11 Harmful Preservatives in Skincare to AVOID in 2022

We all want healthy, glowing skin and to look our best. But how many of us know what ingredients to avoid in skincare products? Many preservatives in skincare products are harmful and can cause skin irritation, hormonal disruption, thyroid dysfunction, and cancer. 

The EU Regulation has a strict framework, with a positive list of 60 allowed preservatives. Learn more about the use of preservatives and alternatives in this blog. 

We’ll list some of the most harmful preservatives in skincare products and provide tips on finding safe and healthy skincare products. So, let’s get started!

Preservatives are defined by Article 2 (l) of the European Regulation 1223/2009 defines as: “any substances which are exclusively or mainly meant to inhibit the development of microorganisms in the cosmetic product.”

In simple language, Preservatives are used in cosmetics to help preserve the formula and ensure its durability.

They’re essential for a water-based product because it creates an inviting environment that allows microorganisms like bacteria or mould spores, which can spoil your beauty routine!

Whereas, By law, oil-based skincare formulations aren’t required to have preservatives in them but adding natural antioxidants wouldn’t harm the health of the consumer; instead, it will help increase the self-life of the product.

Preservatives in cosmetics are essential to prevent alterations caused by microorganisms and contamination during formulation, shipment, storage, or during consumer use.

Antioxidants such as vitamin E is used as protection against oxygen’s development on your skin’s integrity.

Below, I have discussed a few practical and full-proof ways to make an informed decision about ingredients before buying any skincare product. 

1. One of the best ways to know if your skincare contains harmful preservative is to educate yourself about the harmful preservatives so that when you go shopping, you read and understand the label on your skincare product. If in doubt, ask the store manager.
2. If you don’t feel like engaging in conversation with anyone in the store, you can google it yourself. Google can help find if any particular ingredient or group of ingredients are used as preservatives in your product.
3. One of the helpful sites where you can find almost all of the details of the cosmetic ingredients is run by a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization name Environmental Working Group (EWG), you can access them here: https://www.ewg.org/ Just type in your ingredient in the search bar and it should be able to show you its health rating, safety issues and much more.
4. You can also choose to shop online and simultaneously research your ingredients.
5. Or, you can first do your research online and later buy local that way, you save on delivery charges and cut down on carbon footprints with unnecessary packaging!

For your reference, I have listed some of the most harmful preservatives found in skincare below.

Some preservatives, such as parabens, have been shown to act as hormone disruptors and, in some cases, cause cancer. Especially, Propylparaben and Butylparaben have been reported to be causing worse effects. 

For their harmful effects on humans, parabens have been banned from use by many countries throughout Europe. Especially for products intended for newborn babies and children under 18 years old due to their capability to mimic estrogen activity which could lead to adverse outcomes such as breast cancers or testicular cell transformations.

Look out for these parabens names:

• Methylparaben
• Ethylparaben
• Propylparaben
• Butylparaben
• Isobutylparaben

Aldehydes are another group of preservatives. These are reactive compounds. Hence, they are generally toxic to the body.

For those with sensitive skin, Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-releasers can be an important source of exposure to allergic Contact Dermatitis. They release the harmful compound that has been seen to cause hypersensitivity reactions in some people. For many years now, this chemical preservative has also been considered carcinogenic for humans. Though low levels of these preservatives are added to cosmetics, they’re still present in many products you use frequently and daily.

Most commonly found Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde-releasers preservatives (FRP) in skincare products are:

• Formaldehyde
• Benzylhemiformal
• Diazolidinyl urea
• Imidazolidinyl urea
• 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol
• DMDM hydantoin
• MDM hydantoin
• Quaternium-15
• Sodium hydroxymethyl glycinate
• 5-bromo-5-nitro-1
• 3 dioxane
• Glyoxal

Other preservatives, such as Methylisothiazolinone or MI for short and Methylchloroisothiazolinone (MCI), have increased recently in cosmetics. Still, there is a limit on how much can be used for single and double ingredients (MI/MCI mixture).

Some studies have shown that It is possible to have contact allergies even if you stay within the recommended amount of MI/MCI. [1], [2].

The chlorphenesin content in the product must not exceed 0.3% by weight [3]. When exposed to high concentrations of this chemical, people may experience skin irritations and contact dermatitis [4]. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has advised against using chlorphenesin products due to possible collateral side effects on children and women while breastfeeding, particularly respiratory problems.

In addition, research suggests it can also cause central nervous system issues for children and breastfeeding mothers [5].

It is a synthetic antioxidant and is often used as a preservative. Based on strong evidence the European Commission has confirmed a strong link between BHA and human endocrine disruption.

Environment Canada Domestic Substance List has classified BHA as a human health risk ingredient. A study that was conducted on normal mammalian kidney cells revealed that exposure to BHA caused specific damage to cells at the micro level. It was also found to cause significant cytotoxic effects (a process that damage cells) even at very low doses.

Research conducted on rats showed that exposure to large doses of BHA caused weak dysfunction and the development of the reproductive system both in female and male rats. Increases in testosterone levels, as well as the organs that weigh sex and sexual maturation, also were observed [6]

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) Report on Carcinogens, 12th Edition, states that BHA is likely to be a human carcinogen due to sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in animal studies.

California’s Environmental Protection Agency’s Proposition 65 list also identifies BHA as a human carcinogen, and mandates warning labels for products applied to the lips and while the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) found that there was only a small amount of evidence of carcinogenicity in products applied to the lips [7].

One study showed that exposure to BHA led to benign and malignant tumours within the stomachs of mice, rats and hamsters [8]. But another study found that the typical diet amounts of BHA didn’t cause an increase in the incidence of stomach cancer [9].

They are preservatives in cosmetics. They are used in manufacturing wet wipes (baby wipes), toilet paper, antibacterial products (body wash, shampoo, hand wash, antibacterial wash), paints, primers, industrial coolants, cooling lubricants, and other personal care products.

It is considered highly toxic by inhalation, and you should avoid products that can be aerosolized or inhaled.  

Glycol ethers are very dangerous for humans. They can cause narcosis, pulmonary edema, and severe liver or kidney damage in just a few hours of exposure!

List of Glycol ethers:

• Phenoxyethanol
• 2-butoxyethanol
• 2-(2-butoxyethoxy)-ethanol
• 2-(2-ethoxy)-ethanol

Triclosan is linked to causing liver and inhalation toxicity in humans. Even the minimum dose of triclosan can cause hormonal disruption by disrupting thyroid function. It is also considered toxic to the environment, especially to aquatic life.

They are still used in personal care products, often under their alternative names:

• Irgasan DP-300
• Lexol 300
• Ster-Zac
• Cloxifenolum

And in plastic and clothing, triclosan is used in its alternative name Microban. So look out for these names and avoid them.

Chloroxylenol has been widely used as an antiseptic and disinfectant product to protect against germs, bacteria, fungi, and moulds.

It is generally slightly to moderately toxic to humans and highly toxic to the eyes, causing severe eye irritation and pain.

In Dettol products, the main active ingredient is Phenol Chloroxylenol. So, if you think you should use it to clean your baby or pets such as dogs, think again because it can cause real pain for the baby, whereas it’s toxic to dogs.

They don’t do any harm to birds though!

Also, referred to by its alternative name Dibromodicyanobutane, it is a preservative used in cosmetics.

Contact with MDBGN products can cause allergic dermatitis, leading to itching, burning, scaling, hives (urticaria), and blistering of the skin.

BHT is a toluene-based ingredient made in labs that are created to use as a preservative in foods, and medicine and is also used by many people to apply directly on the skin for cold sores.

There isn’t enough information on the safety of BHT when used on the skin. Although, Environment Canada Domestic Substance has listed BHT as an expected toxin or harmful to human health.

Another safety assessment of BHT done on the skin of rats concluded BHT to be associated with toxic effects in lung tissue and also confirmed that the low doses in cosmetic products are safe.

Looking at these mixed reviews about BHT use, I would suggest keeping its use at a minimum. Also, would recommend pregnant women and breastfeeding women avoid it completely. 

For your reference, I have listed some natural preservatives and antioxidants often found as safer alternatives to lab-made preservatives. 

Natural preservatives:

• Benzoic Acid
• Sorbic Acid
• Alcohol
• Salicylic Acid

Natural antioxidant:

• Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
• Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)
• Polyphenols
• Flavonoids

Choosing airless packaging or tube instead of a jar may help to reduce the risk of microorganism development. The contamination of the product is higher when the consumer can touch the formula directly.

Even when ingredient lists are clearly disclosed, oftentimes they are just jargon that is difficult to understand. What do you do if you have to buy a new beauty product? We recommend trying the tips mentioned in the blog post above and better bookmark this article to keep an eye on these 11 dangerous preservatives in beauty and cosmetic products.

Did this article leave you with any questions or concerns? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below! If you are interested in reading more topics related to your health and wellbeing, then read these:

8 horrific BPA toxic effects on humans and the environment

Top 11 reasons to buy natural handmade soaps

22 genius ways to clean with baking soda the ENTIRE house!

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