The Chemical Preservatives used by "Organic" Beauty Brands

"Organic" doesn't always mean free from synthetic chemicals when it comes to your beauty products.

I am always frustrated when I come across a beauty product that is marketed as "organic" or "natural, but contains lots of synthetic chemicals.

Cream based products contain water. So they need preserving properly, otherwise your product could contain bacteria or fungus.

Products like bath salts, body oils and soap don't contain water, so don't need a chemical preservative (although some companies do stick them in for fun anyway!)

The challenge for beauty product manufacturers is how to fulfil a retailer's requirement to order in large quantities of product and then have them sitting on shelves for up to 5 years.

Many brands argue that a chemical preservative is a necessary evil. In particular Parabens are used to preserve cream products.

But because of all the recent reports about potential long term health problems associated with Parabens, most organic personal care companies are switching to alternative preservatives.

Some are cynically putting in anything that isn't a paraben, but is far more likely to harm you...customers just don't know about it yet! For example, there is no excuse for putting in Formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

Other companies use a naturally occurring Paraben, Japanese Honeysuckle. It seems dishonest to me to market your products as "Paraben Free" if you use a natural Paraben.

In this post I wanted to highlight a few of the chemicals commonly used by natural skin care brands.

Before I do, I should mention that Pai products use only natural preservatives. Our cream products have an 18 month shelf-life from manufacture. It takes a bit more effort and cost to use only natural preservatives and it complicates the supply chain - but that's what justifies the price premium organic beauty products can command.

Always Read The Label
Companies have to put most of their ingredients on the label. They hope you won't read it - and if you do, they are pretty sure you won't understand it!

Pai was the first Organic Beauty brand to list all our ingredients in plain English. We have to put it in Latin (the INCI list) as well because of EU regulations.

Unless you have done lots of research, most of the ingredients won't make much sense. So I have put together a list of the most commonly used chemical preservatives below:


Alcohol 
Works as a preservative when present in concentrations of over 10%.

Used in such high proportions it can strip away natural oils and be unsuitable for sensitive skin or Rosacea sufferers.

If Alcohol is listed near the top of the ingredients list, then a large proportion of the product will be alcohol. 


Benzoic Acid
A mild skin irritant thought to exacerbate Eczema.


Benzyl Alcohol
Considered a skin and eye irritant and has been linked to Contact Dermatitis and Urticaria.


Formaldehyde Still used in some "natural" skin care products, Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen and skin irritant.


Japanese Honeysuckle (listed as Lonicera Japonica)
While this might sound innocuous, this is a naturally occurring Paraben.


Parabens – Butyl, Ethyl, Propyl, Isopropyl, Methyl, Benzyl 
The debate rages on about these six preservatives. Recent studies have raised concerns over the gradual build-up of these chemicals in the body and linked them to hormone disuption and cancer.

More clinical trials need to be done but, at Pai, we exercise a precautionary approach. If we don't know enough about an ingredient, we don't use it.


Parfum
This term was traditionally used to hide the precise formulae of commercial perfumes.

However it is now a common fixture on beauty products' ingredient lists to hide a multitude of sins - from synthetic fragrances to chemical fixatives and preservatives.

200 different chemicals can be legally covered by the word "parfum".


Phenoxyethanol
Used by the majority of 'natural' and 'organic' skincare brands, this petroleum based preservative is a skin irritant.


Sodium Benzoate
Sodium benzoate is derived from benzoic acid which can occur naturally in berries. This common preservative was at the centre of a food health scare a few years ago.

In high doses it has been linked to DNA damage and the onset of degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's. In cosmetics it can cause skin and eye irritation.


Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate
Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate is a common paraben replacement but is a harsh skin irritant and is thought to break down into formaldehyde in the body.


If anyone has questions about ingredients or chemicals used on beauty products, just get in touch!

Parabens cause premature ageing - new study

It is a little ironic that Parabens, which are widely used in anti-ageing creams, have been linked to premature ageing.

A new Japanese study has demonstrated that when products containing Methyl Paraben are combined with ultra violet light, there is damage to your DNA and skin.

So avoid sun creams with Methyl Paraben or using a moisturiser containing it on a sunny day!

There are lots of manufacturers still backing Parabens (while no doubt frantically reformulating their products!), and where possible citing research showing it is safe.

It is worth pointing out that much current testing (including this study) on the safety of Parabens involve testing on animals.

At Pai, we take the precautionary approach - if there is a doubt about an ingredient's safety, we don't use it.

And we certainly don't condone animal testing of ingredients - all our products contain only natural ingredients and are tested on willing humans!

What is Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate?

Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate - it doesn't exactly trip off the tongue!

It is a chemical preservative commonly used in "natural" beauty products to help preserve them from bacterial or fungal growth.

We are meeting more and more people who have extremely strong reactions to products containing this chemical.

One customer used an organic facial moisturiser from a well know 'natural' skincare brand and immediately had an intense burning sensation followed by extreme irritation lasting for several days.

Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate is a skin irritant in high concentrations, and should only used in low levels in products - 0.1%. Although there are products out there using higher concentrations.

It is far more of an irritant than Parabens and it affects more people. Parabens have been used for years and there are few reported cases of Paraben allergies.

But many manufacturers are shifting away from Parabens because of the bad press and instead including less well known chemicals to preserve their products.

Sodium Hydroxmethylglycinate is often described as "organic" or naturally derived from the glycine, an amino acid.

However, there is little that is organic about it - it goes through a rigorous manufacturing process using lots of chemicals. Indeed, one of the particular problems highlighted is that Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate is sometimes contaminated with Formaldehyde, which is used during manufacture.

It is also thought to break down into Formaldehyde in the body - which is a problem if the product you are using is a moisturiser, designed to permeate the skin. It is less of a concern if it is present in a shampoo or cleanser, which is washed off.

Many people come to organic skin care after developing reactions to chemicals in their usual products. Unfortunately, if you purchase a product containing Sodium Hydroxmethylglycinate, there is a chance it will irritate your skin or that you will have an allergy to it.

At Pai Skincare, we only use natural preservatives - no Parabens and certainly no Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate.


Sodium Hydroxymethlyglycinate is also listed as:

GLYCINE, N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) -. MONOSODIUM SALT;
GLYCINE, N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) -, SODIUM SALT;
N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) GLYCINE, SODIUM SALT;
N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) -. MONOSODIUM SALT GLYCINE;
SODIUM SALT GLYCINE, N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) -;
SODIUM SALT N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) GLYCINE;
N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) - SODIUM SALT GLYCINE;
SODIUM HYDROXYMETHYLGLYCINATE;
GLYCINE, N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) -, MONOSODIUM SALT;
HYDROXYMETHYLAMINOACETIC ACID,
SODIUM SALT;
SODIUM N- (HYDROXYMETHYL) GLYCINATE

Europe bans cosmetic companies from using Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Phytonadione (Vitamin K)

The recent European Cosmetics Directive has finally outlawed Diethylene Glycol (DEG) and Phytonadion (Vitamin K1). About time too!

Few cosmetic companies now use these ingredients... but some still do - even the odd organic one.

Diethylene Glycol is a type of Glycerine or Glycerol that is poisonous to humans. It is often used in anti-freeze. However, in recent years DEG has been found in toothpaste originating from China.

Glaxo Smithkline has said that the ingredient was found in counterfeit versions of its Sensodyne toothpaste. In Panama, contaminated products are estimated to have killed 70 people.

DEG isn't completely banned, as the directive allows for cosmetics to contain traces of the chemical found in Glycerol.

At Pai we use vegetable derived Glycerine (as opposed to Animal Fat derived). Because we are Soil Association certified, we can only use their approved suppliers of vegetable Glycerine in our products.

This ensures that not even trace amounts of DEG find themselves into Pai products.

Pai manufactures all products in-house, rather than outsourcing production to a factory.

This means we can guarantee that our ingredients are not contaminated or replaced with non-human grade glycerine (this has happened to other companies in the past).

Phytonadion is best know as Vitamin K1. In 2006 it was banned in France by the health regulator Afssaps (Agence Francaise de Securite des Produits Sante).

Afssaps reported twelve extreme allergic reactions, all eczema-related conditions of the face and body. Six of the sufferers had to be hospitalised.

"Cosmetics products that include K1 can represent a serious threat to human health," an official statement from Afssaps said at the time.

Vitamin K2 is thought to be generally safe - but if a product does not specify K1 or K2, then we would suggest you stop using it.

Many consumers are becoming aware that just because a product says it is organic on the front, the ingredients on the back often tell a different story.

If you want to be absolutely sure a cosmetics product is as natural as it claims, then look for the Soil Assocation logo on the box.