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Preservative question
I’m new to making DIY lotion and liquid soaps. I’m just making them for myself at this time. I’m not sure if I’ll end up giving any away as gifts or get into selling products. I just read a recipe for 1% hyaluronic acid using germall. The preservative I have is Optiphen plus. I am wondering if directions change for this preservative. Does the distilled water need to be a certain temperature for adding this preservative? After adding preservative the instructions say to add the hyaluronic acid and let it sit for 10 hours; some say up to 24 hours but my question is just about using a different preservative. Thanks so much
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2 Replies
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I am only learning myself so I am not versed enough to give a professional opinion but I know from using it myself is that Optiphen Plus is a blend of phenoxyethanol, sorbic acid and an emollient base; it is a broad spectrum preservative. It can be used as a stand-alone preservative but works well with other preservatives.
I believe it needs to be used at .75-1.5% of the total weight of the formula (check manufacturer website) and must be used at temperatures lower 75°C. It also needs to be used in formulations under pH 6.0. It is suitable for water based products. Without seeing your formula it is hard to say if it can be swapped but I have swapped germsll plus for optiphen plus in another formula with success.
I have not formulated with hyaluronic acid but I encourage you to learn about preservatives as one preservative doesn’t fit all. Also, because it’s not just about slapping on any preservative and hoping for the best; you need to think about ways to boost your preservative with processes like hurdle technology. Which is an in-depth topic and hard to explain in a short comment. .
I have my own preservative chart (it was an assessment) but Humblebeeandme has a chart with some commonly used preservatives that you can use.
I would also encourage you to have a look at Susan Barclay Nichols’s site, point of interest - she has an ebook on preservatives which is in-depth and informative.
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What is your pH? Suggest you contact supplier for stability concerns. 24 hours is plenty of time for background contamination to grow.
I’d not trust the humblebeeandme combinations. Some are pretty poor.
Suggest you look at preseservative systems used by major marketers.
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