Science

So you wanna know, what is a preservative system?

By: The Honey Pot Company

Let’s start from the basics – what is a preservative? And why include them in your products?

Preservatives prevent the growth of harmful, unwanted bacteria and mold. We use preservatives in our products due to:

  1. Their plant-derived nature
  2. The places our products live
  3. The places one uses them (e.g. your vulva).

We are always principally focused on what provides the safest and most effective experience for you when using The Honey Pot.

So you’re saying we need preservatives but why a system?

Since we use a bevvy of beautiful ingredients to formulate our washes, we have introduced Phenoexythanol and Propylene Glycol as ways to protect each and every ingredient and chemical compound so that we can ensure you get the product you love until the very last drop. The preservative system is a protective measure, protecting the product against microbial proliferation (meaning the reproduction of microbes) while not compromising the intended performance of the product (so it keeps everything efficacious & in tact!) So a preservative system is designed to work tirelessly to manage the antimicrobial levels within a formula and this activity has to be upheld throughout its shelf life and usage.

When there isn’t an effective preservative in products such as our washes, microbes are likely to form, grow, and spread.

If you’d rather fight bacteria than spread it, our preservative system was designed to do just that!

  • Sodium benzoate: A food and cosmetics preservative that has the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) status given by the FDA*
  • Phenoxyethanol: An ether used as a fragrance or preservative that’s considered practically non-toxic when ingested and non-irritating when diluted*
  • Propylene Glycol: A compound with proven microbial properties to protect against unwanted microorganisms* and emulsify ingredients


So are they safe? It would be both disappointing and scary if you found out the ingredients in your products were rapidly degrading and swimming in unwanted pools of bacteria. That’s why we’re confident this is both the safest and most effective system for you and your vulva.


Looking to learn more about Phenoxyethanol and Proplyene Glycol? Head to our blog posts where we talk more about these ingredients!



*References

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11766131 

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3109/10915819009078737?journalCode=ijta 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4415329/