Preservatives are substances added to a finished formulation to prevent microbial spoilage in it. Many cosmetics contain water and other ingredients that can constitute nutrients for bacteria and fungi. To avoid the contamination risk, it is essential to protect the formulation, and here the Annex V of the European Cosmetic Regulation 1223/2009 comes in help.

Despite the above, personal care preservatives have been under a negative and not-scientifically based marketing pressure. A clear
example of this sort of preservatives demonization is the use of the claim Preservatives free, which is now banned from finished cosmetic products. The adverse marketing pressure against preservatives is not only no sense from a scientific and technical point of view, even worst it can be also dangerous in regards to finished products safety, that actually should be the first parameter when releasing a cosmetic product on the market.

Discover the full article to better understand potential adverse effects related to inaccurate product preservation.

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