Monday, 25 October 2010

Preservatives: Optiphen

Optiphen is a liquid preservative appropriate for fighting bacteria and yeast in our products (I can't find any information on its efficacy against mould). Its INCI is Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol. We know phenoxyethanol is a very effective against bacteria and yeast, but what about caprylyl glycol? It is paraben free and is not a formaldehyde donor.

Caprylyl glycol (aka 1,2-octanediol) is a good bacteriostatic ingredient (meaning it limits the growth of the bacteria but doesn't kill it) and bactericide, but it isn't very effective against yeast or fungi. Which means we really don't have a fungal killer in this preservative.

Its suggested use is at 0.75% to 1.5% in the cool down phase of our product (best below 37.5˚C or 100˚F). It is water soluble, so it's not suitable for anhydrous products or things like sugar scrubs that do not contain water. It's best in products with a pH of 6.0.

Some people report Optiphen can de-stabilize their emulsions, and apparently adding it to the really cool down phase of your product can help eliminate this problem. I've never used this preservative as it's hard to find locally, so I can't report on my experiences.

Kuldip notes in this postAdd optiphen at about 45-55°C, the trick is to keep mixing until cool. Usually adding optiphen to a cationic emulsion the product sometime thins out and will eventually thicken as it cools. Without looking at the ingredients you are working with hard to predict if the preservative is even compatible with the emulsion.

Summary of Optiphen:
INCI: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol
Usage: 0.75% to 1.5% in the cool down phase of your water based creations. 
Suitable for water based creations. 
No pH restrictions for this preservative.

READ THE UPDATED POST ON OPTIPHEN as it appears that it is suitable for anhydrous products as well. 

0 comments:

Post a Comment