Control of Cosmetic Preservatives in Use
During the storage and sales of cosmetics, precipitation, delamination, and mildew sometimes occur. The reason is mainly caused by microbial pollution. This kind of cosmetic's bad appearance, odor, and spoilage will not only damage the brand's reputation, but also directly or indirectly affect consumers' physical and mental health. Therefore, antiseptic control of cosmetics is one of the keys to ensure the quality of cosmetics.
For the antiseptic control of cosmetics, the first thing is to avoid pollution in the production process, that is, "primary pollution". Primary pollution sources mainly include the following 6 aspects: production raw materials, water quality, environment, packaging, containers, and personnel. The second is to solve the problem of "secondary pollution", that is, the pollution of products during storage, transportation and use. The main way to solve the "secondary pollution" is to add reasonable preservatives. The antiseptic control of cosmetics, that is, the aseptic production of the product and the use of preservatives in the product are discussed and discussed
Application of preservatives：
A good production process can ensure that the product is not contaminated by microorganisms, but to maintain the shelf life of the product and prevent secondary pollution from consumers, a good anti-corrosion system must be selected. An antiseptic system can be composed of one or more preservatives, which can prevent cosmetics from being contaminated by microorganisms for a long time. In order to prevent mildew and antibacterial, it is essential to add effective preservatives in cosmetic ingredients, which is rich in adding nutrients Cosmetics are especially important.
Requirements for preservatives：
Western European countries require that the storage period of cosmetics is 3 years, and put forward the following requirements for preservatives:
(1) wide antibacterial efficacy, effective for a variety of microorganisms;
(2) significant activity at lower concentrations, and at a wider pH Can play a role in the range;
(3) has good water solubility;
(4) its effectiveness is not inactivated by other ingredients and packaging materials, stable properties will not decompose and volatilize;
(5) high safety to the human body, to the skin No irritation, no allergies and other adverse effects;
(6) Does not affect the product's use function and color, fragrance, and taste;
(7) Raw materials are readily available and cost-effective.
Selection and use of preservatives：
It is difficult to find a very ideal preservative, because each preservative has its own characteristics. When choosing a preservative, you should understand the performance of the preservative and the factors that affect the function of the preservative. The first thing to note is the characteristics of microbial pollution. Alkaline cosmetics are usually good for bacterial reproduction, while acid cosmetics are good for mold growth.
Many preservatives have excellent pH adaptability in acidic media. For example, methyl paraben has the highest bacteriostatic activity of 77% at pH 5, 63% at pH 7, and close to 50% at pH 8.5. Dehydrated acetic acid, sorbic acid, and benzoic acid are inactive at pH 7, and exhibit 65%, 37%, and 13% activity at pH 5, respectively, so they should be applied in slightly acidic media. The acid environment is not good for the reproduction of many pathogenic bacteria, but it has a good effect on the skin function at pH 5 to 5.4
The presence of water and nutrients in cosmetics can promote the growth of microorganisms. The addition of biologically active substances (such as plant or animal extracts, vitamins, enzymes, etc.) will increase the possibility of cosmetics being contaminated with microorganisms, which requires increasing the amount of preservatives or using more Highly effective preservative. Certain cosmetic ingredients, especially surfactants and proteins, can inactivate preservatives, with few synergistic effects.
