Question on preservatives

[SoapDiva]

Why do some lotion base makers use several preservatives?

I've been researching the ingredients in the base I use (KY Candles) and noticed that they use three.

Why?

[Meridith]

My guess would be to provide more adequate protection against all kinds of germies and ickies that can grow in your lotion.

[SoapDiva]

I wondered if that was the issue. Like antibiotics eh? One for each icky. LOL!

Thanks!

[RobinInOR]

Here's a link to one of the major manufacturers of preservatives. You can see what the preservative brand name is, and what ingredients make up that preservative. http://ispcorp.com/products/preservatives/content/products/index.html

Look at the INCI name - you can see the individual ingredients. That's what has to be on the label.

[sarahlf]

Some preservatives are not effective enough on their own against a wide range of bacteria/yeast/mould, so several are usually included to act synergistically together.

HTH,

Sarah.

[BLSoaps]

I know when I make a tough to preserve lotion (like a GM lotion), I usually blend Liquid Germall Plus and Optiphen. They reinforce each other, boosting the preserving power, basically.

Also, just to make sure this isn't the confusion. Most preservatives have several ingredients in them, they're blends of different ingredients. Liquid Germall Plus, for example is Propylene Glycol, Diazolidinyl Urea, Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate. It may sound like it's three preservatives, when actually it's one blend. Hope that makes sense!