Hello!
I have been reading discussions on preservatives for days, but I am still failing to figure out a solution. I have a client who is insisting on a product with sodium ascorbyl phosphate, expecting 18+ months shelf life (I am in the process of explaining how ambitious that is), and, of course, wants it to be naturally preserved (preferably with Preservative Eco/Microkill). I feel stuck as I am afraid to go below pH 6 with SAP and above pH 5.5 with natural/ecocert/cosmos compliant preservatives. My only hope for now is Spectrastat G2 (Caprylhydroxamic acid, glyceryl caprylate, glycerin) which I've never worked with and I am not sure how efficient it would be as a stand alone preservative. I am a germofob and always vote parabens and am seriously starting to hate green formulating. I have to mention that the product will be loaded with hydrosols (preserved with polylysine) and aloe. I would really appreciate any thoughts anyone might have.
Comments
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
But to your situation, I would agree to use the ingredients they want but get an agreement with them that you do not have to guarantee the product will be safe or stable. Make it clear to them that any microbial contamination will not be your responsibility. If the client wants to dictate how the product is formulated, that should take the responsibility of failure off of you.
As an aside, I wish instead of "green formulating" people practiced "safe formulating"
1. Natural preservatives are generally not very good.
2. A natural product is likely to have lots of other natural ingredients which necessitate a better-than-average preservative.
It is not a matter of simply adding a Preservative ingredient to a formula. It's hurdle technology that includes chelating agents, glycols/diols to reduce water activity and bacteriocides and fungicides that are compatible with the formula.
I use natural preservatives all the time and I rarely fail a PCT because I always use hurdle technology approaches to preservation.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
You find Spectrastat or Eco weak on mould? I am using a chelator already. Any suggestions on a fungicide?
I couldn't agree more. There is a trend I am seeing on the local market where there is a bunch of vitamin C serums containing MAP or SAP preserved with pottasium sorbate and sodium benzoate. It was frustrating at the beginning, but now it's just scary. I find it very hard to understand this trending preservative-free frenzy.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
Speaking of vit C, what are you thoughts on Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate?
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
here is an example of how I use it:
What type of package do you use?
I use airless pumps an haven't had discoloration at all.
At a glance, the formula looks just fine. Have you done a knock-out experiment making a batch that does not include Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate to confirm that this is the ingredient causing the discoloration?
You might also try a combination of Tocopherol, BHT and Sodium Ascorbate to see if you get better stability.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
Thank you for an idea Mark. I will try a combination of antioxidants.
See website for details www.desertinbloomcosmeticslab.com
@MarkBroussard @Pharma @ngarayeva001 have you ever used/seen tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate being used at concentrations above 10%?