Will preservatives in cosmetics pose safety risks?

Will preservatives in cosmetics pose safety risks?

Preservatives are substances that can inhibit or prevent the growth and propagation of microorganisms and ensure that cosmetics do not deteriorate within the shelf life. Microbial pollution can cause changes in the odor, color and viscosity of cosmetics, leading to degradation of active components of products, changes in the sense of use, and even harm to human health. This can be avoided by adding preservatives. Preservatives commonly used in cosmetics include p-hydroxybenzoate (Nipagin ester), imidazole alkyl urea, ketamine, benzoic acid, bropol, etc.

There is no doubt that preservatives are not beneficial to the skin. At the same time, they are also a common factor causing allergic reactions and other irritating reactions of cosmetics. However, if preservatives are not added to cosmetics, it will bring greater safety risks. Moreover, it is difficult for manufacturers to add preservatives at all and not sell products to consumers at the risk of unstable product quality. For cosmetics that claim not to add preservatives, their integrity can only be such that the manufacturer does not add preservatives in the production process, but it cannot guarantee that the raw materials used do not contain preservatives. At the same time, such products that claim not to add preservatives often contain very little in the package and have a short shelf life. They must be used up in a short time after opening, which has great limitations in use. Therefore, the popularization of cosmetics without preservatives is impractical.

In addition, at present, there is a kind of preservative in the market that releases a small amount of formaldehyde slowly to achieve the anti-corrosion effect. Many consumers talk about the color change of formaldehyde and think that products containing formaldehyde can not be used. In fact, a small amount of formaldehyde will not cause harm to the human body, and our country has strict requirements on the dosage of permitted preservatives. As consumers, we should have a scientific understanding of preservatives in cosmetics. As long as manufacturers follow the laws and regulations issued by the state and control the dosage of preservatives within the safe dosage range, we can ensure the safety of consumers' use, and consumers need not worry too much about it.