RE:comments on preservation

December 16, 2003

Personally I do not formulate a product without a preservative. In the

instance of lip balm, I make it without a preservative on request only,

and with warnings not to share it with others or put it on cracked or

broken skin. In the case of bar soap, it would be pointless to add

preservative because all of the preservative systems I am familiar with

would never stand up to the alkaline conditions of soap making. Soap, by

its very nature is anti-bacterial and it is also a wash off product. The

big potential danger lies in products that are vulnerable to becoming

growth mediums for bacteria that are applied to the body and left on.

The goal of a lip balm preservative is not to kill bacteria in our

mouth, it is to keep the bacterial growth in the product from

progressing to a point where it will overwhelm the natural defenses we

have. Keep in mind that many people will put the product on cracked or

irritated skin which is especially vulnerable.

As to preservatives causing more problems than they prevent, that is

something that is purely opinion and based on no data at all. That's

like saying that penicillin causes more problems than it cures because

some people are allergic to it. I truly believe there is a greater

danger from the well-intentioned who want to eliminate preservatives

based on annecdotal experience than from those who take the time to

thoroughly examine the scientific data to make an educated decision.

I do agree that the anti-bacterial liquid soaps are way over used, but

there are those instances when they are appropriate. But there is a big

difference in an anti-bacterial product that is designed to destroy

surface bacteria and a preservative that is included in a product to

prevent microbial growth.

Joanne

Harper's Garden

-----Original Message-----

I for one, would like to hear from others [the 1000 +] members on

this list who seldome or never post, rather than just our resident

chemist who seems to be the only one answering questions on this

group. I am sure there are others who have ideas and references to

share with this group.

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