Boosting product security

COSSMA: Preservatives in cosmetic products should ensure a long shelf life. What do preservatives in cosmetics do? What are they used for?

Dr Petra Schaal: Most cosmetic formulations, for example shampoos, shower gels, and face and body creams, contain substantial amounts of water. This creates an environment prone to the growth of bacteria and mold as many caring cosmetic ingredients are ideal nutrition for microorganisms. Preservatives are used as core ingredients in a cosmetics formulation to inhibit the development of such microorganisms and prevent any alteration during storage and consumer use. In protecting a formulation from contamination, they ensure the durability and contribute to the user safety of the cosmetics product.

Why are preservatives discussed so controversial?

In a nutshell, scrutiny of specific preservatives and their recognized or potential effect on consumers has led to a tightening of regulations all over the world. At the same time there is growing consumer awareness of this type of ingredient, accompanied by an increasing preference for fewer ingredients in personal care products. The result is an ever-shorter list of accepted options. The EU regulation for preservatives, for example, provides a very strict framework, with a current positive list of 59 allowed preservatives. Formulators must select the preservative system within these regulatory boundaries while also considering consumer preferences, as some preservatives might cause adverse effects, especially on sensitive skin.

Which methods can be used to reduce the use of preservatives? What is different here?

When reducing preservative use, it is essential to ensure antimicrobial protection is maintained so as not to compromise consumer safety. Packaging is one area currently being explored to see if choosing designs that minimize opportunities for microorganisms to enter and develop in product can enable a reduction in the use of preservatives. Some beauty brands are also taking formulations in more of a water-free direction, creating waterless formats which are both water-saving and less prone to microbial growth, thereby reducing dependency on preservatives. Our approach is to develop preservative boosters that significantly increase the effectiveness of traditional listed preservatives. The synergy they have with the preservative enables the actual concentration to be lowered without compromising on the protection performance. Our tests show possibilities to maintain broad spectrum antimicrobial protection with up to 50% less preservative. Our boosters work with a range of listed preservatives like phenoxyethanol or benzoic acid and enable consumers’ exposure to the concentration of preservatives in their cosmetic regimen to be reduced, thus mitigating the risk of developing allergies. The newest booster, launched in 2020, is a naturally derived, sugar- based booster with great formulation flexibility due to its high-water solubility. This makes it an attractive option for protecting high water content cosmetics products, such as ontrend sheet masks or micellar gels,

with less traditional preservative. Highly transparent formats can be achieved without the need for additional solubilizer. So, formulations benefit from less preservative use and less overall ingredient use.

What requirements must a product meet to be able to use less preservatives?

There are no requirements as preservative boosters can be used without the need to change anything in the targeted product formulation. We work together with our customers to develop the booster-preservative combination that works best. Ultimately, the preservative amount can be reduced in a wide range of cosmetics products.