Preservative check List

Any product containing water requires preservatives to prevent microbial contamination. These preservatives are designed to kill microorganisms—and they don't distinguish between harmful bacteria in the jar and beneficial bacteria on your skin.

The "Ecocert Paradox" - Natural Washed!

Worth noting: many of these "natural" certified preservatives are:

Synthetically manufactured (benzyl alcohol, dehydroacetic acid)

Only "nature-identical" rather than naturally derived.

Often less effective than conventional options, requiring higher concentrations or multi-hurdle approaches.

Still potentially sensitizing (benzyl alcohol is a known allergen)

The certification is more about origin-story marketing than genuine safety improvement. 

Ecocert/COSMOS Approved Systems

These meet certification standards for "natural" cosmetics.

Sodium Benzoate + Potassium Sorbate – Geogard Ultra (Lonza), Euxyl K 900 (Schülke), Mikrokill ECT (Tri-K), Plantaserv M (Clariant) – pH dependent, must be below 5.5

Benzyl Alcohol + Salicylic Acid + Glycerin + Sorbic Acid – Geogard ECT (Lonza) – popular COSMOS option

Gluconolactone + Sodium Benzoate – Geogard 221 (Lonza), Plantaserv E (Clariant)

Benzyl Alcohol + Dehydroacetic Acid – Geogard LSA (Lonza), Euxyl K 903 (Schülke)

Dehydroacetic Acid + Benzyl Alcohol – Naticide (Sinerga) – also contains vanilla-derived fragrance

Glyceryl Caprylate + Glyceryl Undecylenate – Lexgard Natural (Inolex)

p-Anisic Acid systems – Dermosoft 688 (Evonik), Rokonsal BSB-N (Clariant)

Levulinic Acid + Sodium Levulinate + Glycerin – Dermofeel PA-3 (Evonik)

Caprylyl Glycol + Phenethyl Alcohol – Dermosoft GMCY (Evonik), Sensiva PA40 (Schülke)

Lactobacillus Ferment – Leucidal Liquid (Active Micro Technologies) – fermented radish root filtrate, marketed as probiotic-derived

Glyceryl Caprylate – Dermofeel G5CY (Evonik) – weak alone, usually a booster

Ethylhexylglycerin – Sensiva SC50 (Schülke) – COSMOS approved, but typically a booster not standalone

Industry Standard Synthetics:

Phenoxyethanol – Optiphen (Ashland), Phenonip (Clariant), Mikrokill COS (Tri-K)

Phenoxyethanol + Ethylhexylglycerin – Euxyl PE 9010 (Schülke), Optiphen Plus (Ashland), Preservative Eco (Lonza)

Phenoxyethanol + Caprylyl Glycol – Optiphen (Ashland), Lexgard Natural (Inolex)

Methylisothiazolinone blends – Neolone 950 (Dow), Kathon CG (Dow) – increasingly restricted

Paraben Systems:

Paraben blends – Phenonip (Clariant), Liquapar (Ashland), Nipagin/Nipasol ranges (Clariant)

Formaldehyde Releasers: 

DMDM Hydantoin – Glydant (Lonza)

Imidazolidinyl Urea – Germall 115 (Ashland)

Diazolidinyl Urea – Germall II (Ashland)