Prevent Mold in Homemade Beauty Recipes (2024)

FAQs

Prevent Mold in Homemade Beauty Recipes? ›

To prevent mold in homemade beauty recipes, I have learned that vinegar works great! Since Bragg apple cider vinegar is also great for balancing the skin's pH and smells better than white vinegar, I add about 1 teaspoon to beauty recipes to help prevent mold.

Body butter

This is a simple mixture of butter and oil. Because there's no water and it will likely be applied to dry skin, don't worry about a preservative. As always, you can add one if you plan to sell it.

A solid lotion made up of butter and oils doesn't need a preservative because it's made with just oils and butters, and will not get in touch with water. A handmade cream that contains water definitely needs a preservative.

"Mold grows where there is an ideal environment for them," says Roberta Del Campo, a board-certified dermatologist based in Miami Beach, Florida. "Moisture, warmth, and food are all necessary for mold to grow." So if you keep your skin-care products in a hot, humid place, chances are they're susceptible to spoilage.

Potassium SorbatePotassium sorbate is a popular natural preservative often used in combination with other natural ingredients to achieve broad-spectrum protection against microbial growth and extend the shelf life of water-based products.

Benzyl alcohol is effective against bacteria and yeasts. Dehydroacetic acid is used in combination with benzyl alcohol. It extends its effectiveness and offers a broader spectrum of protection. Phenethyl alcohol is a gentle and effective preservative against bacteria and molds.

You can extend the life of 100% oil based products by adding an antioxidant, like vitamin E, during the cool down phase. Adding anything that contains water (not just water, but hydrosols, teas, extracts, etc.) will bump your concoction to the other category and will drastically shorten the shelf life.

Salt and sugar are both natural preservative examples. Adding salt to meat is called curing and is how you make beef jerky, for example. You can also use salt and water to make a brine for pickling vegetables.

In addition to its skincare benefits, Witch Hazel also has natural preservative properties, making it an ideal ingredient for natural and organic beauty cosmetic products.

Do I need to have my cosmetic products or ingredients approved by FDA? The law does not require cosmetic products and ingredients, except for color additives, to be approved by FDA before they go on the market. However, cosmetics must not be adulterated or misbranded.

What is a natural preservative for DIY lotion? ›

Natural preservatives are ingredients that prevent products from prematurely spoiling and are – unlike synthetic preservatives – found in nature. Therefore, we use natural preservatives to extend the shelf life of our products, reduce spoilage and retain smell and effectiveness.

Avoiding Moisture

If you aren't drying your skin immediately and properly, or if the humidity levels are high, and your skin remains moist constantly without being able to dry out, it would only make sense that mold spores would begin to reproduce.

Tips for extending the life of your DIY natural products

Clean and sterilize the containers you will be using very well so you don't find yourself with bacteria right from the start. Use distilled or boiled water. Keep products refrigerated as heat can affect shelf life.

High temperatures, fluctuating temperatures, direct sunlight and humidity are all enemies of natural products. Sometimes, they're unavoidable; but store your natural products away from these conditions whenever possible to make them last longer.

Oil-based creams and balms will last longer than lotions that contain water. The same goes for powdered recipes, such as cleansing powders and dry clay-based masks. Six months is a good estimate as most powders and carrier oils don't last much longer than that when left at room temperature.