The Hidden Preservative Problem
In the struggle to find healthy body care products, there's often a hidden component that nobody is talking about simply because most are unaware of it: undisclosed preservatives.
As product formulators, we can purchase the pure ingredient or a preserved version. For
example, we can buy pure Hydrolized Oats, or Hyrdolized Oats with a preservative. These
preservatives are often very harsh, as large manufacturers purchase bulk ingredients that they need to last for an extended amount of time. What makes them hidden is that companies are not required by the FDA to declare these preservatives in their final ingredients due to it being a small amount. They only have to list the original ingredient itself. You as the consumer will never know what those preservatives are.
Let’s say you are able to identify an ingredient that causes you to react- there is a chance that it may be the hidden preservatives of that particular ingredient which you are reacting to, and not the raw ingredient itself. Additionally, since most beauty care lines purchase the bulk ingredients from the same suppliers, they usually have the same hidden preservatives.
Preservation is like the Wild West of the beauty industry. The US has only banned 11 ingredients in cosmetics, while the European Union has over 1,700 items on that same list. Check out this article for a more in depth look at what ingredients are banned in the EU. Just because it's technically allowed by the FDA doesn't necessarily mean it's safe or beneficial.
Even in the "natural" beauty sector, you would think that these companies would take extra care to source the best natural products without preservatives, but unfortunately it is frequently not so.
We know firsthand what it's like to be trying bottles and bottles of seemingly clean products, only to react to them and be stumped not knowing what caused it.
A toxic preservative to be on the lookout for is called a formaldehyde releaser, which essentially releases a slow amount on formaldehyde over time to preserve the product. "These chemicals, which help prevent microbes from growing in water-based products, can be absorbed through the skin and have been linked to cancer and allergic skin reactions," says the Campaign for safe Cosmetics in their article about these chemicals. What's difficult about spotting them is that most of them, if they are listed at all, might not be recognizable to the everyday modern consumer.
A good place to start if you are concerned about a particular product or ingredient would be to reach out to the company who made it and ask whether these ingredients were bought with preservatives in them.
While we cannot solve this crisis ourselves, our aim is to educate and share the knowledge we have learned over the years on our own journey of making non-toxic, coconut-free products, so that hopefully you can benefit from our experience. We as a company purchase only pure/raw ingredients, free from any kind of secondary or hidden preservatives. We will always go the extra mile to communicate what exactly is in our ingredients because we have been in your shoes. While we know this might have been disheartening, we hope that this information guides you along your journey and sheds some light on one facet of the problem.
If you are curious about the kind of ingredients we use in our products, we have a master list linked here for your convenience. If you ever have any questions about a particular ingredient in our products, feel free to reach out to us at contact@naturalsoapshoppe.com, and we'll be happy to help in any way we can!
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