The thought of adding preservatives can be daunting or scary at first, but don't worry, because there are some great preservatives that can be added into natural skincare.

We love using Nat Preserve (also known as Geogard Ultra™) as a preservative in our natural skincare creations.

Nat Preserve is a natural broad spectrum preservative that combines two organic acids that work together to provide long-lasting protection. This preservative is great for creams and lotions as it also adds a bit of extra moisturisation to products.

This preservative is accepted by Ecocert and COSMOS. It's GMO free and not tested on animals.

Why use a preservative?

When you create natural skincare and start using water based ingredients in your creations, it's important to add a preservative.

Why? Well, once you add water to your product, it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and mould. 

You can't always see the mould and bacteria, but after about a week, it will be in your product. Bacteria and mould is not good to use on our skin, in fact it can be dangerous. That's why we need a preservative.

Nat Preserve is generally safe; it is easy on the skin and is often used in baby skincare products. It has an excellent safety profile and has a wide range of global regulatory acceptance such as ECOCERT and COSMOS

Nat Preserve is in powder form so you add it to the water phase and stir it in.

How to formulate with Nat Preserve (Geogard Ultra™)

Nat Preserve can be added to your water phase and heated. It will dissolve quickly when heated and stirred.

It can be cold-processed but can take a while to dissolve. To use Nat Preserve in cold formulations, add Nat Preserve to your water and stir.  Cover your beaker with lid and leave for a few hours (or overnight) to dissolve.

Nat Preserve can cause the pH of your product to drift. You may need to include a buffer and test your formulation.