Cosmetics are products widely used by consumers and applied to the skin, hair, and overall body hygiene or to enhance the scent of the skin. These products often contain ingredients susceptible to the growth of microorganisms. Therefore, the microbiological stability of cosmetics is a key factor affecting the safety and effectiveness of the product. Proper understanding of the microbiological stability of a cosmetic and designing an appropriate preservative system is extremely important to ensure the durability and quality of the product, particularly the safety of the user.
Microbiological stability refers to the ability of a cosmetic product to provide effective protection and avoid the desired growth of microorganisms during the product’s «market life». Improperly selected preservation system can lead to the multiplication of microorganisms, including pathogens, during use. This can result in skin irritation, infection, or other serious allergic reactions. Therefore, to ensure the safety of users, it is necessary to verify the microbiological stability of the cosmetic product.
In order to achieve microbiological stability of a cosmetic formula, manufacturers employ various strategies, including the design and subsequent construction of an effective preservative system. This system is a combination of ingredients with preservative properties and aims to stimulate either the inhibition or complete suppression of microbial proliferation in the cosmetic product. The key role of the preservative system is to protect the consumer during product usage, rather than eliminate infections resulting from non-compliance with Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) throughout the entire production process.
The effectiveness of individual preservatives is verified using microbiological analysis, which is used to evaluate antimicrobial activity, such as challenge tests, preservation efficacy tests, or burden testing. This examination is performed in accordance with the international standard PN EN ISO 11930:2019 Cosmetics – Microbiology – Evaluation of the antimicrobial protection of a cosmetic product. This method allows for the determination of the effectiveness of a preservative or preservative system used to save the formulation of a cosmetic product. It involves inoculating the sample with dedicated reference strains of bacteria, yeasts, and molds and incubating them under appropriate growth conditions. The final result is the reading of the reduction in growth at specific time intervals for each species introduced into the tested formulation. Preservation tests are conducted at various stages of research and development and increasingly during the product’s market life. Such testing allows for the verification of the preservatives efficacy over time and the monitoring of the product’s stability in terms of formulation.
However, it should be remembered that the key role of the preservatives used is not the elimination of the effects of non-compliance with Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and Good Hygienic Practice (GHP), but primarily the protection of the consumer during the application of the product to the skin and simultaneous so-called secondary contamination of the product. It is important for the cosmetic to have a properly formulated recipe and to be produced and stored in a way that prevents contamination.
Microbiological stability of a cosmetic is extremely important from the perspective of both the producer and the consumer. A properly selected preservative system allows for the maintenance of microbiological safety and the durability of the cosmetic product. Such approach is synonymous with customer satisfaction and their trust in the brand. Therefore, it is worth remembering about the role of microbiological stability in the process of creating cosmetics and ensuring that the preservative system meets all necessary requirements in this regard.
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