Preservative-free cosmetics are always a cause for concern. A study, performed under the auspices of the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, a part of the Danish Ministry of Environment, has scrutinized them, for a better understanding of the demanding market and a better knowledge of the offer. The outcome: nothing new, but a precise and detailed overview of preservative-free cosmetics.
June 17, 2011
Consumers, sanitary authorities, formula designers, manufacturers … preservative-free cosmetics draw the attention of everyone, a topic emphasized by
the parabens safety concern
.
Many are the users who prefer them to prevent using any chemical renowned as harmful or allergenic ; sanitary authorities worry about their toxicological safety; formula designers look for the best formulae that overcome concerns; manufacturers see this growth market as a further way to increase their revenues…
Everybody has something to learn from this Danish study.
The framework of the study
Spanned on a 15 month period, from September 2009 to November 2010, this research is about 89 products, which come with several mentions:
• preservative free
• without any chemical or synthetic preservative
• contains only natural preservatives
• parabens-free
The main families of products dealt with are:
• body lotions
• face care creams
• shower gels
• shampoos
• make-up removers
• tonic lotions
A detailed survey of the ingredients of these products was performed, first to check whether some ingredients had some kind of preservative performance, then to assess their safety for use.
Substitutes for preservatives
Four hundreds and fifty nine different substances have been detected in the "preservative-free" …
