Liquid soap: Is a preservative necessary?

[lsg]

Liquid Germall Plus doesn't seem to cloud my LS. If you are worried, there is one sure way to find out. Try a little preservative with a small amount of your soap and see.

 

[AbbiesAlchemy]

I know this thread is very old now but just in case someone like me comes along and wants to try Liquid germall....it might pay to do a bit of research as to what exactly that stuff is. I am so sad to find out it is made from three very toxic ingredients; Propylene Glycol (and) Diazolidinyl Urea (and) Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate. No wonder they packaged it and gave it a fancy new name. Please correct me if I am wrong. I really want to be wrong as I am still needing to find a solution.

 

[DeeAnna]

@AbbiesAlchemy -- I can appreciate how a person might feel when learning this for the first time, especially if you're reading EWG. Liquid Germall Plus has had that trade name for as long as I've been making lotions and other products that need preservation, and the INCI name is readily available. It's not like the manufacturer is trying to hide anything.

LGP has a reputation as a safe and effective broad spectrum preservative. Its mode of preservative action is to release a trace of formaldehyde into the product to inhibit microbial growth.

People are horrified to hear the word formaldehyde, but it's good to keep this in perspective You will ingest more formaldehyde from eating an apple than you'll get from a product preserved with LGP per manufacturer's instructions. And you eat the apple and its formaldehyde, while a lotion (or soap or whatever) stays on the skin.

A preservative has to fight against the normal processes of decomposition, so an effective preservative has to be a chemical blend that is able to inhibit "what comes naturally". Formaldehyde is one of those chemicals that can accomplish this, but there are others to choose from too.

If you don't like LGP, there are other preservative options available, but please choose an effective preservative or preservative combination. There are many "natural preservatives" that aren't all that effective. More: Preservative Reviews

 

[lsg]

Hello lsg,
I want to be sure I understand the .3% of preservative.



So for 49 oz. of diluted soap you add .3% of that amount in liquid Germall Plus?

Is this correct: .3% of 49 oz.= 0.147 oz. of Germall Plus added as a preservative. Or am I getting this all wrong?

Carolyn

Yes, 49 oz x .003 = .147 oz of preservative

 

[linne1gi]

Yes, 49 oz x .003 = .147 oz of preservative

Or in grams (easiest to use when working with such small numbers) = 4.167 grams

 

[lsg]

Whatever is easier for the user. I work in ounces, so I would round .147 oz to .15 oz and use my digital scale which has weighs tenths and hundredths of an ounce.