How Can You Preserve DIY Cosmetics?
Ejogo inquires…I’m working on a product for my hair which is thin and I find that using the egg with other products works but after a few weeks, it goes bad. What chemical can I use to keep it from going spoiled but doesn’t damage my hair? Any help is greatly appreciated.
The Right Brain responds:
As we’ve pointed out in previous posts on preservative free products, you could be in for a world of hurt if you’re using unpreserved cosmetics. This is especially true for products based on eggs (nature’s perfect nutrient) because they provide such a good nutrient base for bacteria to thrive on. If you mix your own product and use it while it’s fresh you’re less likely to have any problems. But if you have any “left overs” you’ll need some plan to protect them from spoilage. Refrigerating the product helps for a few days but for long term storage you’ll need some kind of chemical preservative to ensure protection from contamination. But that’s where it gets tricky – picking the right preservative and understanding how to use it is not always an easy thing.
Pick-a-preservative
If you chose the wrong preservative it may be uneffective against the kinds of microbes likely to contaminiate your product. Or, even if you chose the right one, there maybe some other ingredient in your formula that deactivates it.
Dose makes the poison
Dosage is the second issue. Even with the right preservative in the right system you have to chose the right dosage. For products made in a very clean kitchen that are stored in very clean glass jars, you can probably get by with a lower preservative load. But if you’re using any dirty utensils or mixing vessels that weren’t propertly santizied, you may be introducting bacteria that will overwhelm your a low level of preservative.
Mix master
Processing also has an impact on preservative efficacy. Some preservatives are destroyed by heat so if you’re mixing in your preservative to a batch that’s still hot you may render it ineffective. That’s why these ingredients are typically added to the batch last.
Testing is challenging
And after all that, there’s no sure way to know if you’ve properly preserved your product without testing. Cosmetic scientists do what is called a “challenge test” that involves spiking samples with a known number of microbes. The growth of these microbes are then tracked on agar plates to see how much the preservative system controlled. If the growth rate is too high, the product is not considered properly preserved. Since the average person lacks the ability to run such a test, you’re always incurring some degree of risk when you try to preserve your own cosmetics.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
It’s impossible for us to recommend a preservative for you without knowing exactly what’s in your formula. And even then, we would want to make sure the proper testing was done to make sure the preservative system is safe and effective. This isn’t a very helpful answer to your question, but we’d rather have you be safe than sorry!
Should You Keep Lipstick in the Refrigerator?
Veuve asks…Since I have a lot of lipstick and it seems to be one of the cosmetics that goes bad relatively quickly, I was wondering if keeping it in the refrigerator or freezer would help it last longer. Or would the moisture/cold do something nasty to the oils or pigments?
The Left Brain responds:
Good question, Veuve. Making your cosmetics last longer is a great way to save money.
Low temp lipstick
When it comes to making cosmetics last longer, lower temperature is generally better. That’s because chemical reactions occur faster at higher temperatures. (A rough rule of thumb is that the rate of any given reaction will double with every 10C increase in temperature.) Lipsticks are prone to oxidation reactions that can turn certain oils rancid and keeping your sticks in the ‘fridge can slow down that process. The only potential problem that may occur is that you may see beads of “sweat” on the stick. These are drops of oil coming out of the wax matrix and rising to the surface of the stick. This is a phenomena known as “syneresis.” If too much of this sweating occurs, the lipstick won’t spread properly on your lips.
By the way, the idea of cooling cosmetics to prolong their shelf life is not a new one. In fact, one enterprising inventor has even patented a refrigerated makeup bag so you can chill on the go. It’s an airtight handbag with a pocket on the top panel where you insert frozen gel packs that keep your lipsticks and other makeup protected from heat.
What do YOU think? Do you refrigerate your cosmetics to protect them? Leave a cool comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
See the Beauty Brains Book Video
Hey everyone, I’ve worked hard putting together this new video which talks about the Beauty Brains book. Please have a look and let me know what you think.
Sarah
Do Eye Creams Really Work?
Lucy longingly asks…I just bought Eyecon from Benefit, but I’m not sure if it’s really doing anything. What are eye creams and is their claim of reducing under eye circles and puffiness at all valid? What ingredients should I look for in an eye cream for these things?
The Right Brain strikes an optic nerve:
Do eye creams really do what they say they’ll do? Well, the answer is a little bit yes, a little bit no. All skin creams (should) moisturize. But eye creams have some added responsibilities.
1. Moisturization
They’ve got to moisturize without adding a lot of heaviness or greasiness. After all, it’s likely that you’ll be apply some kind of make up around your eyes and you don’t want an eye cream to interfere with your foundation, for example.
2. Mildness
They need to be extra mild, since the area around the eye is particularly sensitive to irritation. Fragrance free is best.
3. Tightening
Perhaps most relevant to your question, they should tighten the skin around the eyes since they claim to reduce wrinkles. While they can’t work miracles, they can do this to some extent by adding polymers that form a film on the skin as they dry. This film can make the skin look and feel a little bit tighter.
The Eyecon product you cited seems designed to do just that. It contains ingredients like Ethylene/Acrylic Acid Copolymer, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, and Sodium Polyacrylate. These are all film forming agents that can help eyes feel less puffy and look less wrinkled.
Of course the effect varies from person to person; even in best case scenarios it may not be dramatically noticible; and even if it does work it’s only a temporary fix at best. But if you notice enough difference you might want to continue using the product.
Want another opinion? Paula Begoun, the Cosmetic Cop, has a much harsher opinion of eye creams. She says that they are no different from facial moisturizers and that they are “a whim of the cosmetics industry designed to evoke the sale of two products when only one is needed.” Meow!
The Beauty Brains bottom line:
Eye creams are essentially moisturizers that are modified for use on the thin skin around the eyes. While they don’t work miracles like they claim, they do contain ingredients that may offer some temporary benefit. We say: try it and see what you think. But as always, let the buyer beware.
Does Clinique Liquid Soap Cause Breakouts?
Blondie beckons…I was on Allure.com and there were several users who claimed that Clinique Liquid Facial Soap worked wonders on their face. I have used Clinique moisturizer before and it worked well with my skin, but I am skeptical about using their facial soap. I have sensitive skin and Clinique is on the more expensive side; I do not want to waste my money on something that does not work or will break me out. But I would really love to clear up the acne spots on my face.
The Right Brain bounces backs
From our research it looks like the Clinique Liquid Facial soaps are good quality, mild cleansers although they’re a bit expensive. Let’s look at the ingredient list for the three different versions: Extra Mild, Liquid, Mild, and Oily Skin Formula.
Clinique cleansers
The Extra Mild type is said to contain caprylic/capric triglyceride, olive oil, and sucrose stearate to gently cleanse the skin and “potent” humectants such as sodium PCA and sodium hyaluronate to moisturize. While it’s true that these cleansers are very mild, they’re also don’t clean particularly well. You may find they don’t get your face clean enough. The humectants they mention are really marketing hype ingredients because they only work when they’re not rinsed off, which in this case they are.
The Mild version is based on an amino-acid derived surfactant, TEA-Cocoyl Glutamate, which is considerably better at cleansing and still very non-stripping. It is also said to contain sodium hyaluronate, aloe, and sucrose to “help bind moisture to the skin, comfort and soothe, leaving skin refreshed and conditioned.” Again, these only have benefit when not rinsed off.
Finally, the Oily skin version adds cooling menthol and a lightweight conditioner Polyquaternium-7 to its cleansers. Despite it’s positioning this cleanser doesn’t contain any acne medication.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
All these products would probably be good for if you’re bothered by harsh detergents but there’s always the chance that the product’s fragrance could irritate you. And Clinique won’t be good if you have a sensitive bank account. Also, while they shouldn’t make your acne any worse, there’s very little they can do to make it any better either. Finally while it doesn’t look like any of these version will dry out your skin, the ingredients that they claim are moisturizing are pretty much rinsed away, so don’t expect to much in that regard.
What’s your favorite way to wash your face? Leave a cleansing comment for the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
What Makes a Beauty Product Better Than Another Beauty Product?
Steph says…Hi I live in Australia and am currently buying a brand of products called “Sukin” They are organically derived and vegan. Are they any better than other Australian products such as Australis or Face of Australia?
Left Brain loquates
Although this might sound like a simple question, it really isn’t. That’s because the answer is highly dependent on what you mean by the phrase “better than.” And this is true of ANY beauty product for which you might have this question.
What makes one beauty product better than another?
There are a number of things that could make one product better than another including
Product Performance
This is related to how well a product does what it says it will do. From a big picture standpoint, most cosmetic and personal care products perform well. Skin moisturizers moisturize, body washes clean your body, nail polish colors your nails. For most of these big picture claims, there is practically no difference between the cheapest products and the most expensive ones.
You start to see differences when there are more specific claims. For example, when a shampoo claims to be a “2 in 1” shampoo you can compare and find differences between it and another shampoo. When a moisturizing product makes a numerical claim like “lasts for 24 hours” you could specifically test whether that product moisturizes longer than some standard cream.
When it comes to product performance you can objectively answer the question “Which product is better?” The questions we answer on the Beauty Brains are usually about objective performance. Our conclusion is that if one product performs better than another, then we say it is better.
Price
Another important characteristic in determining whether something is better is price. The assumption is that if one product performs the same as another product but is less expensive, then it is better. However, some people don’t care about price and actually think less expensive products are less appealing no matter how they perform. This is why people will buy more $20 bottles of wine than $2 bottles of wine even when they taste identical.
Aesthetics
This is related to how the product looks, feels, smells, etc. Whether one product’s aesthetics are superior to another product’s is strictly up to you. We here at the Beauty Brains can tell you what we like but that doesn’t mean that you will like it too. Sarah LOVES margaritas but I can’t stand the taste of Tequila. Neither opinion is more or less valid than the other.
How it makes you feel
This is an intangible characteristic of beauty products which affects whether you think one product is better than another. Whenever you use a product it can affect your mood. This might be a result of the fragrance, the color, the aesthetics, or simply a good childhood memory. Again, only your opinion counts when using this characteristic to determine if a product is better or not.
Personal preference
There are people who just don’t like certain chemicals just because they don’t. They might be vegan and wish to avoid animal products. They might believe scare stories in the media and avoid ingredients like parabens, petrolatum, sulfates, propylene glycol, etc. They might be allergic to an ingredient that is fine for most people. Personal preference is yours and yours alone. If you prefer one product over the other, then it’s better.
Ethical concerns
Finally, the ethics of a company can also be an important part of the decision about which product is better than another. Many people dislike L’Oreal and P&G because they think they test on animals. They might dislike companies that don’t use fair trade or don’t support organic farmers or whatever other ethical proposition they think is important. To them, the product isn’t as important as the people who make it. This too is a matter of personal opinion. No answer is more right than another.
You see, for all these characteristics except the performance question (and maybe the cost) it’s really just a personal opinion as to which is the better product. Only you can decide which factor is most important to you.
Beauty Brains bottom line
So, is Sukin better than Australis or Face of Australia? We couldn’t find any comparable product ingredient lists but the Sukin moisturizing product uses standard cosmetic ingredients which will provide an average benefit. From a performance standpoint, there is no reason to think Sukin is better (or worse). We didn’t see any costs to compare but I suspect based on Sukin’s prices, Face of Australia is about the same. And on the other things, only you can answer.
What characteristics are important to you when deciding whether one product is better than another? Leave a comment below.