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One of the most frequently asked questions I get is: Do I need to use natural preservatives in my DIY beauty products?
My top 3 natural preservatives for DIY beauty products are Rosemary oil extract, Grapefruit seed extract and Essential oils.
Keeping your homemade body products fresh is a common concern – after all, one of the things you are trying to avoid when switching to DIY beauty products is adding synthetics preservatives or any sorts of chemicals.
That would defeat the purpose of making natural and organic DIY products!
Fortunately, there are a number of natural preservatives that you can use in your homemade body products. There are also several tips you can use to reduce your need for DIY beauty products, which I will share below.
When to use Natural Preservatives in your Homemade beauty products?
The rule of thumb is that you do not need to add preservatives to your DIY beauty products unless there is water content (such as aloe vera, hydrosol or mineral water).
When you make lip balms or body butter with only oils as ingredients, the shelve life is pretty much as long as the butter or oils themselves meaning from 6 to 18 months. There is no need to add a preservative for lip balms and body butter.
Making new batches every month or so will also allow you to modify your recipes according to the season and to your skin needs.
If you sterilize (boil in water for 20 minutes, all instrument and use clean hands when touching creams, the shelve life of a cream or lotion with water with natural preservatives can be up to 3 months.
Just use common sense and smell or look for any signs that your lotion has become rancid or spoiled.
Introducing water (or aloe vera, and hydrosols) makes things go rancid or bad more quickly, this is why you have to make creams or lotions that include a water content in small batches and should use them up within a short period of time.
When making creams or lotions with water content, you can add the following natural preservatives to help extend the shelf life.
You can also keep your creams in the fridge so they last longer.
Top 3 Natural preservatives in DIY Beauty
Antioxidants
These are typically derived from food-sources and come in the form of a thick gel-like oil. You only need a little bit to extend the shelf life of your body products. These also have naturally anti-aging benefits to the skin.
1. Rosemary oil extract
is derived from the rosemary herb. It’s naturally antiseptic and can help to protect skin from free radical damage, and is therefore anti-aging. It has a refreshing scent and is a lighter textured oil.
Use in your formulation from 0.02% to 0.5% to extend the shelf life of your homemade product.
Anti-Microbials
They are naturally antibacterial agents that help to prevent the spread of bacteria in your product once it is made. Natural antimicrobials include liquids distilled from things like radish root. These help to prevent the spread of bacteria, mold or yeast.
2. Grapefruit seed extract
is another natural anti-microbial that also has a high antioxidant content so that it packs a double punch. It may be lightly scented of citrus and has a very light consistency.
Use it 0.5 to 1% to preserve your products. Wear gloves while handling Grapefruit Seed Extracts it can be irritating to the skin undiluted.
3. Essential oils
Essential oils like lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, and peppermint are all also naturally antibacterial. They can help to impart a scent to your body product and typically also have other beneficial properties such as being anti-inflammatory. They also have a very light, liquid consistency and of course amazing scent in addition to other health benefits.
Common dilution of essential oils is between 1% to 2% in your homemade products.
Why I don’t use chemical preservatives
There are some preservatives on the market that can be added to your DIY beauty products, however, I do not recommend them. Here is why:
Germaben II is a broad spectrum preservative and is often used in deodorants, ammoniated dentifrices, mouthwashes, hair colorings, hand creams, lotions, shampoos. While it may be effective, it is full of parabens that disrupt the endocrine system and may be carcinogenic. It contains DIAZOLIDINYL UREA which is “an antimicrobial preservative that works by forming formaldehyde in cosmetic products. People exposed to such formaldehyde-releasing ingredients may develop a formaldehyde allergy or an allergy to the ingredient itself. In the U.S. approximately 20% of cosmetics and personal care products contain a formaldehyde-releaser and the frequency of contact allergy to these ingredients is much higher among Americans compared to studies in Europe.”
There is strong evidence of Human skin toxicant or allergen. You can read more about it on skin deep.
Liquid Germall Plus is another synthetic preservative. It is paraben free, but it utilizes chemicals like propylene glycol and iodopropynyl butylcarbamate, both of which are skin irritants that have been linked to liver toxicity. Liquid Germall Plus is banned for use in body products in the European Union.
With great natural alternatives, why bother using harmful synthetic preservatives in your homemade beauty products?
How to make sure your homemade beauty products don’t spoil?
Aside from using natural preservatives, you need to ensure you are following really good hygiene and a clean environment when making DIY body products.
Make sure you follow these tips to ensure your DIY beauty products last longer:
- Only make small batches
- Sanitize all utensils and containers
- Use clean gloves
- Avoid direct sunlight and UV rays, oxygen, heat, moisture for your DIY products
- Use natural preservatives when there is water content (aloe vera, mineral water…)
The controversial debate over DIY preservatives
Marketing and big beauty and pharma companies try to scare us away from making our own products because it is to their advantage that we buy their products instead.
Beauty companies need preservatives due to mass production and the fact that their products often sit on shelves for long periods of time, 2 to 10 years or more. You can avoid this by making your own beauty products. If you make them in as clean an environment as possible, and in small batches, as you need them every month, you likely don’t even need any preservatives unless there is water content.
For formulas that would benefit from preservation like a lotion, such as those that contain any water as mentioned, opt for natural preservatives or naturally-derived options.
Your skin, health, and the environment will thank you!
I hope you have enjoyed my recipe, please share the love and rate ***** in the comments below!
I’m Eve, a DIY organic skincare recipe creator since 2010 that loves to make a big mess in the kitchen!
I’ve embarked on a journey to empower women to ditch all the chemical-filled commercial beauty products and to share how to make your own organic beauty recipes at home towards a healthier lifestyle.
Homemade face & body creams, body butter, lips balms, face masks, shampoos, and all-natural perfume will have no more secret for you!
I am self-taught, read many books, and spend many hours in the kitchen creating brand new homemade beauty recipes. All my recipes are unique and are tested on humans!
In 2016, I studied Aromatherapy and became certified by the School of Natural Health Sciences.
Hi,
Thanks so much for your article.
It was very informative and useful.
I read online that GSE(Grapefruit Seed Extract) is an antioxidant, not a full spectrum preservative, so I am wondering if I can use it as a standalone preservative in my room spray made with witch hazel(w/alcohol) and hydrosol along with essential oils(no distilled water included), I will be looking forward to hearing from you soon,
Warmly,
Am in Africa i want to start up asmall organic bussiness of creams,lotions,liquid soap,perfumes and lip gloss all natural to get some money so that i can support my family because we are in abad situation as i talk now.Can u please help me with the DIY reciepes i can use to start and preservatives i can use to make them last for like ayear or two because here products move at aslow pace,they dont move very fast.Thanx i will be glad hearing from you.God bless you.
Hello, can you recommend a product that is made of distilled radish root that could be used as a natural preservative? I’ve done some research myself and can’t find anything that I am comfortable using that is completely natural.