Preservatives are an important part of DIY bath and body products. They help prevent mold and bacteria growth, which extends the shelf life of products and makes them safe to use. Check out this post for more information on the options we carry and how to use them.

Preservatives are recommended for products made with water or products that may get water splashed in during use. This post has information on whether they’re needed for soap, lotion, and more. Keep in mind these are general rules and may be different based on your preference, how the product will be used, whether you’re selling the product, etc. It’s a great place to start and adjust from there.

Cold process and melt and pour soap
Preservative: No

You never have to worry about adding a preservative to cold process or melt and pour. They have a pH level of 9-10, which doesn’t allow mold or bacteria to grow. Just another reason to love handmade soap.

Liquid soap
Preservative: Optional
Amount 0.5-1% of the total weight
Type: Optiphen ND

Like bar soap, liquid soap has a pH level that doesn’t allow mold to grow. However, it does require distilled water for dilution. You can add a preservative to be extra careful or if you plan to sell it. The same goes for the Bramble Berry liquid soap bases – you can add preservatives to the ones that need to be diluted, but the ready-to-use options are already preserved and don’t need extra.

Lotion
Preservative: Yes
Amount: 1% of the total weight
Type: Optiphen, Phenonip, or Germaben II

Lotion always needs a preservative because it’s made with water. Without one, the shelf life will only be a few weeks.

Body butter
Preservative: No

This is a simple mixture of butter and oil. Because there’s no water and it will likely be applied to dry skin, don’t worry about a preservative. As always, you can add one if you plan to sell it.

Scrubs and bath salts
Preservative: Optional
Amount: 1% of the total weight
Type: Optiphen or Phenonip

While most scrubs and bath salts aren’t made with water, they are usually stored in the shower and can get water splashed in during use. We recommend a preservative for that reason. You can skip it if the recipe is for personal use and stored in a cool, dry area in between uses.

Bath bombs
Preservative: No

Bath bombs don’t contain water so they don’t need a preservative. When choosing witch hazel to wet them, make sure it’s alcohol based or already has a preservative.

Balms
Preservative: No

Like body butter, balms don’t contain water and they’re usually applied to dry skin. You don’t need to worry about a preservative. That goes for body balm and lip balm.

Room sprays, linen sprays, and perfume
Preservative: Yes
Amount: 1% of the total weight
Type: Optiphen ND

If your recipe contains water, it will need a preservative. If not, check the ingredient list and make sure whatever you’re adding has one. For instance, this Lavender Linen Spray is made with ingredients that already have preservatives. That means you don’t need to add another one. The same goes for recipes that are oil based.

The post Preservatives Quick Guide appeared first on Soap Queen.

Before we talk  about shelf life, it’s important to understand the difference between rancidity and mold and bacteria growth. Rancidity and mold/bacteria growth in bath and beauty products are independent issues. Mold and bacteria can occur in products that contain water, such as lotion or emulsified scrubs. These products require a preservative to help prevent mold and bacteria growth. Click here to read more about preservatives, and when to use them. Preservatives will not protect fresh ingredients (purees, fresh herbs, etc.) from growing mold in products that do not go through the saponification process such as lotion or balms. This is also the case with melt and pour soap. It has already gone through the saponification process, so any additives can grow mold. Fresh additives will eventually (or even quickly) turn brown, and grow mold and bacteria. The pH level of cold process soap does not allow mold to grow, which is why fresh ingredients can be used. To learn about adding purees to cold process soap, click here.

Rancidity, on the other hand, is the deterioration of oils and fats. There are several types of rancidity, including oxidative rancidity, auto-oxidation, hydrolytic rancidity and microbial rancidity. If you’d like to learn more about the different types of rancidity, Susan Barclay-Nichols of Swift Crafty Monkey has a great blog post on rancidity here. Rancid ingredients can smell bad, change color or lose effectiveness. Rancidity is a sign of an ingredient that is past its shelf life, while mold and bacteria can occur at any time.

Mold and bacteria can grow in products that contain water, such as lotion. Mold growth is not to be confused with rancidity. 

If your product contains a preservative, the product will not grow mold/bacteria, but the ingredients can still go rancid. On the flip side, mold and bacteria can grow without any rancid ingredients if the product contains water. For example, let’s say you made a lotion using excellent manufacturing practices and included a preservative. It should not grow mold or bacteria. But, the lotion also contains hazelnut oil, which has 3-month shelf life. After 3 months, your lotion may start to change color or smell unpleasant if the hazelnut oil goes rancid.

Many products and ingredients are not necessarily “unsafe” to use past their shelf life. But, rancid ingredients may smell, change color or may not be as effective. If you notice your product or ingredient starts to change color, develop a smell or change consistency, I would throw it away to be on the safe side. This is particularly true for leave on products such as lotion, or products used around the eye or lip areas like eye shadows or lip balms. On the other hand, if your product starts growing mold, throw away the product immediately. It is unsafe for use.

Figuring out the shelf life of various products can be a little tricky. This is because shelf life will vary depending on the type of product and the individual recipe. Determining the shelf life requires finding the shelf life of each individual ingredient. Some ingredients such as fragrance oils and colorants have an extremely long shelf life, while others like certain fixed oils (ex: hazelnut oil, walnut oil) may have a shelf life of several months. Once you combine ingredients into one product, the shelf life of the product becomes the same as the ingredient with the shortest shelf life.

Hazelnut oil has a shelf life of approximately 3 months. When it is added to a product, the shelf life of that product becomes about 3 months. 

For example, let’s take a look at the Oat Oil Cleanser recipe for oily skin. You can see the recipe below. Each oil has a slightly different shelf life. Castor oil has a shelf life of approximately one year, hemp seed oil has a shelf life of approximately two years, sunflower oil has a shelf life of approximately 3-6 months, hazelnut oil has a shelf life of approximately 3 months. The shelf life of the product is 3 months due to the hazelnut oil. If the hazelnut oil is used past its shelf life, it may start to smell rancid, or change colors slightly within oil cleanser. This would make the entire product rancid. This oil cleanser does contain vitamin E oil which is thought to extend the shelf life of oils. But, it’s impossible to say exactly how much longer it will make the oils last.

Oat Oil Cleanser for Oily Skin (Shelf life of 3 months)
4 oz. Sunflower Oil (shelf life of 3-6 months)
2 oz. Castor Oil (shelf life of one year)
2 oz. Hazelnut Fixed Oil (shelf life of 3 months)
1 oz. Refined Hemp Seed Oil (shelf life of 2 years)
5 mL Oat Extract
2 mL Vitamin E Oil

When it comes to cold process soap, a great indicator of rancid oils (oils past their shelf life) are “dreaded orange spots.” Also known as DOS, dreaded orange spots can occur months or years after the soap has been made. Dreaded orange spots are literally orange spots on your soap. They usually appear on the corners of bars, but can also occur in the center. Several factors increase the likelihood of dreaded orange spots, but the most common is oxidative rancidity, or rancid oils. Click here to read more about the shelf life of individual oils. Vitamin E oil can be used to help extend the shelf life of oils, although it’s hard to say exactly how much longer it will make the oils last.

Soap with dreaded orange spots is still “safe” to use, but it usually smells quite unpleasant. To learn more about dreaded orange spots and how to prevent it, click here. The pH level of cold process soap does not allow mold or bacteria to grow. Because of this, the shelf life of cold process soap is essentially until the soap starts showing DOS.

Dreaded orange spots (also known as DOS) usually occur due to rancid oils. The soap above is still technically safe to use, but does not look or smell very good!

Another unique example of shelf life is bath bombs. Bath bombs are made by combining citric acid and baking soda. Over time, citric acid looses it’s potency. Citric acid will not lose its potency if it is not exposed to any air and is kept in an airtight container.  This probably isn’t very feasible in most storage situations though, as humidity is fairly good at getting into the smallest and tightest spaces.  I would recommend using your citric acid within 6 months of receiving it to be on the safe side. So while the other ingredients within the bath bomb (fragrance oil, colorants, fixed oil) may have a long shelf life, I recommend using bath bombs within a few months to ensure it will still fizz in the tub.

Citric acid can lose its potency when exposed to air. I recommend using bath bombs within a few months to make sure they fizz in the tub.

It’s important to keep in mind that the shelf life of ingredients is an estimate. The environment and how products are stored will also affect the shelf life of the item. Oils and other ingredients with a short shelf life can be stored in the fridge or freezer to help them last longer. I always recommend storing your products in a dark, cool and dry place to help them last as long as possible. This is particularly true for bath bombs that can begin to fizz prematurely if exposed to humidity, or lotion can that separate when exposed to high temperatures. Click here to learn more about properly storing your products. Ingredients also have natural variation, and the shelf life may slightly depending on the source.

If you want to learn more about preservatives, storing products to extend shelf life and more, check out the blog posts below!
Guest Post: Perfectly Preserved + A Body Butter Recipe
Talk it Out Tuesday: Preservatives
Free Beginner’s Guide to Soapmaking: Common Soapmaking Oils
How to Store Handmade Bath Products
Dealing with Dreaded Orange Spots
How to Add Purees to Cold Process Soap

The post Shelf Life of Bath Products & Ingredients: Rancidity vs. Mold appeared first on Soap Queen.

Susan is an expert in cosmetic chemistry, and in this post she gets down to the nitty-gritty of which preservatives work best in which products, their usage rates and their ingredients. It’s a one-stop-shop for everything preservative related! Read on to learn about the wide world of preservatives and how you can safely use them in your products.

A-M Note: If you’re concerned about parabens and the safety of preservatives in bath and body products, we’ve found these following resources to be helpful explanations: Parabens Puzzlement, More to the Parabens Puzzlement and Debate Over Parabens – Truth and Research. Borrowing from the blogs: “The FDA supports the use of Parabens as does the European Union….and under regimented testing by the cosmetics directive of the European Union they too, found no direct correlation of Parabens and cancer.”

Keep in mind, the type of preservative you choose is up to you, and I’m glad that there are effective options for everyone out there who wants to responsibly use a full spectrum preservative. All Bramble Berry preservatives have been approved for use in body products. Now onto the guide! – A.M.

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You’ll notice there are actually two areas of contamination in the product. The first is the great big green spot on the left side, but did you notice the brown-y orange streak to the right hand side of that on the side of the jug? Yep, there’s a little more contamination for you!

I made this lotion without preservatives to show you how quickly things can go off. I made this sixteen days ago. (It might have gone off earlier. This was the first chance I had to check it, to be honest!) I did all the things I generally do – I heated and held both phases, I made sure all my equipment and workshop was clean – but I left out the preservatives. I covered it tightly with Press & Seal in this jug after it had cooled to room temperature. It’s been cold in the workshop – below 10˚C – which is quite chilly considering a fridge should be kept at 0˚C to 4˚C, and room temperature is 18˚C to 22˚C. It is also quite damp back there as we’ve had a bunch of rain since Halloween – just about every day – which is normal for this time of year.

I have to point out that I get weary of hearing people saying they’re going to leave the preservative out of their products because “it’s just for me”. Do you want to smear THAT on your skin? Do you want to give that to someone you love? Please don’t. Products are contaminated a lot sooner than you think, and contamination is almost always there long before you see the green or orange bloom!

What could we have done to prevent such a tragic lotion contamination? Preservatives! Effective, broad spectrum preservatives suitable for a product that contains water, like a lotion.

What’s a broad spectrum preservative?

The ideal preservative will be a broad spectrum preservative, meaning it kills off bacteria, mold, yeast, and other fungi. The preservatives we buy are called synergistic preservatives, which are combinations of preservatives intended to eliminate all the various contaminants we could see in our products.

How do they work?

Preservatives kill the microorganisms in our products in a few different ways, but the primary way is to cause some kind of chemical disruption that leads to death. They leak their internal fluids, they can’t maintain pH, their cell walls break open, and so on.

Once the preservative has been used to attack a little beastie, it’s used up and can’t fight anything else. This is one of the reasons we need to preserve our products at a proper level and why we want to start with as little contamination as possible in our workshop, our ingredients, our equipment, and our packaging! Preservatives tend to live in the water phase of our products to fight any contamination that might show up in our creations because that’s where the beasties live. (They can migrate into the oil phase to fight beasties there, but most our problems are in the water phase!)

Which preservatives could we choose for our products? There are quite a few good and effective preservatives found at Bramble Berry, but you want to make sure you choose a broad spectrum one – or a combination of preservatives that will cover all the bases – suitable for your product.

For instance, if you want to make a sugar scrub that doesn’t contain water, you’ll want to pick something that is oil soluble, like Phenonip. If you’re creating a product that contains a lot of botanicals, you’ll want to consider Germaben II as it’s great for hard to preserve ingredients. If you want to make a lotion, you’ll want to choose something that works with water containing products or emulsions.

Let’s take a closer look at the preservatives you can find at Brambleberry!

Germaben II
INCI: Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, and Propylparaben.

Germaben II is a liquid broad spectrum preservative that should be used at 0.5% to 1% in the cool down phase of your watery creations. The INCI is Propylene Glycol (56%), Diazolidinyl Urea (30%), Methylparaben (11%), and Propylparaben (3%), which means it is a formaldehyde releaser that contains parabens.

Because it contains three different preserving chemicals, it is suggested for use as a preservative for products that are hard to preserve, such as those containing a lot of botanical or proteins, like a toner or lotion with a lot of extracts and hydrosols. (I like it for things like strawberry extract that are very hard to preserve!) Although the manufacturer notes it can be added to your products at emulsification temperatures – up to 80˚C – it’s best used in your cool down phase at less than 60˚C.

Summary of Germaben II:
INCI: Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, and Propylparaben.
Usage: 0.5% to 1% in the cool down phase of your creation
Water soluble, so it’s not suitable for anhydrous creations
pH range: 3.0 to 7.5

Optiphen
(INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol)

Optiphen is a liquid preservative appropriate for fighting bacteria and yeast in our products (I can’t find any information on its efficacy against mould). Its INCI is Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol. We know phenoxyethanol is a very effective against bacteria and yeast, but what about caprylyl glycol? It is paraben free and is not a formaldehyde donor.

Caprylyl glycol (aka 1,2-octanediol) is a good bacteriostatic ingredient (meaning it limits the growth of the bacteria but doesn’t kill it) and bactericide, but it isn’t very effective against yeast or fungi. Which means we really don’t have a fungal killer in this preservative.

Its suggested use is at 0.75% to 1.5% in the cool down phase of our product (best below 37.5˚C or 100˚F). It’s suitable for anhydrous products or things like sugar scrubs that do not contain water. It’s best in products with a pH of 6.0.

Some people report Optiphen can de-stabilize their emulsions, so it’s suggested to add this preservative at 45˚C to 55˚C (113˚F to 131˚F) and continue mixing until cool. It can thin out a cationic emulsion, but it will thicken as it cools, so don’t worry too much!

Summary of Optiphen:
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol
Usage: 0.75% to 1.5% in the cool down phase of your water based creations.
Suitable for anhydrous products
*Editor’s note: There is some debate over whether Optiphen can be used for water-based creations. You can read more about this on Susan’s blog. For water based creations, Optiphen ND is recommended.
No pH restrictions for this preservative.

Optiphen ND
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Benzoic Acid (and) Dehydroacetic Acid

Optiphen ND is a liquid broad spectrum preservative with the INCI Phenoxyethanol (79% to 81%), Benzoic Acid (11.5% to 12.5%) Dehydroacetic Acid (7.7% to 8.5%). It is suitable for products containing water and can be added at any point in the product making process as it isn’t heat sensitive. It is best used with products with a pH under 6.0. It’s paraben free and isn’t a formaldehyde donor.

We know benzoic acid has moderate bactericidal activity and great fungicidal activity, and we know that phenoxyethanol has great bacteria and yeast killing abilities, but we don’t know anything about dehydroacetic acid. What does it do? Dehydroacetic acid is one of our organic acids. It has great fungicial properties but low bactericidal properties, so it’s a good addition to this mix to make it a broad spectrum preservative. Unfortunately, it tends to work very poorly when included at a pH of 5.0, and it can be inactivated easily by cationics, non-ionics, and proteins.

Summary of Optiphen ND:
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Benzoic Acid (and) Dehydroacetic Acid.
Usage at 0.2% to 1.2% in any phase of your creation.
Suitable for creations containing water. Not suitable for anhydrous products.
May not be suitable for products that include cationic polymers or quaternary compounds.
Best used in products with a pH lower than 6.0.

Optiphen Plus
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Sorbic Acid

Optiphen Plus is a liquid broad spectrum preservative with an INCI of Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Sorbic Acid. (It differs slightly from Optiphen with the inclusion of the sorbic acid.) As it isn’t heat sensitive, we can include it in our water-based creations at 80˚C or lower in the water phase of our process. It is not a formaldehyde donor.

We know phenoxyethanol is a good bacteria and yeast killer, while caprylyl glycol is a good bacteriostatic and bactericide, so why include sorbic acid? Sorbic acid is one of the organic acids, and it can be found paired with a calcium, magnesium, or sodium salt to help increase its solubility. It’s a good fungal, mould, and yeast inhibitor at pH 6.0 or less, and it’s an okay bactericide. It’s generally found in food stuffs at 0.01% to 0.1%. By combining these three preservatives, we have a great bacteria, yeast, mould, and fungal killing combination suitable for water-containing products. (I’m not sure if this version of Optiphen can curdle or destabilize your emulsions as I’ve never used it, so please report on your experiences in the comments!)

The one down side of using Optiphen Plus is the limited pH range of the product. It works best at pH 6.0 or lower, which means you will need to test your products to ensure they are in the right range. For instance, if you’re using decyl glucoside with a pH that can range from 7.5 to 11 as your primary surfactant, you’ll need to get that pH down substantially to play well with Optiphen Plus.

Summary of Optiphen Plus
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol (and) Sorbic Acid
Usage at 0.75% to 1.5% in the heated water phase of your product.
Suitable for products that contain water.
Good for products with a pH of 6.0 or under

Phenonip
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Methylparaben (and) Ethylparaben (and) Butylparaben (and) Propylparaben (and) Isobutylparaben

Phenonip is a liquid, broad spectrum preservative. It can be used at 0.25% to 1.0% in all your creations, including anhydrous ones (those that do not contain water) because some of these parabens are oil soluble! With all these parabens, it is considered a very powerful preservative, so it’s suitable for those creations that might contain a ton of botanical or natural ingredients, like extracts or hydrosols. It’s paraben based and it is not a formaldehyde donor.

It’s suggested that we use Phenonip in the heated phase of our creations as it dissolves around 60˚C to 70˚C. If you are making a lotion, it’s suggested to divide the product up between the water and oil phases. If you want to use it in a cold product, heat up some propylene glycol or glycerin and add the Phenonip to that before adding it to your product. If you want to use it in a surfactant mix – say, a shampoo bar or body wash – then add it to the heated surfactant phase.

Phenonip  is inactivated by some non-ionic ingredients, such as polysorbate 80 (at 5%, Phenonip is completely inactivated by polysorbate 80), and slightly by polysorbate 20 and 80 at 2.5%. It doesn’t do well with ceteareth-20 – it’s inactivated by 5% – but it is not affected by cetearyl alcohol. (I’ll have a post on preservatives and non-ionic ingredients shortly…)

Because Phenonip is oil soluble, it’s great for emulsified scrubs, oil based scrubs, lotion bars, scrub bars, hair care bars, and any other products that don’t contain water but might be exposed to it.

Summary of Phenonip :
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Methylparaben (and) Ethylparaben (and) Butylparaben (and) Propylparaben (and) Isobutylparaben
Usage: In the heated phase of your product. Divide into the oil and water phases in lotions.
Suitable for all products, including anhydrous products.
Suitable for pH ranges of 3.0 to 8.0, so pretty much all of our products.

Preservatives in Action: Cold Weather Barrier Butter recipe

Let’s take a look at one of my favourite winter body butter recipes, and think about which preservatives might work well with it.

I’ve chosen to add cocoa butter at 5% to this product as it’s an approved barrier ingredient, which means it can help our skin prevent wind or cold chapping by creating an occlusive layer. I’ve chosen the calendula extract as it will help soothe irritated and sensitive skin. You could use another oil soluble extract in its place, such as chamomile or evening primrose extract, both of which work as great anti-inflammatories. And I’ve chosen rice bran oil as it has a lovely mix of linoleic and oleic acids, great for barrier repair and softening and moisturizing respectively, as well as a good amount of anti-inflammatory phytosterols.

Cold Weather Barrier Butter
Heated water phase:
43.5% water
10% aloe vera
3% glycerin
2% silk amino acids
2% DL-panthenol

Heated oil phase:
10% rice bran oil
10% avocado butter
5% calendula extract (oil soluble)
5% cocoa butter
7% BTMS-50 or Polawax

Cool down phase:
1% preservative
0.5% Vitamin E (anti-oxidant)
1% fragrance or essential oil

1. Weigh your water phase into a heat proof container and put into a double boiler.

1a. Weigh your total water phase on a scale – jug and all – so we can compensate for the lost water before mixing. And set some water in a separate container to heat. A pot with water on the stove or boiling up the kettle works well. You don’t need to boil it the whole time – bring it to boiling now and you’ll have some less-than-boiling water for step 3a.

2. Weigh your oil phase into a heat proof container and put into a double boiler.

3. Heat both phases to 158˚F and hold for 20 minutes. This is to kill any nasties that might be in any of our ingredients, as well ensuring both phases are the same temperature when we mix them together. (This is part of the emulsification process – the heating part of emulsification.)

3a. Remember how we measured the water phase in step 1a? Measure it again – zero your scale and measure the jug and all. Add enough of the warm water to get you to the total weight from step 1a.

4. When both phases reach 158˚F, pour one phase into the other and mix very well with a stick blender, hand mixer, or stand mixer. Mix periodically as the temperature drops.

5. When you reach 113˚F, add your cool down ingredients and mix very well.

6. Allow the lotion to come to room temperature before bottling so you don’t get condensation on the inside of the bottle or lid. I suggest using jars for this recipe as it’ll be quite thick.

7. Always label your bottle with the ingredients and date so you can replicate it or throw it away when the shelf life expires.

What preservatives would work with this recipe?

To determine this, we need to determine what this product is. It’s a lotion, which means it is an emulsion of oil and water. So we need to choose a preservative that works with water containing products and not something that works only with anhydrous (non-water containing) products. Our pH is slightly lower than 6 – around 5.8. We might be using a cationic or positively charged emulsifier like BTMS-50 or a non-ionic or neutrally charged emulsifier, so that’s important to remember. And we’re using harder-to-preserve botanical ingredients, like aloe vera, so we’ll want to use a preservative meant for that purpose or use one at maximum suggested usage levels.

Always take into consideration the container into which you’re putting your product when you’re done. Containers with disc caps, flip tops, and pumps are less likely to be contaminated compared to jars and containers with screw tops where products can be exposed to more air more frequently. If you’re using a jar for this lotion – something that’s a very good idea given how much butter we’ve used! – then you’ll want to use the maximum preservative in it. Which means we’d be using…

Germaben II – 1% in the cool down phase
Optiphen – 1.5% in the cool down phase
Optiphen ND – 1.2% in any phase. (Please don’t use this if you’re using BTMS-50 as your emulsifier as it doesn’t play well with cationic or positively charged emulsifiers.)
Optiphen Plus – 1.5% in the heated water phase
Phenonip – 0.5% in the heated water phase, 0.5% in the heated oil phase

When choosing which preservative to buy, you could work with just one that works for all products, like Phenonip, or get one for anhydrous (containing no water) products and one for water containing products. Use them at the maximum usage rate to start, then try them at slightly lower levels, if you wish, but no lower than the suggested minimum usage rate.

Regardless of which one or ones you choose, use them every time you make a product to avoid horrible and unsafe contamination issues like the ones I had in my unpreserved lotion! — Post by Susan Barclay-Nichols

If you’ve enjoyed this post by Susan, check out her e-books — they’re just as helpful and informative! From top left clockwise:

• Back to Basics (more than 50 recipes and explanations for making lotion bars, whipped butters, balms, oil based scrubs, bath melts, bath oils, oil based sprays, solid scrubs, and facial serums)
• Hair Care Products (everything you need to know about making and tweaking your own hair care recipes)
• Formulating Lotions & Creams (the 224 page e-book follow-up to the Lotion Making 101 e-Book)
• Lotion Making 101 (a 305 page e-book that includes many recipes for creating hand and body lotions, creams, body butters, and formulas to help you get started on formulating your own).

The post Guest Post: Perfectly Preserved + a body butter recipe appeared first on Soap Queen.

What is a preservative?

A preservative is an anti-microbial solution that helps to prevent mold and other yucky things from growing in your products.

This lotion did not have a proper preservative. Yikes.

Why would you use a preservative?

Preservatives are needed in any product that has water in it to prevent bacteria and mold from growing in it.  If you don’t use a preservative something icky like this may happen to your product (bummer, right?).

What kind of preservatives are out there?

Many people like their products and soaps to be all-natural, but sometimes there just isn’t a way to make everything 100% natural. Currently there isn’t a good quality, affordable, all-natural preservative on the market for home crafters. I have done quite a bit of research into this and come up with what I think is a great range of preservative options:

Germaben – Germaben is a fabulous preservative to us when you are diluting Bramble Berry’s Lab Colors, as it keeps any nasties from growing in your colors (go here to learn how to dilute your LabColors using Germaben).  It is also great preservative to use when you are making lotions, as it helps to keep them nice and creamy. Usage rate: .3-1% of the total weight of the recipe and must be used at temperatures lower than 140 degrees.

Optiphen – Optiphen is a paraben and formaldehyde-free preservative. It is best to use in your oil-based recipes like shampoos, conditioners, and some lotions. Found out how to use Optiphen when making your own homemade conditioner. Usage rate: .5-1.5% of the total weight of the recipe and must be used at temperatures lower than 176 degrees.

Optiphen ND– Optiphen ND is a water-soluble, broad spectrum preservative. This preservative works best in surfactant based systems, shampoos, conditioners, gels, creams, and lotions. Usage Rate: 1% of the total weight of your recipe and must be used at a temperature lower than 176°F.

Optiphen Plus – Optiphen Plus is a water-soluble, paraben- and formaldehyde-free preservative. You can use Optiphen Plus in any recipe your are using water in and it helps to protect against bacteria, mold growth and even yeast! Usage rate: .75-1.5% of the total weight of the recipe and must be used at temperatures lower than 176 degrees.

Phenonip –  Phenonip is a liquid preservative that helps to suppress the full range of microbial growth in your cremes, lotions, salt scrubs, dusting powders and liquid soap bases.  When making products at a higher temperature, this is going to be the preservative you are going to want to use. Usage rate: .5-1% of the total weight of the recipe and must be used at temperatures lower than 200 degrees.

What is NOT a preservative!

An anti-oxidant is not a preservative. It lacks the anti-microbial qualities that other actual preservatives (Phenonip, Germaben, and Optiphen) possess. Many people get confused when they are researching preservatives and what is or isn’t a product that can help preserve their lotions and scrubs. We believe that a full-spectrum preservative (like Optiphen, Phenonip or Germaben) must be used to truly prevent mold and bacterial growth in your lotion products.

Grapefruit Seed Extract – Grapefruit Seed Extract (commonly known as GSE) is a thick and golden antioxidant that helps to prevent your oils from going bad in your lotions and lotion bars, but is not a preservative.  We never recommend using GSE as the only preservative in your products. But if you are looking for a great anti-oxidant, GSE is the one to go with!

Rosemary Oleoresin – Rosemary Oleoresin, also known as Rosemary Oil Extract or ROE is an oil-soluble, all-natural extract that is used to prevent rancidity in lotions and oil-products. It helps to extend the shelf life of your product, but as with GSE, will not preserve it.

Vitamin E – Vitamin E is a thick and viscous oil that is super easy to mix into lotions, liquid oils, and even bath bombs for its skin-loving properties. It is a wonderful anti-oxidant, but it isn’t considered a preservative because it has no antimicrobial properties to it. Many home crafters use it thinking it will preserve their products, but all it can do is extend the life of the oils in your product (similarly to ROE and GSE).

What products need preservatives?

You wouldn’t want to find that your fabulous sugar scrub went bad after a few weeks, would you? Any recipe that includes water in it or any product that may get water in it needs a preservative. That includes most lotions and cremes, sugar or salt scrubs, and some types of body powders. Preservatives aren’t generally necessary in liquid soaps, but can be added if desired.

Check out these recipes using Bramble Berry’s preservatives:

Tangle-Free Shampoo & Conditioner (Optiphen)

After Sun Spritzer (Germaben)

Soothing Sunburn Lotion (Phenonip)

Lotion from Scratch (Phenonip)

Skin Firming Cream (Germaben/Phenonip)

Do salt scrubs need a preservative?

Technically, no. Most sugar and salt scrubs do not contain water. When there’s no water in the product then you do not need to add a preservative. Now take a minute to think about where most sugar and salt scrubs are stored and used. Yep! They are stored and used in the shower where water may be introduced, which could potentially start mold growth. Ack! So what does that mean? It’s better to be safe than sorry. Long story short, I would add a preservative to you your scrubs.

Does soap need a preservative?

You never have to use preservatives in your cold process or melt & pour projects.  Maybe you’re thinking, “There’s water in my soap, doesn’t that mean I have use a preservative?” Nope! Both Cold Process and Melt and Pour soaps both have a pH level that does not allow mold or bacteria growth in your soaps. Liquid soap does not need a preservative either but it doesn’t hurt to add a little just to be extra careful.

Using a preservative in your products is not required, but it is a responsible way to ensure that your products don’t reach your customers or gift recipients containing mold or bacteria.

Have an idea for a future Talk It Out Tuesday? Leave a comment!

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Initial Mold Growth, 4 months after product was purchased

I get asked, a lot, about preservatives in lotions. The post about Organic & Natural standards prompted Shelly to ask about Bramble Berry’s official stance on preservatives in the “Comments” section of the post. The question about preservative is probably the number one asked question here at Bramble Berry. My standard answer always goes something like:

“I really wish there was a failsafe way for you to use only natural preservatives in your lotions. If there was, I’m betting the really big guys would be using them more. The truth is that right now, there are a lot of great antioxidants like ROE or Vitamin E on the market but the natural-natural preservatives just coming into vogue aren’t ideal for the home crafter.

Germaben II or Phenonip is used as less than 1% of the total ingredient in your lotion. I think that people probably do more damage to themselves by carrying around an extra few pounds or eating a Twinkie once a month than they do by having that 1% of preservative in their product.

Plus, if anything were to happen (shudder), you might end up growing a microbe in your lotion that actually harmed someone.”

Bramble Berry’s official position on preservatives is that for the home crafter, a full spectrum anti microbial such as Germaben II or Phenonip is the most safe and responsible way to preserve lotions.

Imagine my surprise and dismay when a chic-chic body cream I purchased at (throat clear) “A Big Name Salon in Seattle” started molding and growing hairs! Ewwww … I checked the ingredients list. Sure enough, there are awesome antioxidants (Honeysuckle Extract & Vitamin E) but no effective preservatives.

I called the manufacturer to let them know, figuring they’d want to know how I stored the lotion (on my desk), how old it was (three months since date of purchase) and if there was a batch number on it (there wasn’t). They graciously replaced the lotion.

Play it safe and use a preservative in your lotion products until natural preservatives become easy and efficient to use for home crafters.

The post When Mold Strikes appeared first on Soap Queen.

Here’s all the items set out, ready to make some skin firming lotion!

The recipe that Teach Soap has posted:

Distilled Water 13 oz.
Glycerin .5 oz.
Emulsifying Wax or Ceteryl Alcohol 1 oz.
CroThix .7 oz.
Jojoba Oil .6 oz.
Germaben II or Phenonip .16 oz.
Fragrance or Essential Oil .16 – .50 oz.

I modified it and used only 10 oz. of water since Jo said her recipe was turning out watery and runny.
Directions: Put the oils and waxes in one container and melt thoroughly. Heat the glycerin and water in another container. The ideal temperature is about 170 degrees.

Once the products are completely melted, add the oils and waxes to the heated water and glycerin. The product will start to emulsify immediately and turn white.
In my experiment, the waxes started to harden up far too quickly. The waxes got clumpy and started being difficult. The waters and oils started separating. Maybe this is what happened to Jo H. as well(?). I tossed the entire recipe into the microwave for 30 seconds and then straight into the blender. Notice the water at the bottom and the waxes and oils at the top.

A quick blend of the blender solved that problem! The creme thickened up immediately! There is a lot of water is in the batch. The emulsification system of Crothix and E-Wax is powerful to gel all of that water into a lotion.

I added German Blue Chamomile Essential Oil to the recipe for its skin calming properties. It turned the lotion a lovely blue.

The recipe ended up producing 4 nice bottles of lotion and the original recipe cost less than $2 in materials to make.

From start to finish, it took less than 30 minutes to assemble the ingredients, make the lotion and clean up. If you’re interested in trying to make lotions, we have two kits at Bramble Berry located here.

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