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Sugar body scrub
Posted by Nyatou on November 14, 2022 at 11:11 amHi everybody,
I am working on a body scrub and I am wondering if phenoxy/EHG is enough for a body scrub?
I have looked into some body scrubs formulations and for example sephora sells one with no preservative at all, is that allowed?
Thanks in advance.
Dtdang replied 1 year, 11 months ago 7 Members · 16 Replies -
16 Replies
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@mariamu96 Those scrubs are anhydrous or close enough to it. Glycerin is usually the main diluent so no preservation needed, although I advise an antifungal to retard mold. Not critical but advised.
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@chemicalmatt thanks for replying. I read that glycerine can be used as preservative if used in a high quantity but in the sephora scrubs is not as clear…
On the other hand, I see that Sephora has a strict formulation policy. Not the best site for starters to look into. -
The way glycerin works as preservative (I hate saying that like this) is that it lowers available water in the product.
So if used in high inputs (40%) it can “hold” all the available water so there is not enough for microorganism.The “need” of antifungal is because fungi do not require that much water to grow compared to bacteria.
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If you’re relying on glycerine to lower Aw - water activity - you should measure it to be confident it is low enough. As Paprik said , 40% glycerine will generally cover bacterial risk. To meet ISO and industry limits eliminating additional preservative - you’d need ~60% glycerine tho’ sugar might help effectively lowering Aw. Also be aware some products take up moisture in humid (esp. bathroom) environments.
Sephora is a retailer. Don’t look to those guys for your micro risk assessments. -
Thanks for the info I am learning a lot here. I have made the scrub just with sugar, butters, oils and btms (no water content) and I have added phenoxy/ EHG.
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Think you need something for fungi. Phenoxy/EHG prob not necessary
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It makes totally sense to me to add a preservative to an anhydrous scrub if there is chance water gets in i, but at the same time I was not sure antifungals were going to work since they are too acidic pH dependant and the pH of the shower is neutral.
On the other hand I read somewhere Spielberg saying that over-preservation is a current problem in cosmetic formulation. I guess everybody tries to play it safe, but what’s so bad about over-preservation? It’s because microbes might develop resistances or a health issue for consumers? -
what I meant to say it´s if there is a chance of water contamination, but the pH of the water in the shower is neutral. Why would an antifungal work if they are too pH acidic dependent… It’s something that I don’t fully understand.
I am sorry for not explaining myself better, I was also talking about David C. Steinberg, but I just remembered his last name as Spielberg.
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Just because fungi like more acidic environment, that doesn’t mean that opportunistic ones won’t thrive in more neutral environment.
Same for bacteria - recent recall of products of pH 10 (if I remember correctly).Same as for water - for example - Jar of jam. Sitting in your fridge, full of sugar, little to no available water, but every now and then a mold appears.
So if you dip into the product with wet hands, you introduce a little bit of water, exposure to air, … Over time the build up can cause a problem.You need to protect the product in the jar, not diluted product on your body/in the shower during use.
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if anything, under-preservation is more of a problem than over-preservationput it this way: if you constantly feed someone a subtle poison, they’ll eventually get used to it, but if you blow their head off with a shotgun, they’ll never get the opportunity to do so
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I am not an expert on this, but over-preserving is also not great.
I imagine as it is killing living organism and there’s a lot of “excess” of preservative, it can potentially interfere with your skin microbiome? [Leave on product]
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Paprik said:I am not an expert on this, but over-preserving is also not great.
I imagine as it is killing living organism and there’s a lot of “excess” of preservative, it can potentially interfere with your skin microbiome? [Leave on product]
Most references warn against over-preservation in regards to developing resistance to our available preservatives—that simple.
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I doubt that Dave Steinberg sees “over preservation” as a concern. Dave’s biggest concern has to do with loss of conventional preservatives.
https://www.happi.com/issues/2021-02-02/view_letter-to-the-editor/preservation-amp-cosmetics/?widget=listSection
Even if established, it would not be expected to provoke resistance - that would more likely derive from under preservation. If anything, the problem with preservation is under preservation - esp. with the “natural” hyped stuff.Preservatives will not help with water splashed from shower - whatever its pH. Addition of an antifungal may help with surface growth on humidified product.
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You need emulsified sugar scrub that becomes creamy lotion upon contacting the water on your body. The creamy lotion moisturize and sugar exfoliate. It leaves no oil residue
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