laurenscandlebakery Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 (edited) I'm starting to dabble in bath and body and I'm confused as to what items need preservatives added and which do not.I bought the foaming bath butter base from RE and added sweet almond oil to make a cream soap. Does an item like this need a preservative? The base includes salt, phenoxyethanol, and tetrasodium EDTA...which from what I'm reading seems like they all are sort of preservatives?I also have ingredients on the way to make my own body butter. Do body butters need preservatives? The recipe I am planning on using does not involve water. Just butters, oils, and tapioca powder.TIA Edited February 23, 2014 by laurenscandlebakery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Generally speaking, anhydrous (no water) products do not require a preservative. Antioxidants, like ROE and Vitamin E will help keep the oils from oxidising as quickly as without.Now, if you are making a product that may come into regular contact with water, like sugar scrub, a preservative is recommended.The foaming bath butter bases i have looked at do contain water in the process to make them from powdered surfactants. Adding an oil "shouldn't" require additional preservative, but i would check with the manufacturer to be certain. Adding more water, hydrosol, teas, etc. may challenge the preservative more, so definitely check with the manufacturer if you plan to add those.Phenoxyethanol a preservative in your post above. EDTA is a chelator.For more info on your journey with new products, do check SwiftCraftyMonkey.blogspot.com for loads of great info to get you going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted February 23, 2014 Share Posted February 23, 2014 Generally speaking, anhydrous (no water) products do not require a preservative. Antioxidants, like ROE and Vitamin E will help keep the oils from oxidising as quickly as without.Now, if you are making a product that may come into regular contact with water, like sugar scrub, a preservative is recommended.The foaming bath butter bases i have looked at do contain water in the process to make them from powdered surfactants. Adding an oil "shouldn't" require additional preservative, but i would check with the manufacturer to be certain. Adding more water, hydrosol, teas, etc. may challenge the preservative more, so definitely check with the manufacturer if you plan to add those.Phenoxyethanol a preservative in your post above. EDTA is a chelator.For more info on your journey with new products, do check SwiftCraftyMonkey.blogspot.com for loads of great info to get you going. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laurenscandlebakery Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 Thanks TallTayl! Very helpful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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