Re: burt's bees

[Guest guest]

>From: cmradley@...

>

>I wrote to Burt's bees because I couldn't believe they could hide chemical

>preservatives in their product and get away with it. This is what the told

>me:

>

>As you are aware products that contain high levels

>of Alcohol, soap, glycerin, salt, and sugar are self preserving. Our

>products that have oil/water combinations we preserve with a natural

>preservation system.

>This system is identified in the human body and adopted into our personal

>care products.

>The system involves Glucose, Glucose oxidase, and Lactoperoxidase and it is

>set up as a cycle where microorganisms are starved of oxygen and attacked.

>We do not use synthetic preservatives. If we can not make it naturally we

>do not make it at all.

What he is referring to is a raw material called " Myavert C " which is

manufactured in the UK by The Boots Company in Nottingham. In the US,

Myavert C is distributed by Books Industries in New Jersey. The INCI name

for Myavert C is Glucose, Glucose Oxidase and Lactoperoxidase. If Burt's

Bees are using Myavert C, then they MUST list Glucose, Glucose Oxidase and

Lactoperoxidase on their ingredient list.

Is Myavert C an effective preservative system for my lotion? The answer is

no! If it were effective preservative, you would see it on a lot of

ingredient lists. Nice story but I wouldn't want to jeopardize my

product's microbial integrity or expose my company to liability.

>I don't know exactly what they use since I'm not a chemist, but I am glad

>to

>know that there is a way to preserve these products naturally.

Carol, there are many ways to preserve products naturally, the sad part, is

that there are NOT effective natural preservatives. If there was an

effective natural preservative system, don't you think that Aveda would be

using it?? With all their resources and money, don't you think they

would've found something? Sure they tried Myavert C. Guess what! They're

still paying for that unfortunate decision.

Lucy

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[Guest guest]

In a message dated 11/6/2000 6:27:16 PM Central Standard Time,

angel_noir@... writes:

> If Burt's

> Bees are using Myavert C, then they MUST list Glucose, Glucose Oxidase

and

> Lactoperoxidase on their ingredient list.

That is exactly what they list on their ingredient list. What happened to

Aveda?

Carol

Changing Woman Essence

Flower Essence consultations

www.changingwomanessence.com

[Guest guest]

At 10:07 AM 11/27/2004, you wrote:

>Is it legal to list everything but preservatives and just make it appear

>as if there are not preservatives? I mean most preservatives for lotions

>are under a certain percentage, so is it possible that on some products

>it's just not mentioned?

no. It's illegal to omit ingredients.

>I'm just a little confused about all this. Preservatives are vital correct?

I think they are. It may be possible to produce a lotion or cream in a

" clean room " in a lab, with no possibility of airborne contaminants... but

certainly not possible for most of us doing " kitchen cosmetics "

and the cosmetic chemists that I know ALL insist that the preservatives are

necessary... I don't know what Burt's Bees is doing... I know that

Aubrey Organics has been cited several times for mislabeling... omitting

some ingredients, or listing ingredients no longer there.

Your source for superb Essential Oils, Aromatherapy

Accessories, Information, Books and more!

Visit us at: <http://www.naturesgift.com>

[Guest guest]

At 10:07 AM 11/27/2004, you wrote:

>Is it legal to list everything but preservatives and just make it appear

>as if there are not preservatives? I mean most preservatives for lotions

>are under a certain percentage, so is it possible that on some products

>it's just not mentioned?

no. It's illegal to omit ingredients.

>I'm just a little confused about all this. Preservatives are vital correct?

I think they are. It may be possible to produce a lotion or cream in a

" clean room " in a lab, with no possibility of airborne contaminants... but

certainly not possible for most of us doing " kitchen cosmetics "

and the cosmetic chemists that I know ALL insist that the preservatives are

necessary... I don't know what Burt's Bees is doing... I know that

Aubrey Organics has been cited several times for mislabeling... omitting

some ingredients, or listing ingredients no longer there.

Your source for superb Essential Oils, Aromatherapy

Accessories, Information, Books and more!

Visit us at: <http://www.naturesgift.com>

[Guest guest]

Adore,

>

> well i went 2 1 sight and it says..

>

> " Essential Oils

> Some essential oils are powerful antibacterials, antifungals and/or

> antiseptics and will extend the normal 5-7 day shelf life of your

> homemade lotions to more than a month. Current testing suggests that

> using a minimum of 1/2% of rosemary or .7% (don't forget the decimal)

> will kill all microorganisms in the product. That's only .7 oz of

> rosemary or .9 oz of tea tree for 128 oz (approx. a gallon) of

> lotion. We suggest increasing this to 1% or 1.2 oz for 128 oz of

> lotion for a bit more protect

Even if this was true and suspect it is not is a month long enough for

products being sold to the public? This just isn't practical.

>

> Rosemary Oil Extract

> Relatively new to the preservative scene, ROE is being promoted as

> the new all-natural preservative. However, as with GSE, this is more

> of an anti-oxidant which supposedly will not protect against

> bacterial growth although some companies have had success using it in

> that manner.

It's not new and it isn't a preservative. Any company that says they

are using it to protect against bacterial growth in products being sold

to the public isn't being truthful.

>

> Grapefruit Seed Extract

> GSE, as it is more commonly known, contains the antioxidant vitmains

> A, C and E which slow down the rancidity process of oils. While anti-

> oxidants supposedly will not protect against the growth of bacteria,

> some companies have found the GSE did act as an effective

> preservative in their product and that their lotions had a shelf-life

> of over a year using as little as 1% GSE. The manufacturer suggests

> 5% for an effective preservative. Check with your supplier though as

> many companies add a chemical preservative such as methylparaben to

> the GSE! "

The only GSE that worked as a mild preservative was contaminated with

preservatives.

All this is very old information and antioxidants do not preservatives

make. There are TWO new supposedly " natural " preservatives on the the

market. One has a very strong objectionable odor and the other not so

much. Test are being done as we speak. The odor problem may make them

unusable in cosmetics and toiletries though.

Whatever you use as a preservative you must have your product tested or

put a label on it saying " The safety of this product has not been

tested " .

Sherry

[Guest guest]

>

> Hi,

> Is Burt's Bees a good source for skin and hair products?

+++Hi . I don't know if all of their products are Free-off Sodium Lauryl

Sulfate, Parabens and Phthlates, which is good, but their shampoo is, so it is

okay, but not ideal. You'd have to look at each of their products to see what

they contain in order to decide which ones are okay.

I think Nature Clean Herbal Shampoo is better, and it is better to use unrefined

coconut oil on your skin than to use man-made lotions or creams. Good products

contain very few ingredients and every ingredient you can read and understand

what it is.

Bee