Preserving agents are accepted by organisations involved in organic certification throughout the world because there is no sensible alternative to them with regards to many different cosmetic products.
Cosmetics without preserving agents do not last very long. A preserved cosmetic product without a date label lasts for at least three years as of production date. Preserved cosmetic products with date labels typically last for one or two years. An unpreserved cosmetic product containing water will only last for a couple of weeks. The product goes bad just like milk, making it potentially harmful to its user. This means that preserved products are safer to use and last longer. Certain cosmetic products do not require a preserving agent because they do not contain water or other matters that go bad.
Cosmetics without preserving agents must be kept in the fridge to remain safe to use. This is expensive for the producer and the shops and inconvenient for the consumer. Consumer research has shown that consumers are not willing to pay for this.
Cosmetics without preserving agents are more prone to contamination. It is well-known that you should never share your cosmetics with others because every time, you use cosmetics, you expose yourself to microbial contamination. Your body knows your bacteria but other people’s bodies do not. Unpreserved cosmetics are more prone to microbial contamination, thereby presenting a much higher risk to your health.
The production of cosmetics free of preserving agents is expensive. Making cosmetics free of preserving agents is a possibility, and it involves the use of special packaging and production methods that do not involve water. Not only does this, however, lead to expensive products; it also reduces product quality and functionality.
Cosmetics featuring natural preserving agents are not as effective as others. Although such products may be labelled 'free of preserving agents' from a marketing and a legal point of view, technically seen, they are not. The EU has published a list of certain preserving agents, and as long as a product does not contain any of those, it may be labelled “free of preserving agents”.
Cosmetics without preserving agents carry a larger risk of being harmful to health. Preserving agents is a necessary evil; however, the alternative can be much worse. In a worst case scenario, bacteria and fungus growth within cosmetics products might lead to tetanus (clostidium tetani), gangrene with a bacterial infection (clostidium perfringens), eye infections or allergic reactions.
Cosmetics containing preserving agents are safe to use. A preserving agent is potent stuff; however, when used in very small amounts, it is both safe and harmless. Preserving agents are inspected and approved by the EU authorities in order to ensure that they are safe to use for consumers.
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