One of the challenges for both organic skin care and organic makeup manufacturers is finding a suitable method to preserve the products that are not only 100% natural but also certified organic. The challenge is much greater in the organic skin care market. Because of this, the shelf life of a lot of natural and organic skin care brands is either quite short, or it loses its certified organic status by including a trace amount of chemical preservative in the ingredients.

One of the most common chemical preservatives used in natural skin care is phenoxyethanol, and our 2012 blog post on the use of phenoxyethanol in skin care will give you more details. While we do allow trace amounts of chemical preservatives in our natural skin care range (with full disclosure on our website ingredients list), there are many who like to stay away from them because they can cause skin irritation in some. The inclusion of trace amounts of chemical preservative is done not only for safety, but in many entry level, budget brands, it's done to keep the price down. Some of the more common chemical preservatives used are dehydroacetic acid, sodium benzoate, benzyl alcohol, potassium sorbate and of course, phenoxyethanol.

The preservative system in the Zkin Organics range of organic skin care is new technology, so new that they received a research & development grant from the government for contributing new knowledge to Australian science. The preservative system gives the products a shelf life of 18 months without the need for packaging the products in airless pumps and is a synergistic blend of just 5 natural ingredients. They are:- bitter orange, radish root, vitamin E, essential oil isolates and basil extract.

Together, these 5 ingredients combine to preserve the organic skin care products in the Zkin Organics range for 18 months, without the use of any chemical preservatives and without the need for airless pumps. Each product still comes in a pump or spray to minimise contamination and bacteria growth from you touching the products. We don't have any specific data on this brand, but we recommend with all natural and organic skin care products that once you open them and start using them, it's best to use them up within 6 months.