Sodium Benzoate in Skincare Products: Let’s Break it Down

We’re all searching for skincare products with safe, healthy ingredients, right? And we get it - it’s not easy. With tons of misinformation circulating the internet, it can be hard to suss out what’s true and what’s not, especially information about the safety and efficacy of ingredients. 

Some ingredients get a particularly bad rap, and one of those is sodium benzoate, a preservative found in foods, skincare products, and other personal care products. But what else is there to know about this ingredient, and is it actually as bad as we’ve been led to believe? Let’s discuss. 

What is Sodium Benzoate?

As noted, sodium benzoate - the sodium salt of benzoic acid - is a preservative found in lots of food and health products. You might’ve seen it listed in the ingredients in your toothpaste, sunscreen, pickles, or condiments. 

Sodium benzoate is naturally occurring, found in foods like cranberries and honey, and if you were to see it, you’d be looking at a white, crystalline solid. You might think you’re looking at table salt or sugar. 

Is it Safe in Food?

Sodium benzoate’s safety in food has long been debated. It’s used as a preservative, and preservatives have blanketly been deemed unsafe and unhealthy by many people who, let’s just say, don’t understand science. Obviously, sodium benzoate is found naturally in foods that we consume quite regularly, but is it safe as an additive?

The biggest concern with sodium benzoate is its potential to turn into a carcinogen - a substance that can cause cancer - if mixed with vitamin C. This potential has been exaggerated, though, causing widespread fear of the product. 

Because the amount of sodium benzoate in our foods is so small, this potential is of very little concern, and its use has been marked safe by the FDA. You can choose to avoid foods with sodium benzoate, but you’ll be safe if you choose to consume it in your foods and drinks. 

What About in Skincare Products?

Sodium benzoate’s bad rap in food has seeped into its use in other products, like skincare. Like in food, sodium benzoate’s biggest role in skincare products is preservation. This compound gives your skincare products a longer shelf life, making it so you can use them for months, sometimes years, without having to replace them. Without preservatives, products can become contaminated, grow fungi and bacteria and be unsafe for use. 

Now, you may be wondering about using products with sodium benzoate in tandem with vitamin C, and that’s totally understandable. But fear not - skincare products, particularly our Blossom products, are formulated so no reaction between the two will occur.  

And like with food, the actual amount of sodium benzoate in skincare products is quite minimal, some may say even only trace amounts, and it would take copious, concentrated amounts for it to do any harm. You can feel totally confident and safe using skincare products with sodium benzoate. We promise. 

Sodium Benzoate in Blossom Products

Here at Blossom, we only use safe, non-toxic, clean ingredients, and that includes sodium benzoate. To take it a step further, we don't just research our ingredients, we scrutinize them. We study, analyze, and examine them to ensure each one is clean, non-toxic, and gentle for all skin types, even the most sensitive and irritable. If this ingredient (or any) weren’t safe, it wouldn’t be on our ingredients list. 

We use sodium benzoate to preserve our carefully formulated products so you can get as much use out of your Blossom favorites as possible. Sodium benzoate is a totally safe ingredient, preserving your products, and in turn, preserving your skin. 

Check out all of our safe, non-toxic, and effective skincare products here!

https://www.paulaschoice.com/ingredients/ingredient-sodium-benzoate.html