![\"globalpreservation\"](\"https:\/\/ulprospector.ul.com\/media\/2014\/01\/globalpreservation-300x186.jpg\")
Developing a robust preservation system is critical to maintaining the long term stability and safety of a formulation. This is especially difficult when developing global formulations due to the limited number of personal care preservatives that are globally approved. Currently there are only approximately 16 preservatives that are globally approved with unrestricted use (EU, USA, Japan).<\/p>\n
What’s a preservative<\/a>? It’s any chemical used to kill or prevent the growth of micro-organisms, preventing contamination or spoilage of a product (or raw material).<\/p>\n Preservative potentiators are essential materials needed to boost the activity of globally approved preservatives. These materials significantly increase the antimicrobial activity of preservatives, but they normally have little or no activity when used alone. Classes of potentiators include chelators, acids, alcohols, diols, monoglycerides, ethers, metals, and peptides.<\/p>\n Chelators<\/strong> work by binding trace metals needed by micro-organisms to survive.<\/p>\n Recommended chelators include:<\/p>\n Diols<\/strong> work by increasing the penetration of preservatives into cell membranes of micro-organisms. Diols up to 6 carbons are water soluble and antimicrobial activity peaks around 8 carbons.<\/p>\n Recommended diols include:<\/p>\n Monoglycerides<\/strong><\/p>\n Acids<\/strong><\/p>\n Ethers<\/strong><\/p>\nProperties of the ideal preservative:<\/h3>\n
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Classes of globally approved preservatives:<\/h3>\n
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Problem Ingredients in Cosmetic Formulations<\/h3>\n
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\nEU: aloe<\/a> | dipropylene glycol<\/a> | plant extracts<\/a> | sodium hyaluronate<\/a> | vitamins<\/a><\/li>\n
\nEU: silica<\/a> | kaolin<\/a> | talc<\/a> | titanium dioxide<\/a><\/li>\n
\nEU: lecithin<\/a> | xanthan gum<\/a> | cellulose gum<\/a> | polar oils<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nRecommended globally approved preservatives:<\/h3>\n
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\nEU: methylparaben<\/a> | propylparaben<\/a> | ethylparaben<\/a><\/li>\n
\nEU: phenoxyethanol<\/a> | benzyl alcohol<\/a><\/li>\n
\nEU: dehydroacetic acid<\/a> | sorbic acid<\/a> | benzoic acid<\/a> | salicylic acid<\/a><\/li>\nPreservative Potentiators<\/h3>\n
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