Preservatives for Beauty Formulas

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/preservatives-for-beauty-formulas.html

posted by Annie B. Bond Mar 31, 1999 6:51 am

filed under: True Beauty, Healthy Beauty Basics, Skin Care

It is important to preserve homemade beauty products, such as creams for your face and hands, so that the products last more than a couple of weeks, and bacteria doesn’t grow.

I think that the easiest way to preserve kitchen cosmetics is to use grapefruit seed extract, found in health food stores, and used by some personal care product manufacturers such as Aubrey Organics. This choice would be expensive for producing gallons of creams and lotions, but for small batches it is by far the most convenient. Use 6 drops per ounce of cream of oil, or 1/3 teaspoon per cup. You can also use antiseptic essential oils such as rose, clove, rosemary or lavender. Only use small amounts. Per ounce of cream or oil, use 3 drops or less (eye area), 5 drops or less (face), or 25 drops or less (body).

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Stephanie K. says
Apr 7, 2009 2:53 PM

Actually I've heard some pretty scary things about grapefruit seed extract! It is extracted and processed using petrochemicals and in the process becomes a quaternary ammonium compound, not such a nice ingredient! A few other natural preservatives are Tea Tree Essential Oil, Thyme Essential Oil, Bitter Orange Extract, Honeysuckle Flower Extract, Rosemary essential oil and vitamin E. And a cool new blend called Suprapein contains Extracts of Oregano leaf extract, Thyme extract, Cinnamon bark extract, rosemary leaf extract, Lavender Flower extract, Lemon peel extract, peppermint leaf extract, Golden Seal Root extract and Olive leaf extract. For anyone truely interested in natural preservatives, I suggest some quick googling or even browsing though natural soapmakers forums!

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Cherokee Novak says
May 27, 2007 9:06 AM

MAY I PLEASE ADD ALSO BENZOIN IS A VERY GOOD PRESERVATIVE AND SMELLS GOOD TOO, LIKE VANILLA.
A FEW DROPS PER JAR OR BOTTLE OF LOTION, WORKS WONDERS. CHEROKEE NOVAK CNHP

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Disclaimer: Care2.com does not warrant and shall have no liability for information provided in this newsletter or on Care2.com. Each individual person, fabric, or material may react differently to a particular suggested use. It is recommended that before you begin to use any formula, you read the directions carefully and test it first. Should you have any health care-related questions or concerns, please call or see your physician or other health care provider.

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