Guest guest Posted January 23, 2003 Report Share Posted January 23, 2003 Butch, So your opinion of GSE is that it does not serve as a " natural preservative? " I do not use it as a preservative ALONE but have added it along with commercial preservatives. What I have found interesting, however, is that I have read many Burt's Bees products and GSE is listed and no other preservative type ingredient. -Helen <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<, And another bit of trivia .. sometimes on soap or cosmetics lists we see someone talking about their natural preservatives .. then someone with more experience comes along and tells them there is no such thing as a natural preservative. Well .. the experienced person is right .. sorta. Within the framework of the discussion .. which is cosmetics in most cases, they are right. But there are some natural preservatives - they are just not SAFE or compatible for use in cosmetics. Oregano is one of those .. a powerful preservative. Though this is trivia its also a part of the logic needed to really understand EO. Once we understand what they can and can't do we can dispense with laundry lists. But Oregano is not an acceptable natural preservative because it isn't a compatible ingredient in cosmetics, so we can fall back on that statement that for cosmetics .. there are no natural preservatives. ;-p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 23, 2003 Report Share Posted January 23, 2003 > > > Butch, > So your opinion of GSE is that it does not serve as a > " natural preservative? " I do not use it as a preservative > ALONE but have added it along with commercial preservatives. > > What I have found interesting, however, is that I have read > many Burt's Bees products and GSE is listed and no other > preservative type ingredient. > -Helen Did the products that only listed GSE contain water? Were they creams/lotions, or did they contain oils only, such as lip balm or salve? Jeanine Alki Soapworks Who gets frustrated every time she sees a Burt's Bees display since they FLAUNT their disregard for FDA cosmetic labeling requirements! --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.435 / Virus Database: 244 - Release 12/30/2002 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 24, 2003 Report Share Posted January 24, 2003 ..Jeanine, I honestly don't remember but in the back of my mind I think so because that was why I was surprised at no other preservative mentioned. I seem to have the opposite comments made to me about Burt's Bees . . . know a lot of people that LOVE those products. -Helen > > > > What I have found interesting, however, is that I have read > > many Burt's Bees products and GSE is listed and no other > > preservative type ingredient. > > -Helen > > Did the products that only listed GSE contain water? Were they > creams/lotions, or did they contain oils only, such as lip balm or > salve? > > Jeanine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 26, 2003 Report Share Posted January 26, 2003 Hiya Helen, I've seen talk on some of the toiletries lists about Burt's not being truthful in their labeling, but I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere in the industry (even talking to some natural products brokers I know on a personal and professional level). I know that for example the company " Geremy Rose " doesn't use any preservatives, but they also have expiration dates on their products and have their brokers clear old product off the shelves monthly. I have seen Burt's Bee's products go bad too over time, rather than the stuff I have with parabens in them sit around for years and years with no change ... so I really can't say for sure whether they are or aren't in violation of FDA labeling rules .... they've gotten rather large over the years and while I believe the small guy can sometimes get away with not labeling properly, the folks that are nationally known might have a little more of a problem keeping up a charade (especially since the natural cosmetics products industry is FULL of lines that do have synthetic preservatives). I do know that they admit to using synthetic fragrances and labeling some items as being (for example) 98.9% natural, rather than saying 100% natural .... so I don't see how it would hurt them to admit they are using a synthetic preservative if they already aren't necessarily promoting themselves as " All Natural " . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Then you have the company Alt-Canada saying they have a line of all natural preservatives (see below). I dunno how accurate they are or aren't in their findings to tell you the truth ... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://www.essential-oil.org/shop/npreservatives.htm Essential oils are natural substances that are powerful preservatives and that are not extensively used to preserve cosmetic products. They are derived from flowers, leaves, grasses, and woody plants. The first indications of their antiseptic properties were uncovered during the cholera epidemics of the nineteenth century in France when tens of thousands of men, women, and children perished. During this time it was observed that workers in perfume factories were almost completely immune to this disease. Today we know that most essential oils and absolutes used in perfumes are powerful antiseptics that kill most of the harmful bacteria and fungi without harming the human system. The addition of as little as one drop of sweet orange oil to two ounces of cream will kill all bacteria and fungi in the preparation. Essential oils have also been shown to be effective in killing the virus that causes Herpes and assist in healing the affected skin. Effectiveness of Essential Oils in killing Bacteria Essential oilMinimum Amount in %Essential oilMinimum Amount in % Thyme0.070Rosemary0.430 Origanum0.100Cumin0.450 Sweet Orange0.120Neroli0.475 Lemongrass0.160Birch0.480 Chinese Cinnamon0.170Lavender0.500 Rose0.180Melissa Balm0.520 Clove0.200Ylang Ylang0.560 Eucalyptus0.225Juniper0.600 Peppermint0.250Sweet Fennel0.640 Rose geranium0.250Garlic0.650 Meadowsweet0.330Lemon0.700 Chinese anise0.370Cajeput0.720 Orris0.380Sassafras0.750 Cinnamon0.400Heliotrope0.800 Wild Thyme0.400Fir, Pine0.860 Anise0.420Parsley0.880 Mustard0.420Violet0.900 Recent studies performed in France determined the potency of essential oils as antiseptics. Increasing amounts of different essential oils were added to meat stock cultured in raw sewage to determine the quantity needed to kill all microorganisms. Table above lists the amount of essential oil in percent that must be added to raw sewage to kill all microbes. As can be seen from the table, one part of origanum oil renders 1,000 parts of raw sewage free of all living organisms. Sometimes essential oils which are used as preservatives can evaporate from the preparation when left uncovered. Some essential oils, if they are concentrated, also can cause reddening of the skin and dermatitis. Products with a larger content of essential oils, as found in aromatherapeutic preparations (foam baths, soaps, bath oils, and massage oils), do not need the addition of harmful synthetic preservatives because of the antiseptic properties of essential oils. At the Alternative Therapies Laboratory (ATL Canada) are developed five powerful Formulas of Natural Preservatives, which preserve any cosmetic Material (Lotions, Creams, Shampoo's, Conditioners, etc.) upto 3 years. They are composed of Essential and Carrier Oils, which have a high antiseptic qualities and do not cause any irritation and/or inflammation of skin and other tissues. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And then the Review Science has some database findings that can be checked into on the subject too Chinese Medicine on Natural Antimicrobials http://www.reviewscience.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm sure as time goes on we'll learn more and more about the effectiveness (and safety) of various anti-oxidants, preservatives (both natural and synthetic) and about who is labeling truthfully and who isn't .... Wish it were a cut and dry topic already, that'd make life easier for us for sure *Smile* Chris (list mom) http://www.alittleolfactory.com worth249 [worth249] Thursday, January 23, 2003 7:32 AM Re: Natural preservatives .... What I have found interesting, however, is that I have read many Burt's Bees products and GSE is listed and no other preservative type ingredient. -Helen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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