# What's your favorite preservative?



## JuBean (Mar 2, 2009)

I have been researching preservative. Enough now that I have double vision, and  think I'm possibly going crossed eyed. :wink:

I have been through many posts here reading about them. Some are for certain temps while others are for certain oil percents.

I am thinking of making a lotion that contains preservatives. 

So my question to all you knowledgeable and experienced lotion makers. Which one do you use the most?


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2009)

I received some rosemary extract last week, will be using it in my balms and soaps.  From the research I've done, rosemary extract is one of the most effective natural anti-oxidants for prolonging the shelf life of oil-based products.

And it only takes a tiny amount to be effective... .001%!


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## IanT (Mar 5, 2009)

consider that filed in my notebook 


I have been looking for an all natural preservative to use in my soaps and lotions....


I wonder if anyone experiences allergies to rosemary extract?


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## heartsong (Mar 5, 2009)

*x*

www.lotioncrafter.com is an excellent site for info.  you can email them questions too.  nice people.


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## Guest (Mar 5, 2009)

IanT said:
			
		

> I wonder if anyone experiences allergies to rosemary extract?



I'm sure... anything that comes from any sort of plant most likely causes allergic reactions in some people....


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## IanT (Mar 5, 2009)

thats true... id love to have two alternatives so if someone was allergic they didnt have to blacklist every product i had if that was my chosen preservative... dont want to loose potential customers!


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## JuBean (Mar 7, 2009)

Danielito said:
			
		

> I received some rosemary extract last week, will be using it in my balms and soaps.  From the research I've done, rosemary extract is one of the most effective natural anti-oxidants for prolonging the shelf life of oil-based products.
> 
> And it only takes a tiny amount to be effective... .001%!



Thank you Danielito! I will look into this one as well.  Do you have any suggestions for non-organic too?


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## IanT (Mar 7, 2009)

JuBean said:
			
		

> Danielito said:
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> ...


what do you mean non-organic?

i dont think the rosemary extract is 'organic' ... organic is a term with quit e wide definition too... you could be referring to organic elements (in which case anything on Earth besides metals are considered organic pretty much)... or organic as the USDA defines it... 


are you asking about synthetic preservatives?


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2009)

JuBean said:
			
		

> Thank you Danielito! I will look into this one as well.  Do you have any suggestions for non-organic too?



Not sure what you mean?


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## JuBean (Mar 7, 2009)

Yes, Ian, I mean synthetic. Something tried and true. I know there are so many trying to stay with natural. I just want something that will work. I think that was the word I was looking for....natural opposed to Organic. I have been making soap today with the kids in the house and my mind has defiantly "off" so please excuses my wrong terminology.


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## IanT (Mar 7, 2009)

JuBean said:
			
		

> Yes, Ian, I mean synthetic. Something tried and true. I know there are so many trying to stay with natural. I just want something that will work. I think that was the word I was looking for....natural opposed to Organic. I have been making soap today with the kids in the house and my mind has defiantly "off" so please excuses my wrong terminology.



its all good  just trying to help you clarify so you get a good answer (because I dont feel confident enough in my knowledge of preservatives yet to reccommend any  )


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2009)

JuBean said:
			
		

> Yes, Ian, I mean synthetic. Something tried and true. I know there are so many trying to stay with natural. I just want something that will work. I think that was the word I was looking for....natural opposed to Organic. I have been making soap today with the kids in the house and my mind has defiantly "off" so please excuses my wrong terminology.



rosemary extract is tried and true  look it up, you might be surprised.

synthetic isn't always necessarily more effective than plant-derived.....


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## IanT (Mar 7, 2009)

Danielito said:
			
		

> JuBean said:
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well put


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## JuBean (Mar 7, 2009)

Thank you both so much for helping me out. I will defiantly look into the rosemary extract.


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## IanT (Mar 8, 2009)

8) no worries, i think danielito helped more than i lol.. I kind of just tagged along for the ride


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## Barb (Mar 8, 2009)

vitamin e and ROE (rosemary oleoresin extract ) are antioxidents not preservatives.  they help with keeping your oils from going rancid but will not stop mold, yeast and other nasties from growing in things.

preservatives: such as phenoip, germaben and liqupar  and their various forms are what you need for that.

i think we have a sticky on various preservatives and their functions in various products.


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## JuBean (Mar 8, 2009)

Thanks Barb, I did see the sticky and I have done tons of research. I guess the question I was asking, and trying to find out is, what are really being used. What really works well. I was trying to find a one preservative fits all type of thing. I'm not really sure this will be possible, but my shelves are filling fast with my soaping stuff and I didn't want to have 4 preservatives when I could possibly find one good one. So, I was hoping that when someone would suggest one I could look at it and say "yep that should work for almost anything."

I remember when I first started soaping and was so worried about the temps of the lye mixture and oil mixture being exactly the same. Then I find out a year later that it was not necessary to be so concerned. I guess you could say I was trying to ride on someone's shirt tale who has the experience and willing to share it.

This seems to be a subject that has either been overly discussed and no one really wants to talk about anymore or everyone wants to keep it to themselves.

I will do my own testing I ordered one and will go from there. 

Thank you.


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## IanT (Mar 8, 2009)

Barb said:
			
		

> vitamin e and ROE (rosemary oleoresin extract ) are antioxidents not preservatives.  they help with keeping your oils from going rancid but will not stop mold, yeast and other nasties from growing in things.
> 
> preservatives: such as phenoip, germaben and liqupar  and their various forms are what you need for that.
> 
> i think we have a sticky on various preservatives and their functions in various products.


yeahhhh totally spaced on that.... now that you say it i do rememeber hearing that at one point!


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2009)

Barb said:
			
		

> vitamin e and ROE (rosemary oleoresin extract ) are antioxidents not preservatives.  they help with keeping your oils from going rancid but will not stop mold, yeast and other nasties from growing in things.
> 
> preservatives: such as phenoip, germaben and liqupar  and their various forms are what you need for that.
> 
> i think we have a sticky on various preservatives and their functions in various products.



Are mold and yeast common problems with soap and balms?  I figured ROE's antioxidant properties would be enough, since they will keep the oils longer.


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## IanT (Mar 8, 2009)

goood question... id like to know the answer as well, to my knowledge i dont think soap even really NEEDS a preservative... so i dont plan on using one, but with my balms/lotions and such i need to find a good preservative and i would prefer it to be non-synthetic...

options?


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2009)

I figure an antioxidant would be useful in soap, especially soap superfatted at over 5%.

So far I've only actually used the rosemary extract for my peppermint lip balm, which came out nicely


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## Barb (Mar 8, 2009)

i personally don't use any preservative or extra anti-oxident in bar soaps. i do add vitamin e to my oils when i first purchase them. not even those that have food items in them.  i think the lye pretty much kills anything that might cause a problem in soap.

as far as things like body butters and balms, unless there is the potential for water to be introduced to them, vitamin e or roe is enough.

now emulsified body butters ( those that have water, aloe juice ) lotions and such need a preservative system.  i use several different preservatives depending on the product. i like phenoip for my gm lotions because it isn't so temperature sensitive and i can divide it up between the water portion and the oil portion and i think it handles the milk protein better. but i have used it in my emulsified body butter at times or at times have use germaben without a problem.


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## Guest (Mar 8, 2009)

Barb said:
			
		

> i personally don't use any preservative or extra anti-oxident in bar soaps. i do add vitamin e to my oils when i first purchase them. not even those that have food items in them.  i think the lye pretty much kills anything that might cause a problem in soap.



I agree, but I'm thinking about using rosemary extract as an anti-oxidant in soap to defend against rancidity, not micro-organisms!


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## Bigmoose (Mar 9, 2009)

I have always used Germaben 2 in my lotions.  I had my lotion lab tested and the results were great.  A bonus is the lab tech has purchased 5 bottles of lotion from me since testing it for me and could not be happier with it.  I am using up the last bottle from my first batch made now and there are no signs of any trouble.  I have also tested my lotion at home going thru tempature extremes and again no trouble.  For me if it is not broken, don't fix it.  I will not switch.

Bruce


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## IanT (Mar 9, 2009)

germaben is synthetic though right?? are there any non synthetic options for preservatives???


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## JuBean (Mar 10, 2009)

Bigmoose said:
			
		

> I have always used Germaben 2 in my lotions.  I had my lotion lab tested and the results were great.  A bonus is the lab tech has purchased 5 bottles of lotion from me since testing it for me and could not be happier with it.  I am using up the last bottle from my first batch made now and there are no signs of any trouble.  I have also tested my lotion at home going thru tempature extremes and again no trouble.  For me if it is not broken, don't fix it.  I will not switch.
> 
> Bruce



Germaben 2 was on my list to try. I totally agree, don't change if it works for you. I still may end up trying it. 

I am just so over whelmed with how many different types of perspectives are available. I know I would be complaining if only a few were available. 

I was planning on testing for temperature extremes too. I know I always have a lotion or cream in my car. It stays in there year round. Mind you it is not the same bottle all year long.  I use way to much to be able to do that.  But I would love to see what happens to my lotion and/or cream if I were to leave it in those conditions.


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## rszuba (Mar 11, 2009)

i am on the wall about the whole preservitives thing. the lady(thesoapbarn.com, tina) who taught me to make soap uses optiphen because it is what is used in baby products. that made sense to me, if you gotta use one. then there is the whole potassium sorbate (used in food and cosmetics)which is fda approved as the only safe preservetive.   then i read about aubrey organics and he uses grapefruit seed extract and antioxidants. i'm still in study about the whole thing. 

sorry for all the link, just various info, to confuse everyone like me. lol


http://www.beautypedia.com/Brand/Aubrey ... cs/55.aspx
http://www.studentformula.com/aubrey_organics.htm
http://www.organicanews.com/news/article.cfm?story_id=5


this has what aubrey considers preserves for products.
http://www.aubrey-organics.com/custom.aspx?id=45

you can find his books on this site

http://www.aubreyorganics.com/custom.aspx?id=41
http://www.texasnaturalsupply.com/tns_046.htm
http://www.skinessentials.us/cosemeticsingredients.html


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## beachgurl (Mar 27, 2009)

I prefer Germall


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## barefootbody (Apr 1, 2009)

I use the Grapefruit Seed Extract in my soaps, along with Tocopherol, which I pretty much use in everything I make. No preservatives in soap, or any product that liquid will not be introduced to, such as body butters, lotion bars, etc.

With products that will be introduced to water, I use either Tinosan SDC, from Texas Natural Supply, it is a natural perservative, or I use Optiphen sometimes (synethic), & with anything containing salt I use LiquaPar Liquid (very synethic) because of the high PH.

I haven't tried the rosemary yet but want to, but I would not trust it as a preservative. Does it have a scent to it?


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## Guest (Apr 1, 2009)

barefootbody said:
			
		

> I haven't tried the rosemary yet but want to, but I would not trust it as a preservative. Does it have a scent to it?



Rosemary extract isn't a preservative; it's an anti-oxidant.  It has a very mild, woody smell to it, but such a small amount is necessary that the scent wouldn't come through in the finished product.  It does have a dark green color.


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## barefootbody (Apr 1, 2009)

Thanks Danielito, that's exactly the info I was looking for, smell & color. I was interested in it as an antioxidant, not preservative.


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## I love soap! (Apr 2, 2009)

But remember synthetic is not exactly great. What you put on your skin will go into the skin and into the blood.  Why put a chemical on you if you can avoid it?


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