Moldy B&B Harmful?

[Kelly]

That's exactly what I am afraid of. I wish I could find a base that would come close to the Burt's Bees Hand Creme consistancy because that is what I'm looking for and I have no problem sticking with the bases. I am not one of those who needs to provide an all natural product, I just want to provide a quality product that is safe and people will love. I can do that with a base.

Apparently, now I need to worry about cleaning or not cleaning my jars/containers!!!

[Rebecca_IA]

Gerrie, did you heat and hold your phases? Did you have testing done on your lotion to insure your recipe/process/preservative did work?

If you don't test the final product, you really have no idea if the preservative used, or if your process used or if your ingredients used will stand up to mold/yeast/etc. I'm not talking about having others use it to make sure it's something that works for them and they like it. I'm talking about sending the lotion to a lab and having them test it.

IMO, this step needs done before anything is sold.

[Crafty1_AJ]

None of the other jars developed this mold, so I couldn't pin point exactly what had gone wrong, if it had been the entire batch it would have made more sense to me.

One possible explanation. Certain preservatives are heat sensitive. That is, they work fine under a certain temperature, but if the product is exposed to higher temps (a bottle of lotion left in a hot car on a summer day, for example) then the preservative loses efficacy. This could happen to one bottle in a batch and not the others.

This is one of the reasons I use preservatives that can withstand higher temps. I know darn well some folks pop a bottle of lotion in their car or purse, then leave it there in the Arizona summer heat, for example. LOL

I agree that we can't just take our recommendations on which preservatives to use from someone's casual comment on a board. When I was researching which preservatives to use in my lotions and scrubs, I *did* read a lot on the boards. I took into consideration the fact that folks with a lot of experience said when they used x preservative, they got mold. When they switched to y preservative, they consistently produced nasty-free lotions, and their lotions had been tested in a lab. However, I added to that anecdotal information a lot of reading about the preservatives from the manufacturers themselves. That is how I arrived at the conclusion of which preservatives I was most confident about using, and made my choices that way.

Once again, though, you do have to take into consideration your own personal set of variables. Using polysorbates, for example, has been mentioned. And I mentioned the fact that I have a lot of lotion users who live in a very hot climate, so that is a factor for me personally.

Lots to consider. I wouldn't let the preservative issue paralyze me with fear and keep me from making a product, but I would certainly recommend doing a lot of research and homework before making a decision.

[gerrie]

Yes, I did heat and hold my phases. But no, I didn't have it tested. It was a recipe that is from the dish and probably hundreds of people have used. I did tweak it a few times, but went back to the original recipe cause testers seemed to like it the best. I'd have to go back and search, but it seems like this popular recipe has been used for a few years. That's why I can't help but think there could have been something in one of the jars that cause the contamination, but I really don't know.

I know most people would have worked on why this had happened, but it was just to gross for me, made my skin crawl when I saw those fuzzies