Lavender steps up as a natural preservative in skin-care emulsions

Stephanie Baum
scientific editor

Andrew Zinin
lead editor

Synthetic parabens and formaldehyde releasers are falling out of favor, but keeping creams safe from microbes remains a challenge. The global shift toward "clean-label" cosmetics has left formulators scrambling for milder preservatives. A research paper led by Dr. Maria Trapali (University of West Attica, Greece), now offers a drop-in solution: the simple pairing of Lavandula angustifolia hydrosol with its own essential oil.
The study is in the Journal of Dermatologic Science and Cosmetic Technology.
Using standard oil-in-water emulsions, the researchers challenged products with high loads of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. After 12 weeks at 25掳 C and 40掳 C, emulsions containing 0.05% hydrosol + 0.05% essential oil kept counts below 10 CFU/mL鈥攚ell inside European Pharmacopeia limits. In contrast, an unpreserved control passed 10鈦 CFU/mL within four weeks.
Six oil-in-water emulsions were stored at 25掳 C and 40掳 C for 12 weeks. Products containing 0.05% lavender essential oil plus 0.05% hydrosol remained below 10虏 CFU g鈦宦, while an unpreserved control exceeded 10鈦 CFU g鈦宦 by week four. The authors also provide a rapid GC-MS protocol to ensure consistent linalool levels across lavender chemotypes.
The work is the first to document a true synergy between lavender hydrosol and essential oil, outperforming either agent alone.
More information: Maria Trapali et al, Evaluation of the efficacy of lavender formulations as preservative agents in O/W (oil-in-water) emulsions, Journal of Dermatologic Science and Cosmetic Technology (2025).
Provided by Journal of Dermatologic Science and Cosmetic Technology