Natural Preservatives?

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ok - since this is near the top again, I have some questions maybe someone here has answers to.

It would help my pursuit for a reliable natural preservative if I knew the strain of beasts we're talking about. Such as the strain of bacteria or fungus/mold. I was hoping that maybe soneone who has had their products tested might know this answer?

As I said, I'm not giving up quite yet. It may take awhile, but I will either be successful or fold!
I too use a very sterile environment, but it's not perfect so there may be a chance of something getting in. I work outside the home in a lab, but unfortunately do not have one at home for my prodcuts. But do have a very clean dedicated environment and habits. Although I've only been diluting bases that already have a preservative or making no water recipes.

I've been curious as to how much water I can add to these bases with the perservative in them before I become 'unbalanced'. Also wondering about the waters. If I'm using distilled or de-ionized water, aren't they sterile already? So if manufacturing in a clean environment, where is the introduction of the unfriendlies coming from? (given of course you are CERTAIN everythings clean!). I guess I just answered that last one myself...
EH
 
The problem is, you can sell a 100% sterile product but the second your customer buys your product all sorts of things will be introduced to it. What if they open it up, add a tabelspoon of tap water & shake cause they want it thinner? What if their 4 y/o sticks her booger finger in it to see if it smells good or the lid gets dropped on the floor of the bathroom & urine gets on that lid & the lid placed back on the bottle? Lots of things will happen to your product after your customer takes possesion of it.
 
Great answer, Tab! :D One has to watch out for the integrity of our product even after it reaches the customers hand! :? I guarantee they would blame us and not their bugger infested fingered poking kid! :shock:
That is the world we live in....law suit happy! Sad. :(

Like I've stated several times, I would love to use a natural preservative, but the possibility of someone getting hurt even if it is their fault, and I just cant afford being sued.

Paul.... :wink:
 
Lotion

Hello to all. I am against any kind of artificial preservatives in lotion. I have been selling this lotion for YEARS and have never had a problem. There ARE other companies (fairly large) who sell lotion without added chemicals. The reason I am writing this is because, I am getting click throughs from this forum and I would like some air time so that people don't base judgment on your opinions. Congratulations on your impending move to Carbondale, my home town. We are an open and fun filled community. I'm sure you'll fit right in!
 
Hi! I am not basing my opinion on the need for preservatives on my opinion, I wanted to not have to use it at all. But quickly found out that was not a good idea, based on the research I found on the internet. I had hoped that you had found some great way of making lotions without using water and was really psyched about it. Sorry to drag you into this, don't mean to put you on the spot.

I have just updated my blog with my recent findings when it comes to preservatives:

http://zenobiahnaturalbeauty.blogspot.c ... tives.html


Please take a look and tell me if I missed something or got something wrong.
 
Carbondale is a fun and open town- :)

Well said Zen, while we all want to use the least amount of Chemicals as possible. It really isn't a good idea in a water based lotion which is the bottom line- I still would like to not use them myself but the preservative I use especially in my shower wash- don't effect my allergic skin and keep my wash nice and white instead of green and moldy- I'm probably guessing that most people would like a white shower wash instead of green...
Preservatives take research and awhile to come across one that is right for your product..
 
Preservatives take research and awhile to come across one that is right for your product..

So I am gathering, leansoap. I have found other preservatives too, but they are not for sale in most webshops so I didn't add them to my list. I htink I will stick with anything that at least does not have parabens and release formaldehyde.
 
That's pretty much what I stick to as well- buying or selling, though Germaben which I have used is paraben but I'm switching it up. :)
 
There are just now some new preservatives coming onto the market that offer an alternative to the parabens, etc. that we have had to use in the past.

I hate to give away my "trade secrets" but in this case, I think this will benefit all of us including our customers.

I've been using Optiphen, which I personally feel more comfortable using than the old preservative systems. I can attest to it's efficacy. I have a jar of body cream made with Optiphen that's almost 14 months old sitting in my bathroom closet, and it's still clean of any mold, etc. Of course I cannot do a bacteria test here since I don't have a lab, but the makers of Optiphen have done such tests, which I feel are reliable.

Although Optiphen is not "natural" in any way, after reading the scientific data, I feel more comfortable using this preservative in my products. Right now, this product, is as good as it gets. Also Optiphen has not been shown to mimic estrogen in the body like the parabens do, which is a huge plus for me.

Optiphen:
Optiphen is a unique liquid preservative formulation which consists of phenoxyethanol and an emollient base. The combination of these ingredients provides optimized protection against microbial growth from bacteria and yeast while giving the finished product exceptional feel. It can be used alone and functions synergistically with other preservatives. Optiphen is applicable for use in a variety of personal care preparations such as aqueous and anhydrous systems as well as emulsions.
 
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