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July 30, 2010Author: Paula Begoun - 7 CommentsTags: cosmetic preservatives, EDTA, formaldehyde, parabens, plant-based preservatives
Preservatives are, without question, an important part of any cosmetic you buy. This is especially true for products that contain plant extracts—just think about how long a head of lettuce lasts in your refrigerator before it becomes a moldy, bacteria-laden mess.
Whether it is a cleanser, lotion, toner, blush, foundation, or mascara, without preservatives these everyday items would become overloaded with microbes you don’t want on your skin or near your eyes. But what makes a good preservative or a bad one? In the cosmetic industry with insanity prevailing these days, it’s getting harder to tell as most websites want to scare you to death about the ingredients in beauty products.
In reality, the amount of an ingredient is everything. What is dangerous at a 100% concentration or when it is fed to rats or injected under their skin doesn’t often, if ever, apply to a 0.1% concentration in a skin-care or makeup product. It is also important to understand that one person’s allergic reaction doesn’t speak to the millions of other people using it safely (just because you are allergic to cats doesn’t mean everyone is).
Let’s look at the ingredient/dose issue. Take salt for example. Salt is NaCl, sodium (Na) chloride (Cl). Sodium and chloride by themselves are corrosive, but together they become a tasty seasoning for chicken. But consuming too much salt can be a serious problem for high blood pressure, but not necessarily for those who don’t have high blood pressure. It works this way for each and every cosmetic ingredient as well.
One other point: Because preservatives, natural or otherwise, exert their action by killing microbes they can also have an irritancy reaction on skin. However, because preservatives are often used in such small amounts they generally pose minimal to no risk for most people in that regard.
Trying to hone down this complicated issue isn’t easy, but here is a brief summary for some of the more typical preservatives you may find on an ingredient label:
Parabens. While natural cosmetic companies love vilifying parabens, it turns out parabens in the form of butylparaben, propylparaben, methylparaben, and ethylparaben are some of the more effective and gentle preservatives used in cosmetics. They were originally derived from plants and are mostly manufactured synthetically.
Concern over parabens made headlines because of research showing that they are endocrine disrupters. This research involved both oral administration and injection into rat skin which did show evidence of a weak estrogen effect on cells in a way that could be problematic for binding to receptor sites associated with proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. That is scary sounding stuff.
Current research investigating how parabens act when administered orally, topically, and subcutaneously to rats has shown that parabens are metabolized rapidly in living organisms and therefore cannot exhibit any adverse effects. Parabens are fully metabolized before they enter the blood stream. (For more information on parabens, visit www.cosmeticscop.com and use our Ingredient Dictionary.)
Formaldehyde. Is a very effective anti-microbial agent and can be used in a very low concentration in cosmetics. However, even in small amounts it can be irritating and when combined with amines (such as triethanolamine), can create nitrosamines. Formaldehyde in its pure form is a suspected human carcinogen.
2-bromo-2-nitropane 1-3 diol. Is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative but is not associated with the same problems as pure formaldehyde.
DMDM Hydantoin. Is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative but is not associated with the same problems as pure formaldehyde.
Imidazolidinyl Urea. Is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative but is not associated with the same problems as pure formaldehyde.
Phenxoyethanol. Is a preservative that breaks down into phenol, which is one of the reasons it is such a good antimicrobial agent. When ingested it can be problematic and exposure to the environment such as its effect on fish shows some concern, but when applied topically research shows it does not affect skin in any negative way for wound healing or other toxic reactions.
Benzalkonium Chloride. Is a relatively safe and effective anti-microbial agent.
Sodium Benzoate. Is considered to be a mild preservative with no known problems when applied topically. It is also used as a food-grade preservative.
Benzoic Acid. Is an effective preservative found in nature that contains a form of parabens. For cosmetics it is almost always synthetically derived.
Methylisothiazolinone and Methylchloroisothiazolinone. Are known to be sensitizing and are not recommended in leave-on products. They are not known to have any other problems associated with their use in cosmetics. A toxicology and medical literature search shows no other issues with these two ingredients.
EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid). Is a chelating agent used in cosmetics to prevent metals such as copper or salts in water used in the formula from causing changes to the texture and efficacy of the product. It is not known to have any problems other than skin sensitivity. It must be used with other preservatives to be effective. Phytic acid is a possible natural alternative to EDTA.
Plant-based Preservatives. While certain ingredients have potential for preserving cosmetics, there is very little research showing they can carry the burden or remain stable to keep a product free of microbes over the life of the product. Further, because plant-based preservatives require larger amounts to preserve a product they also can become irritating or cytotoxic to skin. Plus, many of these extracts have limitations and are not without their own “scare” factor. Much research is being done on this issue.
Clove extract (eugenol). Can cause respiratory problems when inhaled.Eucalyptus extract. One of the components of this plant is cresol, a possible carcinogen.
Cypress extract. Is a natural emission of methanol, which can cause irritation.
Sorbic acid. Can be found in nature, but is more often synthetically derived.
Tree lichen extracts. Are effective against mold and fungus, but not bacteria.
Lonciera Japanese. Is better known as honeysuckle and is a natural source of parabens and therefore can be an effective preservative.
When all is said and done, there is truly no reason to be scared of the preservatives in your product. The alternative is not a pretty picture, and natural ingredients are not without their risks. Beautiful products stay beautiful and effective when a safe level of preservatives is used in the formula.
7 Comments until nowLeila RichardsonJuly 31st, 2010 (#):I have learned a lot about how to care for my skin from you, Paula. I absolutely respect the understanding you have regarding skin care ingredients. I do, however, sometimes find myself disturbed about your apparent bias against trying to be as natural as possible. Clearly a lot of natural products are not good choices, but I do respect the “movement” in general. While most of the ingredients in the gentle products that you recommend likely are safe to use on our skin, I am quite concerned about where they end up after that. We are now learning how many of the prescription drugs out there are showing up in our groundwater, so it stands to reason that the same would be happening with cosmetic ingredients that are washed down the drain. You mention that phenxoyethanol could pose a problem for fish. I would think that parabens, as they build in the ecosystem, could cause serious issues as well (Sunscreen from swimmers washing off into a lake, for example.)
It is my goal, and I would wish that for the industry in general, to find the best balance possible concerning personal and environmental safety. I hope the “natural” movement does continue – in a thoughtful, safe manner. I also think that you have a lot to offer in guiding those of us with these concerns.
Paula,
I happen to be super-sensitive to the formadahyde-releasers and phenoxyethanol. My skin loves parabens, though. I wish companies would stop taking parabens out of all their products. Phenoxyethanol is turning up in everything these days and my skin hates it 
Thank you so much for this info.. it’s very confusing and hard to keep up with, that’s why I love your website and your recommendation, makes it much easier to figure things out
Thank you!!!
FANTASTIC article!
Natalie - regular poster from OzAugust 1st, 2010 (#):Thanks for this summary. I’ve been steering clear of parabens (as far as possible) – silly me! – because I was taking far too much notice of all the urban myths! But this is only because I have an endocrine disorder – one gets quite fearful easily.
BHT is another one I was concerned about, but Bryan set me straight on that.
A LAugust 2nd, 2010 (#):I have to agree with the first commenter, that we should be aware of our products washing into the water source when swimming, camping, etc.
Paula BegounAugust 3rd, 2010 (#):@Leila, I have absolutely no bias or preconceived notions about plants or any cosmetic ingredients other than what the research says is or isn’t possible in regard to their benefit for skin. What bias does exist is the notion that if it’s a plant, and you put it in a skin care product, it’s great for skin and safe for the environment. That is a stretch of the imagination. Plants don’t just get harvested and stuck in your product, the process they go through to become cosmetic ingredients is not natural. You aren’t eating your plant-based moisturizer for lunch!
What I wrote about phenoxyethanol is that there is some research about it in regard to fish but that doesn’t make it a skin care issue. Fish are impacted by dams and overfishing among other issues of industrial pollution. There is no research showing cosmetic ingredients are hurting fish, despite some cosmetic ingredients being detected in bodies of water.
There is much I don’t understand about the environment but I am as worried about the impact of skin-care ingredients on the environment as I am about the paint I used on the walls of my living room, the computers and cell phones I have thrown out over the years, and the amount of food waste I produce. However, despite my concerns, I am still using my computer as it is the most efficient way to communicate and educate; I’m still eating; I am painting my house next year; I am taking the best care of my skin as possible, and, as someone who formulates and sells skin-care and makeup products, I am being completely responsible and ethical as to what ingredients I use and the claims I make about them. -Paula
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