Our approach to preservatives
Within our products we use wholly naturally derived ingredients and the majority of our products do not contain preservatives. We do use preservatives, but only where absolutely crucial for the integrity, effectiveness and ultimately, the safety of the product over time.
Preservatives in skincare products
A great deal is said about preservatives used in skincare. When surfing around the internet, you will be supplied with literally thousands of pages of information discussing this topic. With such a variety of conflicting ideas and data, most people simply do not know who, or what to believe!
Putting preservatives in perspective
- The most important thing is that all our skincare products must be safe for use. We have them independently tested and verified to ensure this.
- If products such as shampoos, conditioners, and cream moisturisers containing water within the product are without an ingredient to prevent and control microbial growth, they will start to 'go off'. This could lead to the growth of potentially pathogenic organisms that could cause you harm.
- To control microbial growth and to stabilise any cosmetic product such as the ones listed above, some form of preservative needs to be used.
The most important word to keep in mind when discussing preservatives, is the word 'balance' and the word, 'sparingly' comes to mind too!
A product containing water needs to include enough preservative (as per manufacturer's guidelines) to control microbial growth and be effective, yet not too much as to cause allergies, dermatitis or any side effects.
We make our products in small batches and regularly. This ensures that our products are fresh, stable and yet not over-filled with preservatives in those products where we do use them.
We use the following preservatives;
- organic rosemary antioxidant
- natural vitamin E oil (tocopherol)
- sugar
- lemon oil
- grapefruit seed extract
- salt
- citric acid
- potassium sorbate
- sodium benzoate
- benzyl alcohol
- salicylic acid (comes from tree bark and is the active ingredient in aspirin)
- phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin
- dehydroacetic acid
You can check the full ingredients of all our products in the ingredient tab on the product listing.
