When we tell people that we don’t use any preservatives in our No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash, many people seem surprised.  Some people shake their heads with disbelief. Others start questioning whether we are hiding anything in the ingredients list.  Because generally, any water-based liquid is prone to microbial contamination. The skepticism about preservative-free skincare goes on and more keeps showing up. 

Why don’t we add any preservatives?

The short answer is because it is already present in our raw ingredients naturally. The long answer is due to our belief that Mother Earth, in her own purest elements, already gives us all that we need. 

After years of working on our land, we have come to understand that if we know how to use these gifts from Mother Earth like how she intends for us, there’s no need to complicate it. We don’t have to fragment the different compounds from each other, extract, combine, and recombine them. We just have to wholly embrace it all in! In other words, it’s like chewing up real food versus swallowing a bunch of nutritional supplement pills for a meal. Even if these pills carry the same essential nutrients and nutritional values, they cannot replace the life force and the synergy between each nutrient that real food offers us. 

Our best-seller product, No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash, a natural whole body cleanser, is proof of that. It is made entirely from  Kaffir Lime, Bitter Orange, and Bai Mee Leaf. These ingredients already contain everything a good natural cleanser should have: natural perfume, preservatives, cleansing agent, and even moisturizer. In addition, since it is made from raw and real ingredients, it is naturally 100% biodegradable. Together, these three ingredients are a complete set of what is required to make a cleansing product that is both good for you and for Mother Earth.

Still don’t believe us and wonder how our No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash can last a few years on the shelf? To debunk this myth of our unbelievably all-natural product, we decide to share with you our side of the story, so you understand where we are coming from. 

What are preservatives, and why do skincare products need them?

According to the Oxford Dictionary, preservatives are substances used to preserve foodstuffs, wood, or other materials against decay, rot or decomposition through the action of microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and fungi. 

When talking about preservatives, we often think of chemicals or synthetic substances that prevent microbes, mold, bacteria, yeast or other things from growing. Common synthetic chemicals used as preservatives in skincare products include things like paraben, formaldehyde, or Isothiazolinones. Although they are effective as broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents, these synthetic chemicals are known to cause health issues, skin irritations, hormonal disruptions, or even cancer. 

Other milder forms of preservatives categorized as “natural plant-extract preservatives” are also available under different names such as Biosecure (the extracts of citrus fruits), Microcurb (oregano leaf extract), and Caprylhydroxamic Acid (coconut extract). When using these preservatives, companies have to pay attention to how much is used. Too much of it can be harmful and too little can be ineffective. 

Apart from using the above preservatives, another way to prolong product shelf life is to create a condition difficult for microbes to grow, such as a highly acidic or low-temperature environment. These conditions seldom provide a favorable climate for pathogenic microorganisms to survive. 

So how can our No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash Be 100% preservative-free?

While consumer safety is our main priority, we also don’t want to do it at Mother Earth’s expense. Because what we apply on our body is not only absorbed through our skin, but also leaves residues in the environment. If we continue to use products that contain synthetic chemicals, we will affect other creatures on this planet, one way or another.

Luckily, Mother Nature has gifted us with the natural antimicrobial essential oils and acidic juice both found in the key ingredients used in our No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash, kaffir lime, and bitter oranges, grown at our organic farm. 

1) Antimicrobial Essential Oils

The two main ingredients in the No-Poo Wash are whole citrus fruits whose essential oils naturally contain a high amount of antimicrobial compounds like d-limonene, citronella, and carvacrol. According to the US FDA, these extracts are safe for consumption and are even extracted for use as natural preservatives in the cosmetic and skincare industry. With a quick smell test, we can immediately scent the strong citrus perfume, suggesting a high concentration of these antimicrobial compounds. So, it’s not wrong to say that the natural essential oils in the lime and orange, act as natural preservatives and perfume at the same time.  

2) High Acidity

We know that harmful microbes cannot grow in highly acidic environments like vinegar or lime juice. By using limes and oranges as the main ingredients – both of which have a pH level of 2 and 3 – our No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash is acidic in nature. In fact, a lab test suggests that it contains a pH of 4.5. At this pH level, the harmful microbes cannot survive. Besides, the acidity of the No-Poo Wash also makes it a natural cleansing agent that matches the acidity of our skin, scalp, and hair and does not cause any drying after use. This means, not only can this acidic nature clean your skin, it also keeps the natural skin moisture intact. 

What do the lab tests say?

Although we are gifted with those properties, we are still not sure if it is exactly how we understand it. So as a quality control procedure, we sent our No-Poo Wash to a laboratory for testing to see if there are any traces of microorganisms that may present threats to consumers. The result came out negative, with no traces of microbes. Hence, we can be sure that we don’t need any synthetic preservatives in our No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash. Besides, it proves our assumption that it is valid.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” – Leonardo Da Vinci

For us, Mother Earth is the ultimate simplicity and sophistication at the same time. 

From allowing trees to grow from such small seeds to creating a never-ending cycle of giving and taking, our dear Mother Earth is already amazing in her own rights. We are honored to pass on this gift and her message to the world in her real and pure form through all our products. As you can see, in the making of the No-Poo Head-to-Toe Wash, we take this philosophy to our heart, with a strong belief that Mother Nature is complete on her own and there’s no need to further complicate it. 

It is not about adding preservatives or not, but it’s about embracing Mother Earth the way we are intended to. 

It’s not about working against her, but about working together with her and allowing our wildest creativity to flow. 

It’s not about limiting ourselves with a few ingredients, but it’s about limitless opportunities to explore each ingredient to its fullest.  

It’s not about the destination to be clean, but it’s about a journey to discover how to use the amazing gifts on our land. 

In the end, it’s about respecting Mother Earth and letting ourselves feel her and get to know her a little better. 

For those of you who are still curious and aren’t sure if our products will do you wonders, we recommend you give it a try. Mother Earth will surely surprise you and hopefully, if you let your creativity run wild, you will know what we mean. And if you have any questions, please feel free to drop us a line. We would be super happy to hear back from you!

References

Basu, S., & Banik, B. K. (2020). Natural spices in medicinal chemistry: Properties and benefits. Green Approaches in Medicinal Chemistry for Sustainable Drug Design, 739–758. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-817592-7.00022-8

Fanzani, L. (2021, January 17). The ultimate guide to choose natural preservatives for cosmetics. Retrieved July 28, 2021, from https://luisafanzani.com/natural-preservatives-for-cosmetics/

Iowa State University. (2012). Lesson 4B – A is for acidity. Food Safety. https://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/L4.3.

Lab, M. C. (n.d.). Five most common types of preservatives used in cosmetics. Porto. https://microchemlab.com/information/five-most-common-types-preservatives-used-cosmetics. 

Kabir, A., Cacciagrano, F., Tartaglia, A., Lipsi, M., Ulusoy, H. I., & Locatelli, M. (2020). Analysis of monoterpenes and monoterpenoids. Recent Advances in Natural Products Analysis, 274–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-12-816455-6.00007-x