Fresh bread contains liquid and moulds within a week, unlike crispbread, which does not contain liquid and can therefore be stored for a long time without being destroyed by microorganisms.
What are the problems with large amounts of preservatives?
The whole point of preservatives is to kill any bacteria that might get into your skin cream, both fromyour fingers and fromthe air. This is done by the preservative destroying the bacterial wall of the bacteria, thus rendering it harmless. However, this can also have less beneficial effects on our skin. Many preservatives are associated with irritating the skin resulting in burning and sensitivity. There are also others that have allergenic effects and can cause contact dermatitis, i.e. inflammation of the skin caused by a substance coming into direct contact with the skin.
Until about 15 years ago, parabens were the most widely used preservatives. Now they are probably the most blacklisted. In 2004, a high-profile paper was published by researcher Philippa Darbre in the UK in which the research team had found that parabens caused breast tumour cells to grow faster than normal. How much parabens are actually absorbed into the bloodstream through the skin has not yet been established and the study has not been verified, but as word spread to consumers around the world, many skincare manufacturers chose to remove parabens from their products.
Today, phenoxyethanol is by far the most widely used preservative in skin care products (see picture). Several studies have shown that phenoxyethanol is linked to contact eczema and allergies. Researchers have also shown that phenoxyethanol triggers the same sensitivity receptor as chilli peppers, namely trpv1. French authorities have advised from against manufacturing products containing phenoxyethanol for the nappy area of children under three years of age, but there is no such advice in Sweden.
The other more general problem with preservatives is that they don't distinguish between bad and good bacteria. As well as killing any (bad) bacteria that might be present in your skin cream, preservatives can also affect the skin's good bacteria once the cream gets on the skin. In fact, your skin is teeming with bacteria, and more and more studies are showing that our bacteria are far more important to our skin health than we once thought. For example, several studies have shown that an imbalance in the bacterial flora of the skin may be one of the causes of some of our most common skin conditions such as eczema, acne and rosacea.
En forskargrupp i Bejing i Kina visade att konserveringsmedel som används i hudvård påverkar den naturliga hudfloran, vilket i sin tur kan påverka vår hudhälsa 1–7. Konserveringsmedel kan alltså störa en normal hudflora vilket kan leda till en sämre hudhälsa eller till och med hudåkommor.
But we don't want our skin cream to get mouldy!
Skinome's whole philosophy is based on developing products for the best of the skin and of course so the skin care you buy will be free from harmful bacteria and mold. But, the thing is, there are more innovative ways to preserve products instead of using high levels of preservatives. We think the reason no one else is doing what we do is because it's simply a bit more complicated. However, we are convinced that our skincare leads to better skin health and is therefore worth the hassle.
To exclude additives and preservatives, we have much shorter sustainability on our products. Traditional skincare typically lasts 3 years or longer. Our products last only 12 months. We also refrigerate our products,immediately after production to 8°C. And we ask you, the customer, to store the products in a refrigerator. A bit of a hassle, sure, but you're doing your skin a big favour.
According to the EU Cosmetics Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, there must be no risk of mould/bacterial growth during the period of use and therefore the products are tested at specific institutes. Our products also undergo these tests.
To avoid preservatives, we work with the water content to reduce the risk of growth. Our night concentrates contain only about 10% water, which together with the other substances makes the products self-preserving.
Vi använder även hudegna eller hudvänliga ingredienser som bidrar till att minimera risk för bakterie- eller mögeltillväxt. Zink är en hudidentisk mineral som har en god antiinflammatorisk hudeffekt och dessutom en milt konserverande effekt. I vissa produkter använder vi en mycket låg dos av caprylyl glykol (Rich Emulsion, Light Emulsion, Sensitive Cleanser).
Caprylyl glykol är inte ett av EU listat konserveringsmedel, men har en milt konserverande effekt. I traditionell hudvård används detta ämne oftast tillsammans med listade konserveringsmedel. Vår användning av caprylyl glykol är mycket låg och vi har i våra studier visat att våra produkter med denna låga koncentration inte stör den normala hudfloran (se nedan).
Det finns fortfarande relavtivt lite forskning om hur konserveringsmedel påverkar vår hudflora så vi har därför gjort egna studier. Vill du läsa mer om en studie vi gjort med Linköpings Universitet och Gutfeeling Lab som visar positiva effekter på huden efter användning av Skinome’s ansiktsvård så hittar du det här.
We believe that by limiting additives and focusing on what actually makes the skin feel good, we can contribute to better skin health. We are convinced that this is the skin care of the future, are you?
References
- Wang Q, Cui S, Zhou L, He K, Song L, Liang H, H. C. Effect of cosmetic chemical preservatives on resident flora isolated from healthy facial skin. J Cosmet Dermatol. (2018).
- Dréno, B. et al. Microbiome in healthy skin, update for dermatologists. Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (2016) doi:10.1111/jdv.13965.
- Kim, H. J. et al. Fragile skin microbiomes in megacities are assembled by a predominantly niche-based process. Sci. Adv. (2018) doi:10.1126/sciadv.1701581.
- Rocha, M. A. & Bagatin, E. Skin barrier and microbiome in acne. Archives of Dermatological Research (2018) doi:10.1007/s00403-017-1795-3.
- Ganju, P. et al. Microbial community profiling shows dysbiosis in the lesional skin of Vitiligo subjects. Sci. Rep. (2016) doi:10.1038/srep18761.
- Chen, Y. E. & Tsao, H. The skin microbiome: Current perspectives and future challenges. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology vol. 69 143–155 (2013).
- Kong, H. H. & Segre, J. A. Skin microbiome: looking back to move forward. J. Invest. Dermatol. 132, 933–9 (2012).
