Self-preserving personal care products

Abstract

Objective

As questions on the safety of some popular preservatives are on the rise, there is a growing interest in developing 'Self Preserving' personal care products. Use of Multi-functional ingredients / actives with antimicrobial properties has been explored as replacements for conventional preservatives. This paper explores the use of combinations of multi-functional actives (MFA) and other cosmetic ingredients in various personal care formulations, to deliver microbiologically safe self-preserving products. Products studied in this paper include face wash, gel based leave-on skin care product and face mask.

Methods

Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) of several cosmetic ingredients was determined to identify Multi-functional actives with antimicrobial activity. Personal care formulations made with multi-functional actives and other cosmetic ingredients were studied for preservative efficacy by challenging the product with 6 multiple cycles of microbial challenge.

Results

Formulations with combinations of multi-functional actives with antioxidant (AO) and chelators (CHL) were found to work synergistically and were highly efficacious in controlling multiple microbial challenges as observed in the Preservative Efficacy Test (PET) studies. The effective combinations were able to withstand up to 6 multiple microbial challenges without product degradation. The preservative efficacy profile was similar to control formula containing preservatives.

Conclusion

Self-preserving personal care / cosmetic products can be developed which are as efficacious as preserved products by a prudent selection of multi-functional actives, antioxidants, and chelators as a part of the formulation.

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