Many beauty products these days contain preservatives. How can we avoid these chemicals? And what are the natural alternatives?
Many people today want to purchase beauty products that are all natural and free from artificial additives such as preservatives. But how easy is it to buy a product that is truly free from preservatives? And are there any natural alternatives out there?
An easy way to avoid preservatives is to make your own beauty products, but this can be fraught with other dangers. Any product that contains water must have a preservative in it, otherwise bacteria will multiply quickly and render your beauty product a useless container of mould. So what can be used?
- Salt - Many things are preserved in salt, namely food products. It can be used in beauty products as a preservative. The reason is because salt dehydrates. It effectively draws out any water and therefore prevents the beauty product from spoiling.
- Sugar - This is the sweet alternative for preserving in food products. It prevents spoilage in a slightly different way to salt though. Sugar is effective after heat has been applied to the product and once again inhibits the growth of bacteria.
- Lemon - It contains an acid called C6H807. This acid is what prevents spoilage. Lemon can also dehydrate a product like salt can. The water content that naturally occurs in lemon juice can lead to bacterial growth in certain circumstances. It is therefore advised to use lemon juice in conjunction with salt to effectively dehydrate the product.
- Honey (and other bee products) - Honey can be considered a preservative due to its low water content. It also has a low pH level that can inhibit some spoilage. Bee propolis can also be used. This is a blend of beeswax and resins that contains both antibacterial and antifungal properties.
- Grapefruit Seed Extract - This oil is obtained from the crushed seed of the grapefruit. It is reputed to be a natural antibiotic as well as an antiseptic and disinfectant. This is a safe preservative for use in beauty products that contain water.
- Vitamin E (d-alpha Tocopherol) - This is probably the most well known natural preservative for oils. It contains antioxidants that can prevent oils from going rancid.
- Essential Oils - Some essential oils can be considered as natural preservatives. This is because of their antiseptic qualities. Ti tree, Eucalyptus and Lavender are probably the most well known oils used in this manner.
- Neem Oil - This oil is relatively new on the health scene, but it has been used in India for a long time. It is reputed to be antifungal and antibacterial.
The copyright of the article Natural Beauty Preservatives in Natural Products is owned by Rachel Tsoumbakos. Permission to republish Natural Beauty Preservatives in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
