Below is a recent question received re the use of paraben preservatives in skin care products (not mine I hasten to add). Thought I'd share my response with you.
My response: You raise a very interesting question...Parabens have had a bad press worldwide recently... rightly or wrongly is not really the issue here though."I wanted to get different opinions on parabens. A good chunk of my clientele are scared of them, so I'd really like to hear some professional opinions... Thank you"
As a manufacturer skin care products myself, I understand your predicament. Customers do not want parabens in their products, yet skin care products must contain a full spectrum preservative system (if the products contain water) to protect them from potentially more harmful bacteria, fungus, mould and spores!
Unfortunately none of us have the pleasure of 'future sight' to see whether we will or will not become ill as a result of these chemicals later on in life. The customer ultimately will go with what feels right for them. If they are scared of an ingredient you may end up losing the battle to change their mind about it anyway.
Currently, there is an increasing feeling of unease regarding the less than lovely ingredients in skin care products, so the industry is rightly shifting with them to meet their needs.
Some manufacturers ‘green wash’ their regular products, others seek a genuinely more natural alternative formulation. This situation unfortunately doesn’t make life any easier for the consumer!
If your customers want to avoid parabens despite the claims and counter claims regarding their safety. I would go with them and let them have what they want, if not, they will find what they want elsewhere...
Personally, whatever the final outcome of the paraben safety issue, I have no desire to potentially risk my own health for the sake of an unnecessary water based product when alternatives are out there, and I couldnt in good conscience formulate a product that would go against my own principles.
I prefer to use fresh and living botanical oils, dry mix masks, balms etc for my own skin, so it makes sense to formulate and manufacture the same for like minded customers.
In my experience, the most beautiful skin I have come across was not women who have religiously slathered on creams and lotions for years, nor have they stripped their skin and hair of its natural oils using harsh detergents as we often do in the western world on a daily basis.
I find women of traditional non-western cultures who have, for centuries, used fresh ingredients such as plant extracts and pure mineral clay's to cleanse and moisturise their face, body and hair. Often display the most wonderful complexions and gloriously healthy looking hair.
This maybe down to nature, maybe its nurture. I dont know. But, it certainly aint down to the latest synthetic chemical or expensive jar of cream to hit the shelves!
Botanical oils are abundant in nature and they do not come from crude oil. They do nourish the skin, sinking in naturally via pores and hair folicles, and seem to have a greater affinity with the human body than unnatural based skin care products.
No expensive goop in fancy packaging and no highly marketed advertising is required for nature to be truly beautiful. Taking that approach makes sense to me and I feel compelled to follow it.
I'll gladly leave the arguments about the safety of parabens synthetic chemicals in skin care products for the labs and research scientists to fight out amoungst themselves.
At the end of the day, maybe there is no conclusive right or wrong answer to the use of preservatives, parabens or otherwise. It just depends on your own view point and how you feel about what you put on your skin or are happy to sell to your customers.
If a preservative is absolutely necessary for a product and no better alternative formulations are available and you feel comfortable about using it in a product, then do so.
The good news is, there is a great deal of investment ongoing into developing safer preservative ingredients for cosmetics, and not all made by the huge petrochemical corporations either.
It is vital consumers and skin care manufacturers like yourself to keep raising questions of the industry for positive change to happen.
Keep on keeping on...
