UNDERSTANDING PRESERVATIVES:

With so much misinformation out there about preservatives, it is no wonder that we receive a lot of inquiries from customers confused about what is safe and what is not. Being a company committed to natural and organic body care, we have decided to provide a naturally preserved product line that is safe for our health and effectively microbial controlled. We believe our preservative philosophy embraces health first, over what is trendy.

No. Only products that contain water need a preservative. Dry or powdered items need no preservative.  Products that contain only oils do not need to be preserved. There are also ingredients, such as honey and vinegar, that when used (without the addition of water) are self-preserving. Handmade, natural soaps that are made using the cold process will list water on the label (or if you see "saponified oils") because it is included during the soapmaking process. However, this water is used up in the process of soapmaking and does not exist because the soaps are aged for six weeks and water does not need to be preserved in the final product. Natural Body Wash and Natural Soaps have a very high pH, which deters any microbial growth. Also, high amounts of alcohol in a product, such as perfume, act as a preservative, needing nothing additional.

Water is one of the friendliest substances on earth -- vital to the life of many creatures.  Therefore, a product containing water with no preservative would over time naturally become infested with bacteria, yeast, fungus and mold, all of which will flourish in the water-based environment.  As you probably assume, this infestation would make the product unusable, even toxic to you. The contamination process for water happens much quicker then you might expect, taking only a couple weeks.  It is the reason that many of your refrigerated foods eventually go bad.

Yes. Many natural substances offer antibacterial and antifungal benefits. We have chosen to use a combination of Grapefruit Seed Extract, Potassium Sorbate and Vitamin E in some products and in others a special enzyme that comes from milk, called Lactoperoxidase.
We have done lab testing over a period of several years on each of our products to ensure their safety. Our blend of natural preservatives have proven to be effective at controlling microbial growth in our products without any harm to your health.

To answer that question you first need to know what a paraben is.

What are Parabens?
Parabens are a group of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. These compounds, and their salts, are primarily used for their bacteriocidal and fungicidal properties. They can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, cleansing gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives.

A recent UK study established the presence of intact parabens in human breast tumours. A sampling of 20 different breast tumors were tested for content of stored parabens in the breast tissue. Methylparaben (the most commonly used paraben) was found to represent 62% of the total parabens recovered. The concern over this study is that it appears that parabens can accumulate over time and be stored in the fat tissue of our bodies, which in turn could lead to health problems.

Data from published sources indicates that propylparaben and butylparaben demonstrate weak estrogenic (a female hormone) activity. The concern with this is chemicals which mimic estrogen in the body can drive the growth of tumors (cancerous or non-cancerous) and reproductive problems or defects.

So to finally answer the question "Why is North Shore Soap Factory Paraben Free?" we feel that although the conclusion to these studies is not definitive and in the event that more negative evidence against parabens appear, an action of precautionary prevention or "better safe than sorry" is the best way to go to protect our customers future health. We want you to be informed so that you may make the choice for yourselves.

Methylparaben
Butylparaben
Propylparaben
Ethylparaben

Cosmetics, Parabens, and Breast Cancer. Organic Consumers Associtation (http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/breastcancer090604.cfm)

Darbre PD, Aljarrah A, Miller WR, Coldham NG, Sauer MJ, Pope GS. Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumours. J Appl Toxicol. 2004 Jan-Feb;24(1):5-13. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14745841?dopt=Abstract)

Harvey, Philip W.; Darbre, Philippa. Endocrine disrupters and human health: Could estrogenic chemicals in body care cosmetics adversely affect breast cancer incidence in women? A review of evidence and call for further research. Journal of Applied Toxicology (2004), 24(3), 167-176.

http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9608/17/nfm/brit.chem/index.html