Are your products preservative free?

No. Companies must use preservatives in any cosmetic product that contains water or aloe to prevent the product from becoming adulterated; preservatives are needed for safety and performance.  

Beautycounter screens every ingredient for safety. We look for data on important health endpoints like cancer, cell damage, reproductive toxicity, and skin irritation. One of the toughest kinds of ingredients to screen is preservatives. Because they are meant to kill bacteria, mold, and/or yeast, they may also be toxic in some concentrations to other life forms.  

While formulating our skincare line, we tested several types of preservatives (none that are on The Never List™) before settling on the preservatives that we now use. We chose options that are effective in very small concentrations, and we use different preservatives for different products because of performance (e.g., sodium might work well on its own in one product, but not in another, so we may use phenoxyethanol or potassium sorbate instead).  

We use the smallest amount of preservatives that can get the job done, and we’re on a continuous quest to find even better, safer preservative options (including natural preservatives, new packaging that reduces the amount of air in the bottle, etc).  

See our Ingredient Selection Process for more information.