We now offer a preservative….GASP! 

We were hesitant to offer this because we weren’t sure how well it aligned with our mission to provide the highest quality ingredients AND to educate you on how to make your products.

However, after dozens of requests from you guys and a long conversation with the team, we thought preservatives were the way to go.

Here are 3 reasons we decided to offer preservatives:

#1 “The Damage Is In The Dose”

Preservatives aren’t the enemy. We did a lot of research. We read scientific reports, talked to other scientists, and doctors and learned a ton!  Preservatives are basically in everything, but it’s the concentration and carcinogenic ingredients that matter (chemicals linked to cancer). 

For example, preservatives free of parabens and formaldehyde at levels of 1-2% of your products are harmless but at higher levels, they can irritate your skin. If you consume a product with 50% or higher of some preservatives, it can be toxic…but honestly, that notion can be applied to anything.

E.g. Drinking 8 glasses of water a day is helpful. Drinking 5 gallons a day can kill you…literally.

Water can be toxic too.

And some things that are poisonous can be harmless at low doses.  

WATCH this man drink Cyanide (Poison) and keep filming!

Anything in excess is likely not good for you... unless it’s love :-) .

#2 We want you to enjoy your products more

A couple of the downsides of DIYing with all natural and organic ingredients is that you have just 2 weeks to use any product with water or Aloe Vera juice and it MUST be refrigerated.

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This means you will probably have to wear the same style for two weeks, and your scalp will be cold as you apply cold products fresh from the fridge lol. We’ve gotten a few complaints about folks not liking to apply cold products.

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#3 Products can look and smell fine but be swarming with bacteria

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Don’t get me wrong, bacteria isn’t all bad, it is often necessary.  By the time you can see and smell the bacteria in your product, there are already millions of bacteria floating around.

We read up on what other brands use. Companies like the "Honest Company” and other natural hair care brands like “Naturalicious” and “TreLuxe”, some of my faves!

They all use Phenoxyethanol as their preservative of choice. 

Here is a snippet from the Honest Company’s blog on Phenoxyethanol.

“Phenoxyethanol can be found naturally in green tea, but the commercial ingredient is synthetically produced in a laboratory creating what’s termed a “nature identical” chemical. Specifically, it’s created by treating phenol with ethylene oxide in an alkaline medium which all reacts to form a pH-balanced ingredient.

It fights bacteria. Most personal care products are made with a lot of water and a variety of nutrients (consider all of the natural oils and botanicals ) which makes an incredibly hospitable breeding ground for microorganisms. Effective preservatives are vital for ensuring safety!” 

Think of it like this - Bacteria is like the "Mean Girls" aka Regina George and Phenoxyethanol is Lindsay Lohan lol. 

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We picked the perfect preservative just for you!

At CurlMix, we decided, after all our research we would use a preservative that contains Phenoxyethanol and a few other helpful ingredients. We chose, Optiphen PLUS, which is globally approved, fights off bacteria, mold, and yeast, and is considered to be one of the safest on the market.

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Here's is a little more about it: 

Optiphen PLUS is a patent-pending liquid preservative from ISP/Sutton which offers broad spectrum preservation without parabens or formaldehyde. This preservative functions particularly well in slightly acidic formulations.

Optiphen plus consists of Phenoxyethanol (an aromatic ether alcohol), Sorbic Acid (a natural acid that offers protection from yeast, fungus, and mold) and Caprylyl Glycol (an emollient base). 

For my nerdy DIYers, here’s more a bit more information about the science of Optiphen PLUS.

If you want to keep your products going stronger, longer:

GET IT HERE: CURLMIX PRESERVATIVE OPTIPHEN PLUS

This preservative is gentle yet effective. It is most effective in pH balanced products and slightly acidic products ( 6-8 pH).

Here is a pH diagram from Mind Body Green to figure out the importance of pH levels.

To conclude, if you want a longer lasting product of high quality, just go ahead and spring for the preservative. You already spent the time to make the product, you might as well have time to enjoy it.

Each Curlmix Preservative will give you and additional 6 months on 6 full sized Curlmix products if used properly

GET IT HERE: CURLMIX PRESERVATIVE OPTIPHEN PLUS

It's worth the investment.