Teach Soap

I am still trying to decide on a preservative for my lotions, I am leaning toward Optiphen Plus but recently read a little on Leucidal Liquid, it was one of the preservatives that my manufacturer mentioned along with Germall Plus(mixed readings on this one be paraben free).

I am looking for a paraben free and gentle way to preserve my lotion...not only for myself and family with sensitive skin but I am sure a lot of my soon to be customers will appreciate a gentle lotion as well!

Suggestions...comments, please

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Some preservatives aren't effective on all 3 nasties: yeast, fungus, bacteria. You would need to make sure that the Leucidal Liquid works on all 3. If it doesn't you'll still need another preservative. Remember, too, that most preservatives are used at less than 1% of the total recipe and shouldn't really effect the gentleness of the lotion.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I tried Leucidal Liquid by itself as an experiment and it failed. I would go with Germall Plus.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Any paraben free suggestions soapbuddy?

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www.fostersfields.ca
https://www.facebook.com/FostersFields

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Good grief thats a long word I don't think my supplier sells that one. My other option that paraben free is going with my first choice of Optiphen which I have read good and bads about! Really should I be this concerned about the paraben and stuff since its such a small amount thats used? Maybe I should be considering Germall Plus since I have read its easy to work with!

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https://www.facebook.com/FostersFields

It is a never ending question, the matter with preservatives.
You know there are a few ingredients which are broad spectrum in nature. As the others propose you need to have a combination for broad spectrum activity. This is what the suppliers supply and you do not need to mix the ingredients yourself. Then you have to look at your ingredients (do you have proteins? what is your pH? etc.) and then choose a compromise between efficiency and skin friendliness. The best ones are as well those with most reported case of allergic reaction or sensitivity.
The choice of the preservative depends as well on the fact if you're going to use the product yourself or you're going to sell it commercially. What is your container? What is the shelf life? Are you going to preserve a lotion which is packed in 100 ml jars or a product which is packed in 15 ml airless dispenser? There is no ready made answer to that general question.
Please make sure that you receive sufficient and honest information from your supplier.
I've checked a BROAD SPECTRUM preservative by one of my local suppliers and as I checked the product by the manufacturer, I came to the result that it is indeed a stabilizer and no preservative at all.

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Genius is 1 % inspiration and 99 % perspiration

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I feel this "paraben free" scare is just scaremongering. It's been used for decades and it's only used in small amounts. Just wait til next year when something else will pop up that people say is dangerous and it isn't; properly used of course.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Try Spectrastat if you can get it. I've been using it for about 6 months now and no problems at all, plus, it improved the product feel. Usage level 0.8% normally. Broad spectrum antibacterial and anti-fungicide. For shampoos though, I use sodium benzoate at 0.5% - the product is pH 5.9 which is fine for either potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate.

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There is more paraben info on the blog too;

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Genny

I have used optiphen successfully in anhydrous products like whipped butters but when i used it in a lotion formula that i have made before (with a different preservative) it broke the emulsion and i lost the batch.

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https://www.facebook.com/FostersFields