The Problem of Preservatives

I fear the title of this post is rather misleading, as preservatives in of themselves are not problematic – merely people’s perceptions of them. So many consumers have utterly blinkered views when it comes to preservatives – the mere word can send their organic, upcycled heels off in the other direction, while mention of a paraben and the poor shop assistant will be reaching for the smelling salts. I’m writing this post as it is so hard to find useful information about preservatives – just a pile of scare mongering, with bloggers and brands alike chanting ‘cancer, cancer, cancer’ at the mere mention of a paraben. Therefore, I’ve been trying to find a good range of information in order to gain a more balanced view. Though I’m sure, after being fed with Daily Mail-esque tales of cancer causing cosmetic ingredients for years now, we would like our products to be as ‘natural’ as possible – what we tend to forget is that a product without preservatives is one that is going to go rotten within the week – no matter how hygienic we think we are. Some brands such have LUSH have managed to reduce and eliminate their use of preservatives in a very clever manner (treating their products in the manner of food – products are fresh and made to order, or made in solid form thereby not requiring preservatives in the first place); not all brands are willing, or indeed able to do it. That kind of dedication requires a lot of man hours, and a company structure that is focussed on small batches rather than mass production. Parabens Parabens get a lot of bad press, stemming from the fact that there is a black sheep amongst the herd. The one you need to look out for is Butylparaben. The others are considered perfectly safe (even the paragon of virtue that is LUSH uses them – I’ve also given some other examples just so you can get an idea of how prevalent they really are). Parabens are also considered non-toxic when under 25% usage – what is a common amount in cosmetics? Around 0.3% Butylparaben – Lets start with the big one, butylparaben is considered the most potent of the parabens – yes, this has been linked to cancer (sort of – keep reading), Breast Cancer specifically and parabens in deodorant. Parabens are able to mimic oestrogen, but are many thousands of times weaker than it, one gets a dose humongously bigger just from taking the pill. A 1998 study showed that butylparabens 100s of thousands less activity than the naturally occuring estradiol which is a form of oestrogen. This weakness is caused by a very high metabolisation – therefore they don’t stick around to cause any problems. Parabens have been found in breast-tumours, but any links to cancer are pure speculation – no-one knows how it got there or why. Since the scare Butylparabens are not so prevalent as they once were. Methylparaben – Used by LUSH and Molton Brown – this preservative is formed by the combination of wood alcohol and benzoic acid. Any methylparaben that is absorbed into the body is quickly excreted – there is no evidence of accumulation! Ethylparaben – even when used at 100% concentration – this was only considered ’slightly irritating’. Propylparaben – Used by LUSH and Molton Brown – again there is no evidence of accumulation – it is readily excreted. Lots of people are choosing to go paraben free, but the truth is that other methods of preservatives are either not nearly as effective or have their own health issues. Several brands use their claims of being Paraben free as a marketing hook – however, that does not mean that their alternatives are any better healthwise. Below I’ve tried to give a few examples of the alternatives: Phenoxyethanol Is commonly used as a solvent for parabens as it is too weak to be used by itself. Used by natural skincare brand Liz Earle amongst many others. It is considered one of the least irritating. This is a very weak germacide (probably why it isn’t irritating to the skin), and is always used in combination with other preservatives. Essential Oils Essential Oils can be used as a preservative, which – you would think, would be the answer to the entire thorny problem. In 19th Century France they found that workers within the perfume industry seemed almost immune to the Cholera epidemics – due to their high antiseptic properties. However, the dosage of these oils that would be required to preserve a product for any amount of time is over 3%, and that is alot! Not only will the hike prices to the exorbitant level, it would also prove to be highly irritating to a large percentage of the population’s skin. If you make skin products at home, it may be worth experimenting with at least once – but don’t expect this method to become the norm in stores. Liquid Germall Plus I only found out about this one very recently when I asked the very knowledgeable and helpful Kim from ifeelprettyproducts.com what she uses. This is a mixture of Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate. Preservative K Preservative K is a mixture of Benzyl Alcohol, Potassium Sorbate, and Phenoxyethanol, and is the most natural preservative now in regular use. Sadly, this preservative product also has its limits – it can only be used within acidic concoctions – and as an alkaline product in itself, even more products with acidic properties have to be added to bring the pH back down. Sodium Benzoate This is another ‘natural’ preservative, but can also be made in a lab (cheaper). Sodium Benzoate is the salt of Benzoic acid which can be extracted from some berries. Sodium Benzoate can trigger asthma attacks in those susceptible to it – especially those who take steroid based asthma medication Benzoic Acid Both Liz Earle and SIMPLE use Benzoic acid within their products. Benzoic acid can trigger asthma attacks in those susceptible to it – especially those who take steroid based asthma medication. Benzoates applied to the skin, can pass into the blood stream – however, they are rapidly metabolized and accumulation does not occur. It is also considered a skin irritant. Of course there are many, many more preservatives out there, and much more issues that need to be taken into account when considering their safety – but this post was becoming ridiculously long – so maybe we will revisit this another time :o)