Natural Preservatives That Aren't

The other day I happened across an article in an e-zine about natural beauty and health. It had an article title that caught my eye. The description promised to 'reveal which natural ingredients could act as preservatives for homemade beauty products'.

This sounded interesting.

And it was.


I was amazed at how much misinformation could be packed into a single article. There wasn't a fact in sight. The author, 'Sharon', was listed only by first name. There was no contact info to be found so it was impossible to write the site owner for further information or documentation.

So, since I can't write Sharon about her thumbsuck, let's have a look at her list of 'all natural, easily available preservatives', shall we?

Beeswax

Beeswax adds structure to products such as lip balms, and can also be used to thicken creams and lotions. Used in anhydrous products (products with no water content), there is no need of preservative.

In the food industry, beeswax can be used to coat cheeses - effectively sealing out the air and thereby providing protection against aging.

And all of this is great, but it doesn't make beeswax a preservative.

On its own, beeswax has a pretty long shelf life, but having a long shelf life doesn't make it a preservative either.

Vitamin E Oil

The very name of this ingredient is a bit misleading. I think the author meant vitamin E, and not vitamin E oil (which – commonly – is thistle oil with added vitamin E).

Vitamin E is an antioxidant. It retards the rancidity of vegetable oils – meaning it will help slow – but not stop – oils from going rancid. It will not stop bacteria growth.

It is not a preservative.

Rosemary Oil

I am in doubt as to whether the author meant Rosemary Essential Oil , Rosemary Oleoresin, or Rosemary Leaf Extract. Regardless - neither of these are preservatives.

Rosemary contains antioxidants – which is not the same as being a preservative. In food, rosemary has some great functionality. It's used for helping meat stay fresher longer, but that still doesn't make it a preservative for use in DIY cosmetics.

Sorry Sharon - rosemary 'oil' isn't a preservative.

Grapefruit Seed Extract

The efficacy of grapefruit seed extract as a preservative has been shown to be due to the addition of preservatives such as benzalkonium chloride, triclosan and/or methylparaben. In other words, grapefruit seed extract doesn't have any antimicrobial function on its own.

It is an efficient antioxidant. But, antioxidants are not preservatives. (check more here).

The Time I Tried it 

Years ago, one of my suppliers offered an 'all new natural preservative' (they had given it another name, but the label revealed it was grapefruit seed extract). I ordered a portion to test it out. Within a month, my supplier issued a warning to all of their customers. It appeared that the new preservative was non-functional. I had done a small batch of cream that was on my 'under observation' shelf at the time. Directly after reading the warning from my supplier, I opened the lid of one of my 2-week-old creams. There was a thick green growth covering a third of it.  Yuchh! That was my first (and maybe last) experience with this 'preservative'.

Essential oils

The author listed the following essential oils as preservatives:

• thyme
• oregano
• lavender
• lemon
• rosemary
• benzoin
• eucalyptus
• clove
• sage

None of the above are preservatives and cannot be used as such without exceeding a safe level of use.

It is true that essential oils are unpreserved and have a relatively long shelf life (especially when stored optimally), but that doesn't make them preservatives. This would be like claiming virgin olive oil or honey is a preservative.

It's just wrong every way you look at it.

Sorry, Sharon, but you struck out completely with this article. Nothing was correct. I can only hope it hasn't been read by anyone.

I discussed with myself whether or not I should link to it, but decided there was no reason to contribute to the spread of misinformation.

Have a safe day.