Oxidation of oils and fats in personal care products is a common and serious problem for formulators. While synthetic antioxidants can be used, consumers are showing an increasing preference for “natural” additives. Prof. Vijai Shukla and Kaustuv Bhattacharya write on the effectiveness of rosemary extracts as a natural antioxidant.
The use of rosemary extract as an antioxidant has a number of benefits for cosmetic formulators. It prolongs the shelf-life of their product, whitout the need for synthetic antioxidants, thus giving a more natural image. Rosemary extract has strong anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. It also has strong antimicrobial properties which can reduce the amount of chemical preservatives in the final formulation. In addition, it has stronger antioxidant properties compared to natural antioxidants such as tocopherols and tocotrienols.
