Why are preservatives required ?

Microbes such as bacteria and fungi are a very frequent cause for spoilage or chemical changes in common cosmetic products what may also lead to injuries to the user if not aware.  Therefore, it is very critical to preserve appropriately cosmetic products using non-natural or natural methods for the most part.

However, most commercial cosmetics are not expected to be completely sterile, but they must be free of high-virulence microbes and the total number of aerobic microbes per gram must be low. For eye-area products counts should be <500 CFU/g (CFU= bacteria colony forming units); for non-eye-area products counts should be <1000 CFU/g.

At IntelCosmet the use of high grade therapeutical oils and extracts contain key elements to help protect and preserve to a certain extent that of your products. The shelf life of our products range from 6 to 12 months and are indicated by date limits at time of production. One of our key points to better provide safe and natural cosmetics is to limit production of your products to time of order. This means your products are made fresh, not stocked for mass production. We do of course provide small batch production as well for spas, natural stores and other high quality outlets where we take periodic spot checks to ensure that no product is ever used or sold to a client that passes these date limits. Special packaging such as airless pumps and others are also used where high concern for possible contamination from both touch and airborn agents and present. Some products can be kept as well in the fridge or cool areas to better help preserve certain products as well.

Suggested storage for any cosmetic product whether it be ours or another is not that of the bathroom or shower area. The main reason for this is drastic changes in temperature and humidity increase contamination factors. Direct sunlight can as well affect changes to cosmetic products. We consider our products to be what we call live, a gift of life from nature where when taken care of will never face concerns of spoilage or other contamination factors.

What Makes a Good Preservative in Cosmetics ?
The aim is to overcome the broad spectrum of microbes, and at the same time, not to be deleterious to other ingredients if the use of added perservatives are required.  The optimal preservative has the following attributes for common cosmetics :

Synthetic Preservatives : Below is a list of the most used synthetic preservatives in the cosmetic industry.  They all have been tested for efficacy and safety.  By far the most used are parabens (which covers 80% of the cosmetic industry).

• Parabens : Methyl-, Ethyl-, Propyl-, Butylparaben
• Urea-Derivatives : Imidazolidinyl Urea, Diazolidinyl Urea
• Isothiazolones : Methylchloro-, Methyl-Isothiazolinone
• Halogen-Organic Actives : Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Methyldibromo Glutaronitrile
• Others : Sodium Benzoate, Chloracetamide, EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, DMDM-Hydantoin, Quaternium-15, Triclosan, Germaben II

Natural Preservatives (The IntelCosmet way) : Some natural agents show antimicrobial activity.  As compared to common synthetic preservatives, however, the activity is generally lower and directed to a less broad spectrum of microbes.  The preservative effect of most natural agents is primarily based on their antioxidant activity preventing oils and fats to become rancid. IntelCosmet on the other hand has spent a great deal of time to find the key synergies within natural componets (an exclusive method) and you will find a listing of common typical naturals(ours is a secret of course)

• Plant extracts (rosemary extract, grapefruit seed extract)
• Essential oils (Tea tree, neem seed, thyme)
• Methul Paraben (Grapeseed extract - sometimes refered to as Glycine or Glycocolle which is the simplest form of known Amino Acids)
• Vitamins (Vitamin E, Vitamin C)
• Isothiazolones

Concentrations at which natural preservatives have been found to be effective in common formulations :

• Tea tree oil 2 - 10 %
• Usnic acid 1 - 5 %
• Neem seed oil 1 - 5 %
• Grapefruit seed extract 0.2 - 3 %
• Grapeseed extract 0.1 - 3 %
• Used at a concentration of 4 % or more, many essential oils also demonstrate antimicrobial activity (e.g. caraway, cinnamon, cumin, eucalyptus, lavender, lemon, rose, rosemary and sage).

Appropriate Use of Preservatives : Several factors influence the choice and dosage of a preservative :

• Working conditions (clean environment and equipment reduces amount of preservatives)
• Type of product (leave-on and eye-area products require more preservatives)
• Type of formula (some preservatives work less effectively in complex emulsions)
• Combinations (by combining preservatives the amount of each agent can be reduced)
• Length of shelf life (the longer the desired shelf life the more preservatives are needed)
  

Based on these factors there is no standard preservative system that can be utilized for all cosmetic products. Nevertheless, here are some clues on how the shelf life of a common cream can be prolonged :

• No Preservative : A few days
• Grapefruit Seed Extract (1%) : A few weeks
• Methylparaben (1%) : A few months
• Propyl-, Methylparaben, Diazolidinyl Urea (total 1%) & Grapefruit Seed Extract (1%) : Several months to more than a year

Preservative Reduction : Although non-natural preservative-related side-effects such as skin irritations and allergies occur very rarely, there are a few additional possibilities to avoid premature spoilage :

• Use of sterilized and distilled water
• Small batch production 
• Do not dip your fingers into your products (particularly creams). Use a spatula or spoon

Effect Loss of Preservatives : Besides a gray-green layer of mold on the surface of a product, there are several other factors indicating that a cosmetic product is severely contaminated with microbes.  If your product shows such signs of spoilage, throw it away.

• Loss of viscosity (product becomes thinner)
• Emulsion break (separation of water and oil, unless common in the formulation)
• Cloudiness of previously clear products
• Loss or change of color or malodorosness
• Drop in pH (product becomes more acid)

Preservative-Free Products : It is quite possible to make preservative-free products without growth of bacteria and fungi such as methods used within our manufacturing process.  Manufacturing must, however, be performed under strict sterile conditions, and the final product must be stored in tubes, pump-jars or other containers that can not be contaminated with fingers.