Skin-friendly, eco-friendly preservatives for handmade natural skin care applications

Choosing anti-oxidant and preservative agents that won't obliterate your efforts to work with as natural as possible ingredients, is probably the most difficult task when making water-based emulsions. The offer from the cosmetic ingredient industry is vast and somehow confusing; you might have heard, for instance, of citrus seed extracts, which are marketed as being completely natural, even though their effectiveness is in fact due to synthetic components.
We describe below an innovative, completely natural broad-spectrum preservative, as well as natural anti-oxidants. Our range also includes a synthetic preservative, both characterised by broad spectrum of activity and low usage ratio. Given all the factors, these preservatives and anti-oxidants seem to us to be the safest choice.

The following sites offer reliable background information on natural handmade skin care:

Soap Naturally: Natural Skincare Handbooks - A primer on why and how you can rely on as natural as possible ingredients to make your own healthy skin applications: creams, lotions, ointments, lip balms, hair conditioners and facial sera (sometimes spelled serums).
AquaSapone Soap Recipe Corner - Not only soap recipes: also aromatherapy applications.
Aromatics & More - New Zealand supplier offers extensive formulary section and cosmetic ingredient descriptions.

Anti-oxidants

Rosemary Oleoresin Extract

Naturally derived anti-oxidant, used to prolong the shelf life of oils. Usage ratio is 0.1 to 0.2%, i.e., 20 to 40 drops per litre of oil. When comparing prices on ROE (Rosemary Oleoresin Extract), don't forget to double check the suggested usage ratio!

Vitamin E Acetate, 99% pure

Active cosmetic ingredient for creams and lotions, naturally derived from vegetable sources. Use at 0.05 to 5%, with higher usage ratios being particularly suited to mature skin treatments.

Vitamin E Acetate, 25% in jojoba

When diluted in Australian Golden Jojoba, Vitamin E Acetate is simpler to use for small batches of creams and lotions. The active cosmetic ingredient is naturally derived from vegetable sources. Use at 0.2 to 20%, with higher usage ratios being particularly suited to mature skin treatments.

Preservatives

Neopein (registered trademark of Bio-Botanica)

Innovative broad-spectrum preservative, recently released by Bio-Botanica, Neopein replaces their very first all natural formulation, which was called Biopein. Neopein is a proprietary blend of natural plant extracts that effectively protects water-based products from bacteria and fungi; milder on the skin than Biopein. Usage ratio is around 0.3%.

Uniphen P-23 (registered trademark of Induchem)

Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben and Propylparaben. Swiss made, globally approved preservative for leave-on, water-based cosmetic emulsions (similar to Phenonip). Use at 0.5 to 1%.

Australian essential oils, soap making supplies, natural soap base, skin care ingredients and bases
are distributed in the US by Anne Lee's.

Australian essential oils
NSW, Australia
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last updated 12 mar 2007