Found naturally in green tea, the commercial grade Phenoxyethanol is synthetically produced in a laboratory creating what’s termed a “nature identical”.
Introduced in the 1950s, it has had a long history of safe use as a cosmetic preservative. In recent years, the use of phenoxyethanol has expanded due to its low sensitization potential and global approval.
Chemically known as a glycol ether which means it is a solvent, Phenoxyethanol is a preservative used in many cosmetics and personal care products. You probably have a cabinet full of products containing this ingredient in your home, whether you know it or not. It’s also used as an anti-bacterial in detergents and as a stabilizer in perfumes.
You probably have a cabinet full of products containing Phenoxyethanol in your home.
Phenoxyethanol doesn’t react with other ingredients, air or light; this kind of stability makes it an especially effective preservative.
You find it being used in products such as:
• Lotions,
• Shampoo and conditioner,
• Skincare,
• Perfumes
However more recently it is also being used to manufacture antibacterial hand soaps that are being sold to local department stores.
You may have heard of concerned around this ingredient because there’s quite a bit of controversy about its safety, especially online. Almost all of the studies that have found significant negative health impacts are based on full-strength or high-dose exposures. Undiluted Phenoxyethanol, is never used in skincare or cosmetics, in reality exposures are quite small. Hence why it’s approved at levels up to 1%. It’s all about the final formulation.
In the previous 12 months, Redox has sold 184,800 kg of Phenoxyethanol into the USA and 11,600 kg into Australia.
If you’d like to know more, please contact one of our industry specialists today.