# A Survey of Preservatives Used in Cosmetic Products
## 2 Results  
The INCI composition of 325 cosmetic preparations was analyzed to indicate the type and number of preservatives present. Preparations from three categories were selected for analysis: leave-on cosmetics, including body lotions (n = 100) and face creams (n = 100), rinse-off cosmetics (n = 100), and mascaras (n = 25). The survey focused on preservatives included in Annex V of the Regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 November 2009 on cosmetic products, with the preservatives divided into individual chemical groups. The following data were acquired: the numbers of individual preservatives found in each cosmetic product category, the number of preservatives contained in a single product, and the frequency of use of the five most popular preservatives by individual cosmetic brands. The percentage of preservatives in body lotions according to chemical group is presented in Figure 1. The most frequently used groups of preservatives were found to be alcohols and their derivatives and carboxylic acids and their salts. The most frequently recorded alcohols were phenoxyethanol (68%) and benzyl alcohol (36%), and the most common carboxylic acids were sodium benzoate (36%) and potassium sorbate (30%). These were followed by parabens, including methylparaben (17%) and propylparaben (13%), the formaldehyde donor DMDM hydantoin (11%), and dehydroacetic acid (8%). A similar trend was noted in face creams (Figure 2). The most frequently used groups were the alcohols and their derivatives and the carboxylic acids and their salts. The most common alcohols were phenoxyethanol (68%) and benzyl alcohol (23%), and the most common carboxylic acids and their salts were sodium benzoate (31%), potassium sorbate (28%), benzoic acid (18%), and sorbic acid (10%). They were followed by parabens, mostly methylparaben (10%) and ethylparaben (6%), and dehydroacetic acid (6%). Hence, the most frequently identified preservatives in leave-on products (n = 200) (body lotions and face creams) were phenoxyethanol (68.0%), sodium benzoate (33.5%),  
Figure 1: Frequency of use of preservatives in body lotions (n = 100). Figure 2: Frequency of use of preservatives in face creams (n = 100). benzyl alcohol (29.5%), potassium sorbate (29.0%), methylparaben (13.5%), and benzoic acid (10.0%). In the rinse-off category (Figure 3), the most popular preservatives were carboxylic acid salts: sodium benzoate (66%) and potassium sorbate (49%). These were followed by phenoxyethanol (40%), despite its leading in all other product categories, and methylchloroisothiazolone and methylisothiazolinone (13% each). In addition, a new group of preservatives, i.e., quaternary ammonium salts, were found to be present in 1% to 4% of formulations. The highest-rated preservative in the mascara category (Figure 4) was phenoxyethanol, found in as many as 88% of the products. Potassium sorbate and sodium dehydroacetate (36% each) were ranked second, followed by preservatives based on alcohols (benzyl alcohol), carboxylic acids and their derivatives (sodium benzoate and sorbic acid), and parabens (methylparaben, propylparaben, and ethylparaben), with prevalence ranging from 8% to 16%. Figure 4: Frequency of use of preservatives in mascaras (n = 25). Figure 3: Frequency of use of preservatives in rinse-off cosmetics (n = 100). A quantitative summary of preservatives according to product category is illustrated in Figure 5 and Table 1 and provides a general overview of the preservative content.