we like and favour natural cosmetics, we
have to understand that all living natural substances degrade, go off. Fruit left in a bowl for a long time goes
mouldy, butter goes rancid, bread gets mould – we have all seen this. The natural state of raw materials once they
are harvested or gathered is to degrade.
When we have food in our homes we have to preserve it. We can do so by pickling, by refrigeration,
by drying, by using preservatives such as alcohol. Many of the foodstuffs we buy from
supermarkets have small amounts of preservatives added to them. These are taken
into our bodies and much of the objection to preservatives is based upon these
preservatives in the food chain.
Strangely enough, such intake of toxic substances does not get the
publicity that preservatives in cosmetics do.
All around us, unseen, are bacteria – yeasts, moulds and
fungi, some good some bad. When we put
our fingers into a pot of cream we put bacteria into that pot. When we open a pot of cream, even to look at
it, bacteria will find their way into that pot.
When we open a bottle of oil the air, being full of the spores of
yeasts, moulds and fungi, will contaminate the oil. Most importantly, from the point of oil, air
itself is made up of gases, one of which is oxygen and oxygen burns and
degrades oil. All these processes are
natural, but we have to realise with clear minds that this is real nature, this
is what happens in real life. Nature goes
off and so natural cosmetics will go off unless there is a preservative.
The ideal preservative does not exist. By their very nature preservatives kill
things. As no single ideal preservative
exists manufacturers tend to mix them together using a preservative system.
Most cosmetics consist of water and oil as an emulsion. Water supports bacteria growth, oil does not
but oil can support yeasts, moulds and fungi as may also water. Oils are prone to oxidation and
rancidity. The more an oil is unsaturated
the more likely it is to go bad.
Demand for effective and safe preservatives has never been
higher, but with consumers and regulators alike turning against some well used
and preferred synthetic preservatives the industry has to find alternatives.
There is a preservative crisis little known outside the industry. Regulated
restricted lists of preservatives are closed and with testing bans it is
difficult to develop new and safer preservatives. A cosmetic product is
expected to have at least a 30-month shelf life.
Whilst many essential oils have an antimicrobial function
they are mostly not registered in any regulatory format as a preservative. Standard
tests exist such as the challenge test (ISO11930:2012) whereby the specified
microbes must be rapidly killed. If they pass the test, then thee product has a
preservative element and it would be misleading to say the product has no
preservative. With more interest in the biome and skin bacteria preservation
there is interest in creating a hostile environment for pathogenic bacteria. It
is in this area that essential oils are considered but this is controversial
especially if misleading claims are made such as ‘preservative free’ when it
has a preservative action but the reason for its addition is touted for its
fragrance rather than its activity. Such dual action needs some explanation and
clarification.
© FEI
JK 2017
