MICHELLE NIEDZIELA 
HCD Research, Flemington, USA

Abstract

Preservatives can sound like a bad or scary word to consumers ears. They often associate them with even scarier health consequences (like cancer). However, most of the consumer fear of preservatives are driven by misconceptions. In this article we will discuss the consumer perspective on preservatives as well as how cosmetic companies can produce products consumers can trust and fell comfortable with while still protecting them with safe preservatives.

Preservatives: The ingredients people love to hate, yet would hate to not have. Interestingly, preservatives are the ingredient type that has been most misunderstood, most contentious (disdained, even). Consumer fear of preservatives is a real challenge to cosmetic manufacturers. And it seems to be the result of a couple of overlapping things, chiefly the emergence of data on the type of preservatives called “parabens,” plus an increased focus on healthy eating (including preservative-free foods) moving into all personal care products.

What happened that led to this fear of preservative ingredients? Years ago, scientists found that some types of parabens act like weak estrogen in the body, and in turn may affect breast cells and potentially increase the risk of breast cancer. Parabens are estrogenic at very low levels, and may be especially problematic in real life scenarios where there are other cell growth agents in the body. And- parabens have been found in breast cancer tumors, which isn’t to say that they caused the cancer-- but all of these studies rightfully raised red flag around these types of preservatives.

In the past 15 or so year ...