-
Popular but under-preserved product?
I recently posted about this cleanser formula in regards to its moisturizing properties but something else caught my eye when looking at it today, so I made a new thread. Here’s the LOI again:
Water, Glycerin, Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate, Coco-Betaine, 1,2-Hexanediol, Potassium Cocoate, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Stellaria Media (Chickweed) Extract+ **, Alchemilla Vulgaris Leaf Extract**, Equisetum Arvense Leaf Extract**, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Leaf Extract**, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract+, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract+, Nepeta Cataria Extract+, Rubus Idaeus (Raspberry) Leaf Extract+, Baptisia Tinctoria Root Extract+, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Chloride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Glyceryl Oleate, Coco-Glucoside, Butylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Malachite Extract, Citric Acid, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Peel Oil++, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Oil++, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil++, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil++, Limonene, Citronellol, Geraniol, Citral.
I am not seeing any heavy-hitting preservatives here, just boosters really. Hexanediol, Butylene Glycol, and Tetrasodium EDTA.
So I thought ok the PH has got to be extremely low. Nope - i tested it, 7.1!
So maybe the glycerin content is extremely high. Well water is still the first ingredient so I don’t think it could be high enough.
So my question is how is this product being preserved safely without even a low pH? Of course it must be since this is a very big and popular brand sold on Sephora, etc., but I’m just curious what your thoughts are about it.
Thanks!
-
22 Replies
-
@GeorgeBenson
and they tossed in EHG
Seems you have a point. Wonder at diol %, the water activity and packaging? -
Calamine lotions are not preserved.
-
Calamine lotion is a drug - tho could make cosmetic claims.
-
zetein said:Calamine lotions are not preserved.If I understand correctly, you mean pink two-phase spot drying lotions, like Mario Badescu one. If so, their liquid is a pure alcohol.
-
GeorgeBenson, usually extracts are preserved with some preservative, so actual preservative could be hidden behind extracts names. Many brands hide preservation in this way to be more “green” and “clean”. Together with high glycerin and diol content it could give a decent preservation. I hope they had a good stability testing
-
I’d not presume effective preservation.
-
The new Bepanthol Dema line by Bayer only uses glycerol, 1,2-hexanediol, and citric acid… no airless, no antioxidant, no proper chelate, no nothing… I contacted them (mainly because they claim ‘free from preservatives’) and they answered with the usual blabla everything is great blabla (and our layers say that it’s not a misleading claim blabla).So, if the claim is not misleading according to the EU, then their whole line is not preserved (glycerol and hexanediol would be included at low levels for hydration claims only). WTF!Maybe I should put some ‘compost flora’ in one of their bottles and sue them when it grows? *har-har* -
Ahh yes and i see the EHG now, missed that before.
Packaging is a tube.good point about preservatives being hidden in extracts…”incidental ingredients”
Even if it passed testing i wonder why they didnt just drop the ph just in case…maybe the polymer is most effective at neutral ph.
-
They may be relying on a hot fill and tube to protect.
-
The reason they did not drop the pH is the formula includes Potassium Cocoate. If the pH gets too low, the Potassium Cocoate will revert to Coconut Oil … I’m surprised its not happening at pH 7.1. The inclusion of a saponified oil surfacant is also an unusual feature of this product.
-
@MarkBroussard The potassium cocoate isn’t intentional, rather it’s the impurity of potasium cocoyl glycinate condensation.
-
@toketsu No, normal calamine lotion doesn’t have ethanol/isopropyl alcohol.
-
@PhilGeis Sure it’s not good. The cleansers will grow pink mold around the opening/seal, after storing in bathroom for some time. This type of cleansers are very common here. Its always the pink mold.
-
Thanks … I see, it is made from Glycine and Coconut Fatty Acids
-
@zetein
Thanks for the additional info -
I agree with everyone here on the futility, although these folks probably (falsely) believe all that crap about geraniol, lemon oil and rosemary oil working as a “preservative system” we all know to be bunk. So I dunno’ ’bout the preservation - but every time I see glycerin added to a cleansing product I GET VERY ANGRY!!! One more time: friends, don’t let friends add glycerin to products meant to foam and cleanse. It will not humectify, nor clean, nor coacervate with any surfactant; it will only depress your foam, crash your viscosity then flush right down the sewer into the abyss. This is a substance abuse problem among cosmetic chemists and there needs to be an intervention.
-
@chemicalmatt Glycerin here is to disperse the crystals of the main surfactant acylglycinate to maintain an aesthetically pleasing form. It’s very common in Asian market.
-
I can only envision you sitting there with clenched fists doing your best Charles Barkley impression … “makes me hangry!”
-
@zetein Wouldn’t it be possible that the mixture of Potassium Cocoyl Glycinate (and) Potassium Cocoate is just Amilite GCK-12H from Ajinomoto, which is an aqueous solution? As Phil mentioned, I believe Glycerin was used at that level to reduce water activity and help with preservation (impairing foam, of course).
-
@ketchito
Glycerin preservation may have been in the minds of formulators - but I’d not place much confidence in it. -
@ketchito It could be from ajnomoto but you can have much cheaper choices these days. The residue potassium cocoate indicates that it was made from fatty acid rather than acyl halide which yields a purier version.Also I remember ajinomo had included some basic info of the acylglycinate/water/glycerin ternary system in their marketing materials.
-
Yes, this is most likely Ajinomoto GCK 12H which is the only suppliers listed with an INCI that includes potassium cocoate and is made from Coconut Fatty Acids. Yes, it is a liquid, not a paste.
The high Glycerin may be in part related to preservation, but may also be a regional market consumer preference. I have found that formulation for Asian clients can be very different than formulating for US/EU clients … a different esthetic is preferred in products for the Asian market.
Log in to reply.