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What's NOT a Preservative


There are many misconceptions of what can be used as a preservative in cosmetics, so we are going to clear those things up. If you would like to know what a preservative is and how to decide which one to use, watch this video here. But for now lets talk about what aren’t preservatives and where the confusion comes from.

First off…..ANTIOXIDANTS!!! There is a huge misconception that antioxidants can be used as a preservative in cosmetics, but they are not preservatives. A few examples of antioxidants that are “said” to be preservatives are the following;

  • Vitamin E

  • Rosemary Oil Extract

  • Grapefruit Seed Extract

Where the misconception comes from is that antioxidants can help reduce the rate of oxidation in oils that oxidize quickly. Oxidation is a chemical process that occurs when oils are exposed to oxygen. Antioxidants can help extend ONLY oils shelf life, by reducing the rate of oxidation. But the antioxidants won’t protect your other ingredients in your cosmetic, if you are using other ingredients besides oils. So for products like body oils or facial oils that are only composed of oils, you can preserve them with an antioxidant, but like I said, antioxidants are not preservatives so it won’t protect your product if it comes into contact with water, if your product contains water or any other ingredient besides oil. Some other ingredients I have found online that have been “said” to preserve cosmetics are

  • Citric acid

  • Essential oils

  • Vinegar

  • Salt

  • Lemon

  • Sugar

  • Neem Oil

To be honest, I don’t even know why any of these would possibly be considered a preservative, except for vinegar. I do know that vinegar can be used as a preservative with food, but it will not work for cosmetics. Even if it did, why would you want all your products to smell like vinegar? Plus, not all skin types react well to vinegar. So just keep in mind, none of these ingredients are preservatives for cosmetics. I’m sure there are many more ingredients out there that are said to preserve cosmetics, but don’t actually work. These are just the ones I have heard of. If you would like to know what can work as a preservative for cosmetics, watch my video here. Want this post in video form? Click Here



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