Why You Should Say Yes to Preservatives in Skincare

As I’ve written about in several of my previous articles, I come across individuals who are opposed to using any skincare product unless it’s organic and has no preservatives in it. The problem is that there is so much misinformation about the safety of organic vs. non-organic skincare products and preservatives used in certain products. The fear of preservatives is a society-made problem. It’s important to know their safety and clinical studies before avoiding them all together. Avoiding them all together may be doing your skin more harm than good!

Recently, I came across an excellent article about preservatives used in skincare from licensed esthetician Rita Lee, who also has a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology undergraduate degree as well as an MBA from Harvard. She has done dermatology lab research at Harvard medical school too. She has a blog that focuses on the cosmetic side of skincare. In her article about preservatives, she shares what can happen if you have a skincare product where the preservative system has broken down. Here’s her story below.

"I recently had to throw away a well known brand of micellar water purchased in France, found in ‘pharmacies’ (high end drugstores) and large budget chain stores. Mine was from Monoprix, which is equivalent to our Target. I bought this in 2010. And yes, I (sheepishly) admit keeping it for that long!

Cleansers are generally the type of product that keep well (long shelf life). Micellar waters even more, because it’s mostly made of water. Hence, why I kept them for so long. Ah! But there’s the catch. This micellar water was for the eyes – the kind that can remove waterproof eye makeup. I forgot about that because most of my micellar water from France is for the face. Eye micellar waters are made of two phases. Inside the bottle are two liquid layers, separated by a visible border in the middle. These two layers are clearly separated. They may be different colors. One layer is aqueous (water-based). The other layer is oil-based. This is a DUAL PHASE system. Before you apply the micellar water, you need to shake the bottle vigorously to break up and mix the two phases into one solution (one color, no separation). It’s like shaking a bottle of oil and vinegar to make salad dressing. After you are done, this solution quickly separates into two phases again.

A colony of bacteria decided to invade and make my precious “I brought you all the way from France” bottle its new home. You want to guess which phase it decided to set up camp? The oil phase! Why this part and not the other phase? Because anything fatty is an attractive food source, not to mention vulnerable to oxidation. Always remember that. Fatty ingredients go rancid more quickly, oxidize more quickly, and attract more organisms, big and small. When I first noticed it, the bacteria appeared as a very tiny ball near the border of the two phases. It was barely visible. A few days later, it was slightly bigger. A week later, it was bigger still, now a small blob. And yet, I didn’t throw it out just yet.

And sure enough, my new visitors gave it to me. The bacteria decided to form an ENORMOUS BLOOM inside this oil layer. An indisputable colony in the form of a humongous, gray cloudy blob that took up half the space of the top layer (the oil phase). When I looked at it two weeks later, my immediate reaction was revulsion. YUCK! GROSS! Out you go! And not down my drains either! It disgusted me so much, I ran outside and dumped it into the grass, which I regret now. Only because I should’ve taken a picture of it to show you. A picture is worth a thousand words, and that photo would be far more persuasive than this article. But how about a loaf of moldy bread to fill in?

So what happened? I had only used the bottle a few times after it was opened before the bacteria appeared. Most likely, the preservative system broke down, which happens over time. No preservative system lasts indefinitely. All mixtures break down eventually. Skincare ingredients lose their efficacy. AND…something contaminated the liquid bottle. I must’ve double-dipped. I probably put my soiled cotton pad (with the makeup from my eyes) back onto the lip of the bottle to get more cleanser onto the pad. BIG NO NO! It’s an easy mistake to make, especially if you are in a hurry or distracted. And so another lesson is – DO NOT DOUBLE DIP YOUR SKINCARE, JUST AS YOU DON’T DOUBLE DIP AT PARTIES! A soiled cotton pad (or finger) will easily contaminate the interior of the bottle (especially if you’re shaking it a lot).

Millions of bacteria and other critters (microorganisms) live on our skin. Most of it is good for us (they protect us). But not so nice for skincare products. Preservatives are a no-brainer to me. Of course we need them. Unless you plan on making your own skincare every 3 days, your skincare products need preservatives to keep the bugs out."

Why You Need Parabens and Preservatives

First off, you can’t see the microorganisms in everything on or around you…your skincare products, your entire body, the air you breathe. They’re microscopic. You’re surrounded by bugs! There are basically 3 main types of microorganisms: bacteria, fungus, and yeast. Microorganisms tend to multiply very fast. They love moisture and heat which is why you should always keep skincare products in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight. Using contaminated skincare is most of the time not a life or death matter. However, it can easily irritate your eyes, skin, create chronic dermatitis (itchy, flaky skin), cause breakouts, allergy symptoms, and bacterial infections.

This is where parabens and preservatives come into play. They keep the bugs out and extend the shelf life of a product. Without preservatives, products would spoil faster and become contaminated by harmful bacteria, mold, yeast, other fungi and microbes, especially in the moist, warm environment of a bathroom. Parabens stop this growth. The same percentage used in skincare and cosmetics is equal to the same amount in blueberries. We still eat blueberries…

The truth is there is nothing wrong with parabens, especially when you put them into context with other more harmful chemicals that we are exposed to each day. They are not toxic or carcinogenic to humans. They are perfectly safe for use in skincare and cosmetic products, and this is supported by a lot data and studies to back parabens up. How would you feel if you opened up a jar of moisturizing cream and found little bugs crawling around in the jar? Would you want to rub it all over your face? Probably not!

In the article I mentioned above, the blogger made a great point…"It made me wonder – who else out there is looking for bare bones skincare? I suspect it’s not an insubstantial number given the tremendous interest in natural and organic skincare. But we need to be SENSIBLE about our search."

Common sense tells us that everything in moderation is what works. Too much of a good thing can end up being bad for you, synthetic or natural. In skincare and cosmetics, preservatives are used at a very low concentration – less than 1%. In toxicity studies, chemicals are tested at very high concentrations. Therefore, you cannot conclude that the same substance at a much lower dose that you would find in a skincare or cosmetic product would be just as toxic. You would have to compare apples to apples instead of apples to oranges in order to get a true study result.

Chemicals Aren’t the Enemy

Chemicals get such a bad rap. Unfortunately in today’s world, this term is often misunderstood and misrepresented. Chemicals are considered offensive, feared, are the source of cancer, and many other illnesses according to the anti-science movement. Well, I hate to break it to you…We are chemicals. The air we breathe is chemicals. The food we consume is chemicals that are digested by chemicals that turn them into more chemicals. Everything on this planet and in the universe is made of chemicals, except for two things – light and electricity.

Also, the length of a chemical’s name does not indicate how toxic it is. Consider the following chemicals: retinal, cyanocobalamin, ascorbic acid, and cholecalciferol. I would venture to say that a large number of people would struggle to pronounce several of these words. In reality, these are simply the chemical names for vitamins A, B, C, and D. Similarly, all living things contain DNA, which stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. Again, it’s a long, difficult name to pronounce, it sounds bad because it’s an acid, but it's essential for life and is in nearly all foods. So the moral of this story is to not base your diet, medical practices, or skincare on how difficult things are to say or pronounce.

A product with more chemicals is not worse than one with fewer chemicals. What ultimately matters is how they interact with one another. You can have a product with 5 chemicals, and if it’s poorly formulated, then it will be far worse than a product with 3 times as many ingredients. More chemicals introduce complexity, but it’s not necessarily bad. It’s the dose that makes them toxic. Too much of a good thing is not so good for us. Essentially all chemicals are safe at a low enough dose, and essentially all chemicals are toxic at a high enough dose, whether natural or synthetic.

I love what licensed esthetician Rita Lee stated in her article and I agree with her 100%…"New skincare brands that complain about too many chemicals and long, hard-to-pronounce chemical names, and then tout having short formulas with easy-to-pronounce ingredients, make my eyes roll. This is not what matters. It’s the wrong thing to focus on. The end outcome is what matters – did the formula have any effect? And whether a formula has any effect depends on what ingredients were chosen, and how they work together. Not how many there are. By the way, many plant-based chemicals found in nature can be unhealthy or downright deadly for us. That’s the other side of the coin no one talks about."

The importance of this cannot be overstated. No chemical is inherently safe or inherently dangerous. So, the next time that someone tries to scare you about the “toxic chemicals” in your food, skincare, cosmetics, vaccines, detergents, etc. ask them for two pieces of information:

1. What is the toxic dose in humans?

2. What is the dose in the product in question?

Think in terms of safety and effectiveness. Yes, it’s true that not all chemicals are good for us. Even those that are, such as water or fluoride, can be harmful if we are exposed to too much or in the wrong way. All matter is made of chemicals, so it’s important to be more explicit. I agree that whenever possible, use ingredients that are organic or natural...when that means they are both safe and effective. Safe and effective are key! Natural isn't always safe. Bacterial contamination is natural but you don't want that on your face! Poison ivy is natural, but would you rub it on your face? Bananas are natural, but they're not effective on your wrinkles, sun damage, or other concerns.

The good news is that the cosmetics industry has been on the search for new preservative alternatives that are more “green” and gentle. The challenge though with finding more “natural” preservatives is efficacy. They have to work! They have to last too. Weak preservative systems do the skin no good either.

When Preservatives Fail

Also in the article I mentioned above, the author talks about an example of a preservative system that failed on a new skincare product. She stated…"Last year, I received a deluxe sample of a cleansing oil in a GWP (gift-with-purchase) bag. Trendy brand, huge markup (aka over-priced). It came in a solid bottle – thick, opaque, tightly closed. It had never been opened and was stored in a cool, dry, dark place. But a year after receiving the GWP, when I opened it for the first time, a bacterial colony had grown inside this bottle. Another cloudy blob. At the time, I was surprised – maybe this is just a fluke.

This past year, I received another sample from this same brand, a face oil. Same thing happened shortly after it was opened. A cloud formed inside the bottle (and grew quickly though it was nowhere as dramatic as my micellar water bottle). Once may be a fluke. Twice is a real and serious formulation or quality control issue. It could’ve been the preservative system (weak), an unsanitary manufacturing facility, or a contamination breach in the manufacturing process. Who knows.

The point is, skincare goes bad without a good preservative system. Anything organic goes bad. That’s the reality of life. So we must accept preservatives, unless we plan on spending a lot of time in the kitchen making simple skincare."

When it comes to preservatives in skincare, it’s better to do your own research and investigate specific ingredients instead. Study up on the most common ingredients, where they’re derived from, how they’re processed, and the years of clinical studies to back specific ingredients up. Be in the know before you start to PANIC when coming across an article on the internet saying that “parabens and all preservatives in skincare” are bad and cause cancer.

Source:

https://personalcaretruth.com/2010/06/why-cosmetics-need-preservatives/

https://www.justaboutskin.com/2016/12/say-yes-to-preservatives/