I thought it is basically illegal/not permitted/whatever, to sell water-based lotions without preservatives…right?
Ah, a fun, sticky issue to discuss and talk about. To start with, I err on the side of caution on this issue, so keep that in mind when reading. Making lotions is *fun* and shouldn’t be anything to worry about – it’s just a matter of making sure you’re doing what’s best for you and your customers. To back up a little and give some history, Preservatives are a controversial issue in the soaping community. To sum up, the whole concept of “all natural” is violated when preservatives (generally paraben derivatives) are used in your lotion. Further complicating the issue is the belief of some people or groups (New ways, Young Living, Pure Garden, Doris Rapp, Aubrey Organics come to mind) that paraben are carcinogenic and are unhealthy or bad for you. However, mold, weird little spores of growth and microbes that you can’t see are also bad for you. And, even worse could get you sued in the litigious society we live in. Many large companies over the years have done product recalls at one time
