Effectively Preserving Skin Care Products
Without ANY Preservative at all in our emulsified products like Lotions and Creams. It wouldn't be long before all manner of nasty microscopic critters would be swarming through them.
To ensure our Creams and Lotions show up at your doorstep as fresh and pure as the day they left production We use a variety of Mild & Safe industry standard cosmetic preservatives. Unlike their close competitors these Preservatives are not derivative of - or contain Parabens or formaldehyde.
Can't you use Natural Preservatives?
We do use natural preservatives whenever possible, Examples of this would be our use of very small quantities of Rosemary Extract to stabilize and preserve our lip Balms and Solid Perfumes, and Black Willow Bark Extract in our Body Mists. The problem is that Rosemary extract & Black Willow Bark extract can become unsafe and irritating to the skin when used in the massive quantities needed to effectively preserve water and oil based products like Lotions and Creams.
Is Fragrance a Preservative?
Even though some are still trying to circulate the idea that "Fragrance" is the INCI Name for preservative. This can be misleading.
We Researched this claim ourselves... More Here
Is there Any Alternative to using Preservatives?
Believe us - we have looked at ALL Natural alternatives and there simply isn't ANY Safe & Effective Natural way of preserving certain products using Any other Ingredients at ANY Price.
There are some excellent smaller companies out there doing really wonderful things for the skin care industry but Sometimes, companies who need an edge to break into this market will hide their preservatives within another ingredient description or simply not list the "working" preservatives in their ingredient listings at all - relying on the excuse - "If it's used at less than 1% I don't have to list it".
Although it is true that Preservatives are normally used in only a fraction of a percent. They are classed as active ingredients so they must be listed on the ingredient panel.
Are Un-Preserved Lotions & Cream products safe?
They can be if you are making them just for yourself and if they are immediately stored in a refrigerator.
Treat all un-preserved lotions and creams like Dairy Products. You have to know when to discard them and Usually they will start to break down and separate after a short period of time, this is a sign that those microscopic critters are winning the battle against freshness.
What Preservatives do You Use?
Due to Customer Demands we have created an Effective, Safe and Mild Preservative blend which Does Not contain any Parabens or Formaldehyde.
Our Preservative blend contains the following ingredients.
Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate
A Preservative Derived from Glycine - A Naturally Occurring Amino Acid.
Phenoxyethanol
A mild antibacterial agent also used as a topical treatment for wound infections, and as a preservative in vaccines.
Through Rigorous Testing we have found that using these preservatives at their lowest possible concentrations creates a milder preservative system than using any single ingredient at higher concentrations.
Standing the Test of Time.
All of Our products have been in circulation between 4 & 7 years under their current formulations without any reports of general product degradation due to ineffective preservative systems.
Aside from subjecting our products to a typical range of preservative efficacy tests, ALL New formulations that we develop have physically sat on a shelf for one full year before final testing and being released to for sale. This ensures that the high percentage of natural ingredients within our products will not break down within our formulations over time.
Time, Quality & The Ultimate Test
Many thousands of gallons of our products have been circulated over the years which equates to millions of uses by hundreds of thousands of people and almost without any negative feedback. This we figure is the ultimate test of quality for any product.
We supply many professional clients in the health care field, from a client who supplies our goats milk lotion to his staff as a hand moisturizer in his microbiology lab, to a hospital requiring immense supplies of product, to a manufacturer of prototype medical products and components, and everybody in between. We have even supplied multi-million dollar exhibitions with our product to fill wading pools... To Professionally Wrestle In...
Well...
When you get to be in this business for as long as we have - take it from us - customers such as these, Really liven up our day :o)
Customizing Preservative Systems
We do get many requests to use a different or alternate preservative system. However, to change a preservative system that works "overnight" to a more popular system would bring any number of unknowns to the shelf life and quality in any product containing extremely large quantities of natural ingredients. So changing to a requested or more popular system is not something we can safely do without about a year of testing.
Theories and Opinions
Being around for as long as we have, we know that in the natural skin care biz, Preservatives are always going to be a hot button topic for anyone searching for a more natural skin care product, And everyone seems to have a theory or opinion regarding any preservative.
A couple of examples of misinformation.
You can rest assured that All Commercially available Preservatives are constantly being tested by an army of skeptics - and rightly so - and any preservative found to be lacking or dangerous is normally discontinued immediately to avoid lawsuits and such..
Please be aware that we do know everything there is to know about the preservatives that we use and that if you should choose to carry out your own research into any ingredient listed by any skin care product manufacturer, you should stay far away from any general consensus, published opinions, and about a million miles away from the ever entertaining "teacup-deep" sales rhetoric, as these sources of information are often self serving but ultimately not factual findings.
Like ourselves; we suggest that to ensure you receive only the highest quality information; you read only independently verified and published double blind scientifically proven findings when committing any amount of your valuable time to any research.
Doing things this way you will always leave better educated, less confused, and you will be able to carry forth your knowledge with confidence and clarity.
As Always - We are happy to answer any questions that you may have. So, If you need any further information regarding our products please feel free to contact us.
Take Care and Thank You for Your Visit.
With Warmest Regards
Mark & Lisa Denham
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