Could you imagine if your skincare products only lasted a couple days? This would be the case if we didn’t utilize preservatives. Within the last couple years, preservatives have been getting a bad reputation, but without them our products wouldn’t last and would pose to be a safety risk.

What is the role of preservatives?
A preservative is a chemical that either kills or prevents the growth of microorganisms (bacteria, molds or yeasts) in a formula. Microorganisms are literally everywhere and can easily be introduced to products through contact with us and the environment. They only need water and a food source to grow, making skincare products an ideal environment for microbes to survive and replicate.

Why are they important and what can happen without them?
Think about the different types of packaging and bottles used in the industry and how we interact with them. For example, with a dropper bottle, we remove the dropper from the bottle which exposes it to the environment. Then, many people place the dropper directly on their face and then reinsert the dropper back into the bottle containing the product. Through this process, there are many opportunities for our products to be exposed to microorganisms. Another prime example are lip products, which are designed to have the applicator touch our lips. There are many other products and examples of this type of contact in the industry. Whatever the situation it is, skincare formulas are designed for this type of use and exposure to the environment and what’s on our skin.

Preservatives may be the most important category of ingredients in the beauty industry. They allow our products to be safe to use for extended periods of time. Without them, products become quite a safety risk and can potentially lead to breakouts, serious skin infections and in very extreme cases, blindness.

Recently with the “clean beauty” movement, there has been a lot of pushback and resistance against preservatives. Because of misinformation and fear mongering being spread, the industry is running out of options. There are a handful of gold standard preservatives or preservative systems that have been used for decades. These preservatives have been studied in-depth and have proven their effectiveness over the years. One of the most controversial examples of this are parabens. Parabens are incredibly effective but have been accused of being endocrine disruptors. However, the FDA and other regulatory organizations have never confirmed this and don’t have any evidence of negative health impacts. But because of the negative association with parabens, brands won’t use them and we eliminate the use of a very effective and well-known preservative group. This misinformation is unfortunate and potentially harmful to consumers.

Common preservatives and how they work
Preservatives are effective at very low concentrations and impact microorganisms through a variety of ways. They are found in formulas anywhere from 0-1% max. Common modes of action include impairing microbe cell wall synthesis, cell membrane integrity, DNA or RNA synthesis, protein synthesis and ribosome function.

Some common preservatives you may find your products include:

• Phenoxyethanol
• Benzyl Alcohol
• Sodium Benzoate
• Potassium Sorbate
• Ethanol
• Isopropanol
• Methylisothiazolinone

Preservatives are 100% necessary in skincare products. Their role is incredibly important and without them; we introduce a serious safety risk. It’s important to do your research, ask questions, patch test and don’t get lost in the noise. Preservatives are used to protect us, not harm us.