Preservatives - Optiphen

[Bret]

I just ordered some Optiphen from MMS. I've never used preservatives before. I'd be using it in salt/sugar scrubs and body butters mostly. Please tell me it'll work for both of these It sounds like it's multi-purpose, but I'm not sure.

Do I NEED a preservative for body butters?

 

[Guest]

This is a quote taken from another forum on the subject of preservatives.
As a general rule products that do not contain water do not need a preservative. But each to his/her own if they add one or not to be safe rather than sorry. But scrubs do need one because they will be used where water will be introduced.

Preservatives, General Rules, from Lab Rat

If your formula contains water, you can use:

Germaben II
Germaben II-E
Germall Plus
Liquid Germall Plus
Uniphen P-23
Phenonip
LiquaPar PE
LiquaPar Optima

If your formula contains only oils, butters and waxes and does not contain water, you don't need a preservative.

If your formula contains only oils, butters and waxes and does not contain water but there is a possibility that the consumer could introduce water into the product, you can use:

Uniphen P-23
Phenonip
LiquaPar PE
LiquaPar Optima
LiquaPar Oil

There are other factors that come into play, so this is just a "general rule of thumb" for starters. Hopefully others will chime in?

 

[Zenobiah]

Optiphen can be used in a wide variety of personal care products including aqueous and anhydrous systems and emulsions. It can be added directly to the formulation during pre- or post-emulsification at or below 60°C (140°F). There are no pH restrictions and it is compatible with most raw materials.

Lotioncrafter

That means that you can use Optiphen in formulas with or without water and at any pH level.