Okay, what's the best preservative

[Guest guest]

I've begun to branch out from all natural soap. I've made some great, easy

balm, lotion, body mist, & insect repellant. I want to sell these at a craft

fair in Oct. & I've been convinced that I should use a preservative(the p

word!). From what I've read, there are no all natural preservatives. What's

the best(healthiest) alternative?

Penny

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/25/01 12:30:07 PM Pacific Daylight Time,

gregpenngreg@... writes:

> I've begun to branch out from all natural soap. I've made some great, easy

> balm, lotion, body mist, & insect repellant. I want to sell these at a craft

> fair in Oct. & I've been convinced that I should use a preservative(the p

> word!). From what I've read, there are no all natural preservatives. What's

> the best(healthiest) alternative?

>

>

Hi Penny,

You are right---there are no " natural " preservatives that work. The

Grapefruit Seed Extract (GSE) that was so popular at one time does not work

on its own---studies have shown that synthetic preservatives were in the GSE

and that's what made it effective. Anyway, just a word of caution so that

you don't get sucked into that one!!

As far as the " best " and " healthiest " ....depends on who you ask. As I

mentioned in an earlier post today--I use Germall Plus-either liquid or

powder. The reason I use it is because it has been tested extensively for

efficacy and safety. It also works well in products that have emulsifying

wax in them.

Angie

The Herbarie

at Stoney Hill Farm

[Guest guest]

Where you can find it?

Thanks

Danny

[Guest guest]

I was given this http://oshun.bc.ca for the Germall Plus Liquid

Pamela

Mom of four wonderful boys Spenser 13, Preston 10.5, Bryce 6 and Paxton 2

Wife of my soulmate Dwight

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 8/26/2001 9:41:53 AM Central Daylight Time,

frugalmomof4@... writes:

> http://oshun.bc.ca for the Germall Plus Liquid

>

Great!! Thanks Pamela!!

[Guest guest]

I was referred to http:oshun.bc.ca

Pamela

Mom of four wonderful boys Spenser 13, Preston 10.5, Bryce 6 and Paxton 2

Wife of my soulmate Dwight

[Guest guest]

I know another Source where you don't have to buy for 50Dollars bevore you

get it,this is it:.lanaturale.com

Danny

[Guest guest]

Where do you purchase Germall Plus? Thanks in advance!

Sweetly,

Jan

www.sweetnothingsbyjan.com

[Guest guest]

Hi Jan,

What’s the best preservative? Well, that depends on what you are preserving.

You can use natural products such as gum benzoin (Styrax benzoin) to act

against bacteria, molds, yeasts and fungi, but that takes practice, as the

material is rather begrudging (thick and sticky). I have used it extensively

in the past, and had negative results when testing for bacteria, fungi,

molds and yeast, even after 2 years in the jar with no special storage

considerations. As with everything in life, your mileage may vary. I

STRONGLY suggest you perform a basic test to see if there’s anything growing

in your mixes – even if they’re kept refrigerated. You can find a simple

test for bacteria, molds, fungi and yeast at

www.snowdriftfarm.com/chek-it.html

<http://www.snowdriftfarm.com/chek-it.html>

After gum benzoin, and trying to keep things as natural as possible, you

could look at things such as alcohol, sugars and salts. These can be used as

hurdles, but you have to keep the water contained – sort of like you do when

you make a CP soap. You still have water in the finished product (til it

completely dissipates), but you don’t have to worry as much about molds,

yeast, fungi and/or bacteria forming. For more info on water hurdles, refer

to this Pharmaceutical Formulation and Quality (PFQ) Magazine article at

http://www.pharmaquality.com/wateract.html This is a rather interesting

article, but the tactics they discuss are generally not available to those

of us manufacturing at home. And again, they are not failsafe.

That leads us to commercially prepared synthetic preservatives. Without

knowing what type of emulsifier you are using or how much oil is being used

in the formula, it is difficult to know what is the best preservative for

your particular system. That said, I recommend and use Euxyl K 700 as a

preservative for most lotion systems. It contains phenoxyethanol, benzyl

alcohol, tocopherol and sorbic acid. It does not contain any formaldehyde

releasing agents, such as you find in Germaben/Germall products, nor does it

contain any parabens. You can add parabens to Euxyl, if the formulation

requires it. If the pH is greater than 5.5, add 0.1% methyl paraben to

ensure anti fungal and yeast activity. The two preservatives work very well

in tandem. You can find Euxyl at www.snowdriftfarm.com/preservatives.html

<http://www.snowdriftfarm.com/preservatives.html>

If you wish to avoid the use of preservatives, I suggest labeling your

product/s with the recommendation to refrigerate and toss after “X” number

of days. Generally, I tell folks to toss unpreserved, refrigerated products

within 3 days of their manufacture. Any more than that, and you may be

running a bit more of a risk than you wish.

Sincerely,

Trina Wallace

--

August's Oils of the Month-

Lavender 40/42 & Aloe Butter

www.SnowdriftFarm.com

Quality Doesn't Have to Cost a Fortune!

From: Randy & /or Jan Mahoney <frmpro@...>

Subject: Re: Okay, what's the best preservative

Where do you purchase Germall Plus? Thanks in advance!

Sweetly,

Jan

www.sweetnothingsbyjan.com

[Guest guest]

Fast Buy :

http://pawmadesoap.safeshopper.com/50/cat50.htm?643

Bons

http://www.isosoapa.com