KEIKO Beauty column by Keiko Iwanaga, a beautician with over 40 years of experience. Collaboration with Dr.Oike opens a new frontier of beauty.

1-22. Preservatives for Cosmetics （日本語）

When manufacturing and selling cosmetic products, we ensure their safety based on the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act and safety data sheets.

In order to avoid spoilage in the quality of cosmetic products, a preservative must be added to that.

There is a wide range of chemical substances with antiseptic (antibacterial) effects.

Alcohols
Glycols
Surfactants

And other chemical substances also have bacteriostatic and disinfectant properties.

The data supports the effects of methyl paraben and phenoxyethanol on the human body. The ingredient is called a “preservative” under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. Therefore, preservatives under the Law is like a title given only to “relatively safe antimicrobial substances”.

Its “efficacy and safety” have been confirmed by a vast amount of research conducted by predecessors over the years.

Methylparaben is water-soluble and has little penetration into the skin and is effective against a “wide range of bacteria”.

Phenoxyethanol is effective against gram-negative bacteria that parabens is less effective.

A good cosmetic product uses the synergistic effect of the two to prevent the bacteria.

The problem is the “amount and type” of preservatives to be used.

Sometimes we see catchphrases such as paraben-free.

It’s almost as if they’re promoting safety.

But what we have to pay attention is the bacteria and the allergens they produce.

Shoddy cosmetics contain 50 to 60+ different ingredients in one product, with preservatives, stabilizers and other additives as much as they can.

It is about to ignoring the safety of the user.

The ideal cosmetic product should contain the minimum amount of preservatives necessary for the skin.
Allergy testing, bacteria testing, and scientific approaches are necessary to identify a product can prevent the bacteria with minimal preservatives.

This should be true honesty with the user in mind.

“Additive-free cosmetics” called in the market are actually added preservatives as moisturizer.

As there is no data on the synergistic effects, then such a product must be added a large amount of preservatives.

In short, it contains a large amount of “preservatives” called “moisturizers”.

Large amounts of preservatives are sure to attack the skin.

This is the reality of the preservatives included in additive-free cosmetics, and it can be called “cosmetic know-how”.

We’d like to make better choices based on the nature of things and with intelligent judgment.

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Data of academic papers on parabens 1950 and 1995.
A large amount of data of research accumulation.

25_132　PDF

24_399　PDF

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