Although light-emitting diodes (LED) with either red or blue bulbs show promise, those with acne need to know that they are absolutely not the first or even the best option. Light-emitting treatments for acne should be considered a second line of defense and as with any treatment for skin, there are pros and cons. 

The research shows that LED (from either blue or red lights) is best utilized as part of a comprehensive system with other proven anti-acne products. By “proven,” we mean products that include benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid, the cornerstones of Paula’s Choice CLEAR 3-Step System and other anti-acne products we recommend on Beautypedia. Those two gold standard anti-acne ingredients work for a large percentage of people fighting mild to moderate acne, either as teens or adults. 

If you want to consider LED treatments, here’s what the article in Cosmetic Dermatology summarized for the two most popular types of light therapy for acne-prone skin:

Blue Light Therapy

How it Works: Specific wavelengths of blue light target the strain of bacteria that play a pivotal role in causing acne. The light causes the development of oxygen radicals that kill P. acnes bacteria without damaging healthy skin.

Pros: Proven to kill acne-causing bacteria; best for mild to moderate inflammatory acne; reduced potential for side effects (such as dryness or peeling) that can occur with benzoyl peroxide products; a worthwhile option for those whose skin cannot tolerate topical disinfectants; pain-free, no downtime.

Cons: Requires multiple treatments, as many as 4 per week; expensive (averaging $40 per treatment), with results comparable to what you can achieve at home using a product medicated with 5% benzoyl peroxide (such as Paula’s Choice CLEAR Extra Strength Acne Fighting Treatment); LED treatments are not effective for cystic acne, blackheads, or whiteheads (milia); long-term results are unknown.

Device Names: ClearLight Acne Photoclearing System; Blu-U; Omnilux Blue (available outside the United States).

Red Light Therapy

How it Works: Specific wavelengths of red light target the skin’s oil glands and reduce cytokines, a class of pro-inflammatory substances believed to play a role in chronic acne. May also help improve skin’s barrier function by improving its ability to retain key elements it needs to heal; is believed to stimulate healthy collagen production. 

Pros: Also helps reduce signs of aging (though the results are subtle), so can be a better choice for those struggling with acne and wrinkles; minimal risk of side effects, especially when used without light-activating chemicals; no downtime.

Cons: Requires multiple treatments; not as well researched as Blue Light Therapy; does not affect acne-causing bacteria; long-term results are unknown; costs can vary from $50–$200 or more per treatment, depending on the device and treatment protocol your dermatologist prefers.

Device Names: Acnelamp (emits red and blue light, a combination that may prove even more helpful for acne than either light used alone); Omnilux Revive.

What about at-home light-emitting devices for clearing acne? For the most part, due to concerns over lawsuits, manufacturers of these devices are forced to limit their intensity. You’ll see red and/or blue lights emitting from the device, but the intensity is much less than the machines your dermatologist uses. In a sense, that’s good news because it is possible to overdo these treatments and consumers could end up damaging their skin, which is never the goal. Moreover, both of these light-emitting devices require protective eyewear. The wavelengths they emit can damage unprotected eyes, and if you don’t remember to protect your eyes at home with the higher intensity output you would be risking your sight.

Bottom line: LED treatments are an option after other topical medications haven’t worked. Just keep in mind that benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid, and tretinoin (a prescription-only topical medication), along with other medical options are the first things you should consider. My strong personal feeling is that given the expense, and that most health insurance plans do not cover LED treatments for acne, they are last in line for dealing with acne.

Now we can really be with you at the cosmetics counters or salon, spa, drugstore, in-home demonstration, when you are reading a fashion magazine, and when you are watching an infomercial! Regardless of your budget, wasting money is not pretty!

And you do need me and my Cosmetics Cop Team! The cosmetics industry is so universally crazy that women from countries all around the world including Korea, Russia, France, Australia, Thailand, Italy, Singapore, Mexico, Israel, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China use our reviews to save their skin and save their money. 

All around the world, regardless of the beauty culture, women always ask me the exact same questions: what products really work for acne, wrinkles, sensitive skin, rosacea, dry skin, oily skin, blackheads, brown discolorations, scars, dark circles, cellulite, and on and on. My team and I have the answers, and it’s all there for you to access on your smart phone!

Everyone has wasted hundreds of dollars on products with claims that lied about what they can do. Our extensive research, relying on published information and our scrupulous analysis protocols is the only way you can shop safely knowing you are getting the absolute best products available for your skin and hair type.   

My team and I have written 18 books on skin care, makeup, and hair care, and each one has gotten bigger and bigger as more and more brands have hit the market. The most recent edition of Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me is over 1,000 pages. I know, I know, there is no way you could take that with you, but without the one-of-a-kind information we provide in hand when you were shopping, how could you know what you were really buying and how it compared to thousands of other products making the same claims? You couldn’t, and that is not a good situation for your skin, hair, or budget.

That dilemma is over now as long as you have an iPhone or an Android-equipped phone. My tech team has designed an easy-to-use site that allows anyone to quickly access the Cosmetics Cop Team’s reviews, even when you’re standing in the drugstore or department store wondering which mascara or anti-wrinkle cream is the best.

Are you looking at a new product being promoted at the cosmetic counters? Sign in to Beautypedia Mobile and see what the Cosmetics Cop Team has to say about it before you spend your money and risk disappointment! This is truly smart, portable cosmetics shopping at its best!

If you’re already a Beautypedia subscriber and have created a My Faves list, all of those products will be accessible once you sign in from your smart phone. You can also add and edit the My Faves list anytime, anywhere, right from your smart phone! How cool is that? You can even email the Cosmetics Cop Team from your phone, alerting us about any product on Beautypedia Mobile.

My Cosmetics Cop Team and I know you will find Beautypedia Mobile to be one of the best parts of owning a smart phone. We designed it with you in mind, and its creation was a direct result of subscriber feedback asking for this service.

As always, we welcome your feedback and thank you for relying on us to keep you beautifully informed as you navigate the tricky, often deceptive world of cosmetics!

Then, when I was recently in New York shopping at Saks I saw a sea of these excessive skyscraper shoes ranging in price from $300 to $2,000. Not only do you have to destroy your feet to be fashionable you have to pay through the nose for the privilege!

I have always had strong feelings about women who choose to wear towering, stilt-like shoes. Aside from the fact that these styles of shoes cause women to tear ligaments in their calves and knees, hurt their backs, and cause deformed feet, there is just the ridiculous impracticality of it all.

I watch women barely being able to walk in these monolithic, 8-inch soaring things that loosely resemble shoes. Stumbling and teetering as they walk after just a few steps I feel like offering them a chair and saying, “Sit down already, you look great, you are beautifully fashionable without the artifice, now take them off and get real!” 

Of course, you would never catch a man doing anything so awkward and just plain uncomfortable as wearing shoes that made walking an acrobatic act of desperation just for the sake of fashion. And we wonder why women sometimes don’t get a leg up in their career compared to men! 

I know: There are women who insist they love wearing these shoes, and if anything, their feet hurt when they don’t wear them. The reason the shoes may not hurt anymore (we know they hurt like hell in the beginning) is because just like the act of Chinese foot binding, the body and feet adapt to this mangled, distorted way of walking. 

By the way, foot binding was the fashion trend in China for hundreds of years. It was an important ritual for Chinese women to bind the feet of baby girls in such a way as to break their bones and reshape the foot. Feet remained bound in this manner for life so they would eternally look small and curved. 

Interestingly, Chinese women also wore a version of current platform shoes worn today. Can anyone hear the echoes of pain all of those Chinese women endured? It is a past that should have been left in the past and not transported to modern times on the streets of New York and other cities and towns around the world.

Okay, I’m done ranting. I’m going to put my flats on and go to work knowing I can walk down the stairs and not fall, or at least be ready to run from the fallout this blog may cause! So what do you think, ladies? Are the type of shoes Lady Gaga and many other women wear worth the effort, expense, and possible bodily harm? Does fashion have to be painful?

I knew I’d regret it, but the choice between getting up to cleanse at the sink or staying in bed (and sometimes the couch) is too overwhelming. At the end of a long day, my body longs to lie down rather than stand at the sink ritually going through my skin-care routine, and flossing and brushing my teeth, and using Latisse and using Minoxidil, and putting body lotion on, and putting a foot exfoliant cream on. Damn I have a long routine!

So I tell myself, “I’ll just lie down for a few minutes and finish the end of CSI or Glee.” Yeah, right. Who do I think I’m fooling? I know the odds are 10 to 1 that I will ever get up to do what my boyfriend affectionately calls “exit procedures.” But I stay lying down, nonetheless, knowing there will be hell to pay in the morning.

Foundation, blush, mascara, eyeliner, and lipstick look like hell the next morning when you’ve slept in it all night. The smeary, flaky mess you see looking back at you in the mirror is a disaster. Speckles of black mascara in and around your eyes, the streak of lipstick across your chin, and dark rings of shadow are a sight to behold. It looks like something out of a bad movie about the drug underworld.

But how bad it looks is only half of the disaster. Swollen, red, irritated eyes with veins bulging are coupled with crusted tears at the corners to create an itchy, sore, and uncomfortable mess. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, your skin is about to punish you for your negligence.

One of the problems with sleeping in foundation, pressed or loose powder (whether they’re labeled mineral or not), and blush (cream or powder) is that they all keep skin cells from sloughing off your face as they should. The combination of makeup and built-up dead skin cells ground into skin immediately clogs pores. For those prone to breakouts, it will trigger a new crop of pimples or blackheads that will appear first thing in the morning or will creep up on you by the end of the day. For those with dry or sun-damaged skin, it will just make your skin look dull and ashy. Yuck.

Though you shouldn’t have done it (and, as evidenced above, I’m just as guilty as many of you), here’s what you can do to minimize the repercussions of falling asleep in your makeup:

• Wash your face twice, and use a soft washcloth to be sure to manually (but gently) exfoliate your skin.
• You must absolutely use an eye makeup remover that has no chance of further irritating your eyes, and get every last trace and fleck of makeup off and out of your eyes. Paula’s Choice Gentle Touch Makeup Remover fits that description.
• Use lubricating eye drops (not Visine-like products) to soothe your eyes (this really helps!). The Refresh brand is excellent!
• Go over your face with a well formulated toner to add antioxidants to your skin and remove last traces of makeup from your face, particularly around the hairline.
• If breakouts or blackheads are a concern, it is essential that you apply one of Paula’s Choice BHA exfoliants (I prefer my Exfoliating 2% BHA Liquid, but you can always check Beautypedia.com for our list of best BHA products from other lines).
• If you can grab a minute, lie down with your head elevated and place an ice pack over your eyes (it will feel great and reduce puffiness and swelling).
• Apply a lightweight moisturizer such as a serum or a gel on your face and, if needed, a more emollient moisturizer around your eyes.
• If you can wear a lighter makeup than you did the day before you fell asleep with your makeup on, that would help a lot.

It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway: Do not fall asleep in your makeup again tonight. Taking brilliant care of your skin at night will always reap far better rewards than those five extra minutes you get by lying down before you get your makeup off. I know, better said than done, but my job is to say it. Now if I could only practice what I preach!

So how in the world do you treat both? It’s actually easier than you think. The issue is that we think dealing with wrinkles is about heavy moisturizers or layers of creams and lotions, but it isn’t in the least. Those types of products don’t fight wrinkles! What fights wrinkles are specific ingredients such as antioxidants (like green tea or vitamin C), cell-communicating ingredients (like niacinamide or vitamin A), and skin-identical substances (like ceramides or lecithin). The texture of the product (cream or gel) is irrelevant.

Think about it like your diet. Salmon is good for you, but whether you eat it chilled, raw, broiled, stir fried, or poached, you are getting the benefit of the food. “Anti-wrinkle” ingredients can be found in a wide range of consistencies.

For someone struggling with blemishes, the ingredients that give lotions and creams their feel and appearance can clog pores so those types of products should be avoided. Gels, liquids, light serums, or watery lotions are unlikely to cause problems for blemish-prone skin. Every ingredient skin needs to fight wrinkles can be found in those types of products if they are well formulated.

To fight mild to moderate acne, the absolute best option is to start with a product containing 1% to 2% salicylic acid. This not only exfoliates the surface—which is one of the absolute best ways to fight wrinkles—it also has the ability to reduce, and in many instances practically eliminate, breakouts.

If you still need help resolving breakouts you should add a benzoyl peroxide-based product with a 2.5% or 5% concentration once a day, preferably at night. Research has clearly shown that benzoyl peroxide can be as effective, if not better than, prescription options to deal with mild to moderate acne.

Of course you still need a sunscreen because up to 70% of the wrinkles and aging you see on your face is a result of sun damage. Although if you are experiencing breakouts, a moisturizer with SPF in a lotion or cream form is likely to make matters worse by clogging pores. What I strongly suggest is wearing a foundation with SPF 15 or greater and a pressed powder with SPF 15 or greater.

You would also want to use a more emollient moisturizer just around the eyes. The eye area rarely, if ever, has a problem with breakouts and because the skin is drier there it helps to use that kind of moisturizer only around that area. But of course, it absolutely does not have to be labeled as an eye cream; any well-formulated lotion or cream will do.

It takes experimenting with effective products to find out what works for you. Here is what I recommend from Paula’s Choice:

Skin Balancing Cleanser (twice a day)
Skin Balancing Toner (once a day, under makeup as your moisturizer)
Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Concentrate (at night, over dry areas)
2% BHA Liquid (at night, but can be used twice a day)
CLEAR Regular Strength Acne Fighting Treatment (at night)
Moisture Boost Hydrating Treatment Cream (around the eyes twice a day)
Healthy Finish Pressed Powder SPF 15
Barely There Sheer Matte Tint SPF 20

We were delighted to answer many of your questions about rosacea, but we know there were lots of questions that time did not allow us to answer. Here is a link to our complete guide to understanding rosacea which covers everything you need to know to gain control of this frustrating skin disorder.

For example, if you decide to look up decyl glucoside you’ll find out it is a gentle cleansing agent. But how much of that ingredient do you need and what other ingredients does it work best with? Or what about the dozens of other gentle cleansing agents that can be used instead? The same is true for antioxidants and countless other beneficial ingredients.

Making it even more complicated is the more than 20,000 cosmetic ingredients that a cosmetic chemist can select from to use in any formula in an endless variety of amounts. Now that’s really confusing!

Here’s what you need to know to make the most sense of it all:

1. The benefit or risk of any ingredient is in the dose, the form, and the delivery system. For example, salt is composed of sodium and chloride. Pure sodium and chloride by themselves are corrosive (think what happens when salt is sprayed on ice-covered roads), but together they become a tasty seasoning for food. But consuming too much salt can be a serious problem for high blood pressure. It works this way for each and every cosmetic ingredient as well.

2. While concentrations and formulation are everything, there is very little consensus in the cosmetic industry on how much of an ingredient is best or in what combination with other ingredients it should be used with. What studies do exist have limitations as the possible combinations are, quite literally, endless.

3. For most ingredients, knowing the percentage doesn’t give you much information at all because ingredients often work in combination with other ingredients, or as a part of other products’ formulations it is meant to work with. How much of each, and with what other products it’s to be used with, is the art of the formulator. I could never explain that for the large range of ingredients and products I’ve chosen to use for Paula’s Choice various skin-care systems, which is why, with a few exceptions, I have chosen not to reveal specific percentages for ingredients.

Delving a bit further into individual ingredient percentages, we always disclose the percentage of active ingredients required by the FDA for sunscreens, skin lightening, and acne products. We also share concentrations of the salicylic acid and glycolic acid we use because those ingredients do have specific research about how much is needed for optimal efficacy. But for the other ingredients I use in my products the specific percentage is what makes each formula unique to Paula’s Choice. Most important for you to know is that I have formulated my products based on my 30 years of experience in the cosmetics world using a cocktail approach to skin care.

Why “cocktail”? Research makes it abundantly clear that skin requires a cocktail (mixture) of ingredients to keep it healthy. Just like your diet requires many different foods to keep you healthy, skin is just as complex. No one skin-care ingredient can provide what skin needs.
Mixing different, state-of-the-art, and effective ingredients results in a more powerful blend that can make your skin look beautiful and radiant. Now that’s great skin care—even though the ingredient lists may stir more questions than answers!

Many of you have asked The Cosmetics Cop Team about our take on The Story of Cosmetics video sponsored by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. It is clear the information in the video is inaccurate, unsupported, and is merely a vehicle to scare consumers—for some unknown reason—about the cosmetics they use. However, we strongly recommend watching this video from YouTube’s HowTheWorldWorks channel. It is well thought-out with independent research, so you can see for yourself what the real facts are instead of being misled by stick drawings and undocumented assertions as made by The Story of Cosmetics.

Because The Story of Cosmetics video is so shockingly biased, what you don’t know is that the assertions of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics are routinely discredited by the independent scientific community. No one is dying or getting sick from using cosmetics and the environment is not falling apart. Rather, we now have safer and more effective skin care, better makeup, impressive shampoos and styling products, and more remarkable hair dyes than ever before. There is not a shred of evidence proving otherwise.

Bottom line: The information in the video sponsored by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is either misleading or 100% false. Much of what’s stated is not based on solid science, and only loosely (and we mean really loosely) based on facts. The truth is that there are some cosmetic ingredients to be concerned about; however, those ingredients are prohibited by regulatory groups worldwide, or the studies concerning their risks don’t relate to how they are used in cosmetic products.

The real story behind The Story of Cosmetics video is to tell you about The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010. This Act seeks to put much tighter restrictions on what can and cannot be used in cosmetics. The problem? They are using information that in comparison would make sugar and salt in food illegal. The explanation they use that Europe has taken a lead in this arena is also ludicrous. My products are sold easily in Europe, but the proposal here in the U.S. would put my products in question and, regardless of brand, would leave consumers without many of the tried-and-true products essential for keeping skin issues like acne in check, not to mention helping your skin look younger, longer.

I know all of you would like The Cosmetics Cop Team to say we found some miracle product with some miracle ingredients from some remote part of the world that can provide the results you can get from cosmetic corrective procedures and surgery, but they DON’T exist. Hundreds of companies tell you otherwise, but they are absolutely lying.

We started out the show having a lot of fun reviewing some of the ridiculous products from Bremenn Labs that are the epitome of what kind of insanity lurks behind almost every infomercial, department store, drugstore, salon, spa, or home shopping cosmetic brand. Bremenn Labs actually sells products called Tummy Tuck in a Box, Boob Job in a Box, Butt Lift in a Box, and Upper Eyelid Lifter. I didn’t know whether to laugh, throw up, or cry. Admittedly, it’s hard to laugh when you know women are wasting their money on this kind of stuff every day.

After explaining why Boob Job in a Box was not even close to the real thing, we talked to Dr. Brandith Irwin. She went over details of what can really be done with cosmetic corrective procedures such as Botox, Thermage, Fraxel, dermal fillers (such as Sculptra, Radiesse, Restylane, or Artefill), and laser and light therapies. I know, I know, they’re pricey, but with all the money you’ll save by not buying useless “Works like [insert cosmetic corrective procedure here] …” skin-care products or pills or drinks claiming to get rid of your wrinkles, sagging skin, and furrowed brow, you’ll be able to afford the things that really work.

Dr. Irwin also touched on expectations and the results you can achieve with different procedures. Botox and dermal injections produce the fastest and most impressive results. Facial peels are also impressive, but that is completely dependent on the strength of the peel and the know-how of the person applying it. Machines such as laser, IPL, or Thermage are less impressive in the short term but are extremely effective when a series of treatments are done.

It is also important to keep in mind that if you have advanced sun damage and sagging that a non-invasive procedure won’t make you look like you just had a face-lift. That’s why it’s important to consider these treatments before you start looking older. Ongoing, preventive maintenance goes a long way to delaying the decision to actually have a cut-and-paste surgical procedure.

I often hear women say to their female friends, “You don’t need anything like a face-lift or lasers—you look fine!” First of all, none of us just want to look “fine.” Second, are women supposed to wait until their friends say, “Wow, your skin is looking like a bad piece of leather and hanging down like a worn pair of drapes!”? The idea is to treat your skin to prevent sagging and wrinkles, not wait until you’re looking in the mirror and wondering who that old lady is staring back at you.

As with every radio show, we took questions from several women and gave away an assortment of Paula’s Choice products. The combination of brilliant skin care along with carefully selected cosmetic dermatologic treatments is the smartest way you can truly look younger, longer. And isn’t that what most of us want? I know it’s what I want and why I see Dr. Irwin three or four times a year for my touch-ups (which include Botox, Fraxel, and fillers). I know some day I will bite the bullet and have full-on cosmetic surgery, but for now, if I do say so myself, I think I look pretty damn good!

Whether it is a cleanser, lotion, toner, blush, foundation, or mascara, without preservatives these everyday items would become overloaded with microbes you don’t want on your skin or near your eyes. But what makes a good preservative or a bad one? In the cosmetic industry with insanity prevailing these days, it’s getting harder to tell as most websites want to scare you to death about the ingredients in beauty products.

In reality, the amount of an ingredient is everything. What is dangerous at a 100% concentration or when it is fed to rats or injected under their skin doesn’t often, if ever, apply to a 0.1% concentration in a skin-care or makeup product. It is also important to understand that one person’s allergic reaction doesn’t speak to the millions of other people using it safely (just because you are allergic to cats doesn’t mean everyone is).

Let’s look at the ingredient/dose issue. Take salt for example. Salt is NaCl, sodium (Na) chloride (Cl). Sodium and chloride by themselves are corrosive, but together they become a tasty seasoning for chicken. But consuming too much salt can be a serious problem for high blood pressure, but not necessarily for those who don’t have high blood pressure. It works this way for each and every cosmetic ingredient as well.

One other point: Because preservatives, natural or otherwise, exert their action by killing microbes they can also have an irritancy reaction on skin. However, because preservatives are often used in such small amounts they generally pose minimal to no risk for most people in that regard.

Trying to hone down this complicated issue isn’t easy, but here is a brief summary for some of the more typical preservatives you may find on an ingredient label:

Parabens. While natural cosmetic companies love vilifying parabens, it turns out parabens in the form of butylparaben, propylparaben, methylparaben, and ethylparaben are some of the more effective and gentle preservatives used in cosmetics. They were originally derived from plants and are mostly manufactured synthetically.
Concern over parabens made headlines because of research showing that they are endocrine disrupters. This research involved both oral administration and injection into rat skin which did show evidence of a weak estrogen effect on cells in a way that could be problematic for binding to receptor sites associated with proliferation of MCF-7 breast cancer cells. That is scary sounding stuff.
Current research investigating how parabens act when administered orally, topically, and subcutaneously to rats has shown that parabens are metabolized rapidly in living organisms and therefore cannot exhibit any adverse effects. Parabens are fully metabolized before they enter the blood stream. (For more information on parabens, visit www.cosmeticscop.com and use our Ingredient Dictionary.)

Formaldehyde. Is a very effective anti-microbial agent and can be used in a very low concentration in cosmetics. However, even in small amounts it can be irritating and when combined with amines (such as triethanolamine), can create nitrosamines. Formaldehyde in its pure form is a suspected human carcinogen.

2-bromo-2-nitropane 1-3 diol. Is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative but is not associated with the same problems as pure formaldehyde.

DMDM Hydantoin. Is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative but is not associated with the same problems as pure formaldehyde.

Imidazolidinyl Urea. Is a formaldehyde-releasing preservative but is not associated with the same problems as pure formaldehyde.

Phenxoyethanol. Is a preservative that breaks down into phenol, which is one of the reasons it is such a good antimicrobial agent. When ingested it can be problematic and exposure to the environment such as its effect on fish shows some concern, but when applied topically research shows it does not affect skin in any negative way for wound healing or other toxic reactions.

Benzalkonium Chloride. Is a relatively safe and effective anti-microbial agent.

Sodium Benzoate. Is considered to be a mild preservative with no known problems when applied topically. It is also used as a food-grade preservative.

Benzoic Acid. Is an effective preservative found in nature that contains a form of parabens. For cosmetics it is almost always synthetically derived.

Methylisothiazolinone and Methylchloroisothiazolinone. Are known to be sensitizing and are not recommended in leave-on products. They are not known to have any other problems associated with their use in cosmetics. A toxicology and medical literature search shows no other issues with these two ingredients.

EDTA (ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid). Is a chelating agent used in cosmetics to prevent metals such as copper or salts in water used in the formula from causing changes to the texture and efficacy of the product. It is not known to have any problems other than skin sensitivity. It must be used with other preservatives to be effective. Phytic acid is a possible natural alternative to EDTA.

Plant-based Preservatives. While certain ingredients have potential for preserving cosmetics, there is very little research showing they can carry the burden or remain stable to keep a product free of microbes over the life of the product. Further, because plant-based preservatives require larger amounts to preserve a product they also can become irritating or cytotoxic to skin. Plus, many of these extracts have limitations and are not without their own “scare” factor. Much research is being done on this issue.

Clove extract (eugenol). Can cause respiratory problems when inhaled.
Eucalyptus extract. One of the components of this plant is cresol, a possible carcinogen.
Cypress extract. Is a natural emission of methanol, which can cause irritation.
Sorbic acid. Can be found in nature, but is more often synthetically derived.
Tree lichen extracts. Are effective against mold and fungus, but not bacteria.
Lonciera Japanese. Is better known as honeysuckle and is a natural source of parabens and therefore can be an effective preservative.

When all is said and done, there is truly no reason to be scared of the preservatives in your product. The alternative is not a pretty picture, and natural ingredients are not without their risks. Beautiful products stay beautiful and effective when a safe level of preservatives is used in the formula.