what preservative do you use for sugar and salt scrubs?

[paillo]

i've been using leucidal liquid, but it's a pretty expensive way to go. leaning toward optiphen, but eager to hear your thoughts. i don't want to use anything with parabens. thanks!

 

[soapbuddy]

I would go with Optiphen or Optiphen+.

 

[carebear]

the parabens connection has been shown to be false.

or at least never actually been made.

 

[Catmehndi]

the parabens connection has been shown to be false.

or at least never actually been made.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their report "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: Agents of Subtle Change?" reported that the chemical preservatives called parabens—methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl (alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates)—displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. This means that these chemicals mimic your body´s own hormones and can have endocrine-disrupting action when they are rubbed into your body or washed down the drain into your drinking water. These disruptors interfere with your body´s endocrine system: your hypothalamus, your ovaries, your thyroid—virtually every system in your body. The EPA also stated that "continual introduction of these benzoates (parabens) into sewage treatment systems and directly to recreational waters from the skin leads to the question of risk to aquatic organisms." Scientists in Europe found other endocrine-disrupting body care chemicals in the bodies of fish that humans are eating, and in human breast milk.

We all have choices...mine is clear

 

[Hazel]

the parabens connection has been shown to be false.

or at least never actually been made.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their report "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: Agents of Subtle Change?" reported that the chemical preservatives called parabens—methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl (alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates)—displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. This means that these chemicals mimic your body´s own hormones and can have endocrine-disrupting action when they are rubbed into your body or washed down the drain into your drinking water. These disruptors interfere with your body´s endocrine system: your hypothalamus, your ovaries, your thyroid—virtually every system in your body. The EPA also stated that "continual introduction of these benzoates (parabens) into sewage treatment systems and directly to recreational waters from the skin leads to the question of risk to aquatic organisms." Scientists in Europe found other endocrine-disrupting body care chemicals in the bodies of fish that humans are eating, and in human breast milk.

We all have choices...mine is clear

Do you have a link to this report? Because what I've read the estrogenic activity reported was negligible. It was reported that some foods produce more estrogenic activity than parabens. There was a discussion about this awhile back.

I'm interested in reading this report.

 

[tomara]

I use Phenonip...it has parabens but not a formaldahyde releaser. I have not had any problems with it. Works great.

 

[Catmehndi]

I'm interested in reading this report.

I went to the EPA site just now (I had found the other passage somewhere else) Here's the link to EPA's report

http://www.epa.gov/esd/bios/daughton/254ecb99rev.pdf

 

[Earthchild]

I found Optiphen to have a very strong smell (ultra-sweet and chemically at the same time). I can never quite cover the smell in my products, and there is some question as to whether or not regular Otiphen is suitable for anhydrous products. The quick info on many suppliers sites say it is, but the manufatcurer's literature says nothing about this. I use Liquid Germall Plus - formaldehyde releaser but paraben free. For anhydrous applications I have been usinf Liquipar Optima. I would love to replace this with a paraben free preservative (just in case) but I am not sure about Optiphen and can't get around the horrible smell even if it is suitable for this application.

 

[Hazel]

I'm interested in reading this report.

I went to the EPA site just now (I had found the other passage somewhere else) Here's the link to EPA's report

http://www.epa.gov/esd/bios/daughton/254ecb99rev.pdf

Thanks for the link. It's going to take me awhile to get through it. The printing is so small I had to use zoom to increase it and I have to shift back and forth to read it.

 

[BakingNana]

I'm interested in reading this report.

I went to the EPA site just now (I had found the other passage somewhere else) Here's the link to EPA's report

http://www.epa.gov/esd/bios/daughton/254ecb99rev.pdf

Thanks for the link. It's going to take me awhile to get through it. The printing is so small I had to use zoom to increase it and I have to shift back and forth to read it.

Hazel, I don't think this is the correct link as I can't see anywhere it references parabens. Try this one:


http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/ind ... 6/report/0

 

[BakingNana]

This one, too.

http://hero.epa.gov/index.cfm?action=se ... tegory=all

 

[Hazel]

Thanks BakingNana,

I wondered about it since all I could see was info on pharmaceuticals and active ingredients. Plus I noticed all the references were from 1998-1999 and the studies were based water sources in other countries.

There was also a disclaimer at the bottom which stated “The materials presented represent the personal and professional views and opinions”...“and as such, they should not be construed as necessarily reflecting those of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.”

 

[BakingNana]

Hazel, I get the impression from reading through materials on the EPA site that a disclaimer is put on every single report done by any of their committees or agents! Gov. is expert at a** covering, huh?! :roll:

 

[Catmehndi]

I guess I went too fast...I went on their site and did a search by copying part of the article and this is the link they provided...should have checked before posting...sorry!

 

[BakingNana]

I guess I went too fast...I went on their site and did a search by copying part of the article and this is the link they provided...should have checked before posting...sorry!

No problem. I appreciated the reminder to check for any new info. Wish there was a super-study out there. Sigh.

 

[Hazel]

Catmehndi -

Don't worry about it. It's hard with all the info out there. I agree with BakingNana about it being a reminder to check for any new studies, etc. It would be nice to have a definite answer on what's hazardous and what's not.

 

[paillo]

the paraben connection may have been "proven" to be false, but that may be from industry studies. in peer-reviewed science, the results are inconclusive, although i'm not up on the latest studies. i'd rather err on the side of omitting it until i have more reliable information. regardless, i have customers who ask whether i use parabens and phthalates. i prefer not to, since interest and awareness of these chemicals is definitely increasing. i do use a few fragrances containing phthalates, but i make sure my customers have this info.

 

[tomara]

I was under the impression Optiphen was not suitable for anhydrous applications such as scrubs hence I have been using Phenonip. Is Optiphen an effective preservative with scrubs. I hope I am wrong and it is good to use.

 

[Hazel]

I was under the impression Optiphen was not suitable for anhydrous applications such as scrubs hence I have been using Phenonip. Is Optiphen an effective preservative with scrubs. I hope I am wrong and it is good to use.

I've also read Optiphen shouldn't be used for anhydrous products.

 

[Lindy]

I have moved to using Germall Plus Powder as my go to preservative, but this is more because I sell into Health Food Stores and they are super picky about ingredients and they read them all to make sure they fit into their "belief" system. I have to admit I am liking it in the powder form.... available from Lotioncrafters FFIW