A: We are very aware of the controversy over preservatives used in the skincare market, and know our customers are looking for the most safe and natural products out there. However, it is important to understand how formulas must be preserved before evaluating the product as a whole. Some skincare companies claim that they use completely natural preservatives in their products, and although this may be true; there is often a stipulation such as the product must be used within a very short period of time after purchase or must be refrigerated. While there are some natural extracts that can inhibit the growth of certain microbes in skincare products, there is no combination of natural extracts that has been discovered that can do this effectively without causing extreme skin irritation or other negative side effects and have a long shelf life. Even when highly effective synthetic preservatives are used to fight bacteria, mold, and fungi, it’s the sad case that many of them are also damaging to the skin. This is why we ultimately chose Phenoxyethanol as a superior, broad-spectrum preservative for our formulas. Phenoxyethanol is becoming increasingly popular with more natural product lines because studies have shown it to be very well tolerated by the skin and not have the carcinogenic or estrogenic potential of other preservatives. It can be used in very low concentrations and inhibit a wide array of pathogens.
