Preservatives for cosmetics - General information and antimicrobial preservatives

Every day, the French buy an average of 525,000 shampoos, 309,000 specific care products and 157,000 bottles of perfume. In 2008, the cosmetics market in France represented sales of over 16 billion euros. The sector is growing steadily, and that same year was the fourth largest export sector for French industry, behind aeronautics, automobiles and beverages (excluding arms). Within this lucrative market, organic and natural cosmetics are growing steadily, responding to increased consumer demand.

A cosmetic product is any substance or preparation intended to be placed in contact with the various superficial parts of the human body or with the teeth and oral mucous membranes with a view, exclusively or mainly, to cleaning them, perfuming them, modifying their appearance and/or correcting body odors and/or protecting them or keeping them in good condition.

Whether their chosen direction is classic or natural cosmetics, manufacturers in this sector are all faced with a major problem: the preservation of cosmetic products.

Indeed, it is essential to protect all formulas from microbial contamination in order to guarantee the product a sufficiently long shelf life, as well as maximum safety of use for the consumer. In addition, preservatives must protect products from external contamination, in particular from consumer contact with the product, air, storage, etc.

The preservatives used can be of synthetic or natural origin. There are around fifty synthetically-derived antimicrobial preservatives authorized in Europe. These include 4-hydroxybenzoic acid esters, also known as parabens, present in 80% of cosmetic products.

These parabens have been the subject of scientific studies and are controversial due to their potential carcinogenicity. This led the French authorities to legislate a ban on the use of parabens in cosmetics. Since then, there has been massive interest in natural preservatives and organic cosmetics, which are considered healthy and risk-free. However, natural preservatives such as essential oils are often the cause of allergies. Others considered eco-friendly, such as alcohol, can cause skin dryness. That's why it's important to study alternative preservatives for more eco-friendly, "natural"-oriented formulations, i.e. other natural solutions, but also solutions directly linked to formulation parameters, packaging and packaging of cosmetic products.

Unless otherwise indicated, the percentages given in this text are by mass.