So what’s the deal with Preservatives in Natural Skin Care Products?  Preservatives are additives used to protect a product from developing harmful bacteria, mold, discoloration and spoilage.  Without preservatives your favorite water or aloe vera based creams and lotions will certainly spoil and grow the undesirables such as fungi or mold which may or may not be visible to the naked eye.

The good news is that there are natural preservatives that can reduce microbial activity such as Rosemary Extract, Vitamin E and Grapefruit Seed Extract.  Many people do not pay any attention to what type of preservatives are used in their favorite products.  Or they would like to believe that these products are preservative free and they think that is healthier.   But Preservative free products will not last for more than a couple of weeks and they must be placed in the refrigerator.  I don’t know about you but I prefer to apply lotion that is room temperature.

Products that are not preserved will turn rancid.   It is the same concept as food…. if you leave it out.. it will spoil.  There are some natural preservatives that will increase the life of natural skin care products and are safe for your skin called Antioxidants.  Unfortunately Natural Preservatives or Antioxidants will not keep the product as long as we would like but they will considerably slows down the process.   The top three natural antioxidants used in natural skin care are listed below:

• Rosemary Extract (Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract) also known as rosemary oleoresin. Distilled from rosemary leaves, rosemary extract is perhaps the most effective antioxidant available.  Using this preservative sometimes gives off a strong smell which makes it difficult to use in some products, but works nicely in formulas that highlight the rosemary scent.
• Vitamin E ( Tocopherols) is probably the most well known of antioxidants and it has great skin moisturizing properties as well.  Vitamin E is comes in two forms which include natural and synthetic.  Only the natural form will deliver the antioxidant properties and can be used as a preservative.
• Grapefruit Seed Extract (Citrus Grandis and Glycerin)  comes from the extract of pulverized grapefruit seeds. Many people use GSE for its anti-fungal properties and some antimicrobial activity. It is considered a more powerful preservative because of its anti-fungal and antimicrobial properties.  Some manufacturers carry extracts that are made with synthetic compounds that include methylparaben so it really is a matter of the consciousness of the formulator.

Again it is important to note that the above preservatives will not make a product last forever.  Only chemical preservatives are considered broad-spectrum and will protect a product for a desirable length of time.  I prefer to use a non-toxic, paraben free  preservative to protect my products from decay.