Sugar Scrub confusion

[dagmar88]

not to beat this subject to death, but any suggestions for "natural" preservatives? would rosemary oil extract or something similar work?

No; rosemary oil extract is, like vitamine E, an antioxidant.
And those do exactly what their name implies: slowing down or preventing oxidation by neutralizing free radicals.
They do not have anti-bacterial properties, nor do they prevent mold & yeast growth.

To my knowledge, there is no 'natural' broad-spectrum preservative available at this time.

As far as I'm concerned the most important thing when using/giving away/selling products is that they are safe for use.
You cannot ensure safety without using a preservative or by replacing proper preservatives with vit E/ROE/GSE when a formula needs it.

For more info on different preservatives, go to www.lotioncrafter.com.

 

[carebear]

there are one or two that seemed promising - from what I"ve read - but they apparently have a horrendous odor. so not so great after all.

 

[dagmar88]

Yes, I've looked into natural preservatives a bit too; but looking at the ingredients they are either less natural than you'd think or they have downsides that make them pretty much unusable...

 

[Zenobiah]

Oh yes. I wish. Only thing you can look for are preservatives with as few harmful side-effects as possible, or make your products in a way that doesn't require them (aka Shea butter with no water, solid scrub, lotion bars, etc.)

 

[Bukawww]

What about a lotion cube with sugar in it?

I think sugar scrub cubes are adorable...and love that they are preserv free. But I don't love the M&P in them. So what if I did a lotion bar cube with sugar in it...would that work? Without preservatives?

 

[Bukawww]

Or what about Grapefruit seed extract as a natural antibacterial?

 

[Tabitha]

You do not have to use M&P in sugar scrub cubes. You can make them w/ cocoa butter instead, for firmness.

 

[Bukawww]

Love the quote in your sig, Tabitha - hubby and I just went to see that a few days ago and that absolutely made me giggle when I heard it

So you just melt the oils including cocoa butter for firmness, add the sugar and maybe some Vit E for a smidgen of sustainability...that sounds like an oily bath though. I guess thats what the sugar scrub goop is though, right?

 

[mandolyn]

OK, what is the reasoning behind not wanting to use preservatives? They are used in such small amounts, I don't see what all the ruckus is about. They are not harmful when used in the supplier's recommended useage amounts.

There's a lot of negative hype on the internet about parabens, etc, but it's just that - negative hype!

I would much rather not have to worry about anyone - myself, family, friend or customer being exposed to microbials in my products.

What if someone used your unpreserved product & they had a scratch or open wound of some type. The product has no preservative & someone has contaminated it by putting their diry hand into it. Maybe they didin't wash after using the restroom or changing a diaper. Maybe they just had their hand on the lid of the garbage can & didn't wash it. Maybe, they've picked up microbials from some other microbe-infected surface.

From using my own sugar scrubs, I can tell you it's supremely easy to get water into them - & I'm trying to be careful not to!! Someone can forget to put the lid on & it gets moisture from the bathroom as someone takes a hot shower, or water gets dripped in, or that spoon has been sitting out & is exposed to who knows what & you stick it into the jar for the 10th time this month after it's touched your hand as many times transferring whatever microbes are on your skin + whatever was in the air.

There are so many opportunities to contaminate a product, so why in the world take that chance? Ask anyone who's had a staph infection how difficult it is to cure it & how painful it is.

Everyone is so creative with supposed alternatives to preservatives, so why not be as creative at pinpointing the chances of contamination?

I challenge you to find just one, proven alternative to using a preservative that will take care of my number of ways of contaminating a sugar scrub. LOL!