Preservatives

Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is derived from the seed and pulp of grapefruits, and it may contain many lovely things – anti-oxidants, flavonoids, Vitamin C, citric acid, phytosterols, and tocopherols – but it is NOT a preservative. It may behave as an anti-oxidant in our products, but it will not keep the beasties out of...

We use our preservatives to prevent little beasties from growing in our lotions…but what kinds of beasties want to live in our products? Gram positive bacteria: These are bacteria that turn dark blue or purple when Gram stained in the lab. They lack the outer membrane of the gram negative bacteria. This family includes staphylococcus,...

Since writing this post, I have developed an entire section of the blog devoted to the individual preservatives, along with comparison charts and information on why we might like to use them. As much as I like this post, I think the preservatives section of the blog offers much more information. And I think you’ll...