The Self Preservation Society

 

Lush Cosmetics are a company that famously pride themselves on their natural, ethical

 and handmade products.Where possible Lush try to use only the finest natural and

 organic ingredients in their cosmetics, but do allow for the occasional safe synthetic.

 The safe synthetics (such as methylparaben and propylparaben) are used in cosmetics 

as preservatives to give products that contain water a longer shelf life.

Lush recognised that, although they are deemed to be safe, lots of people don't like to

 use parabens for many different reasons. They are now working on taking their

 range from 70% self preserving to 100%, and have started by adapting some of the most

 loved Lush products.

Dream Cream is up hailed as the best Lush product for many, many people. The incredibly

 soothing ingredients of this hand and body lotion make it great for those who suffer with

 dry skin, eczema or psoriasis. The new self-preserved version of Dream Cream has been

 cleverly re-formulated to provide the same effects as the original for even the most sensitive

 skins. The product inventors at Lush have reduced the amount of water in this product and

 replaced it with a higher olive oil and glycerine content. This has given the formula a richer

 consistency but, as it took 98 attempts to get it right, rest assured this is still the Dream Cream

 you know and love.

 

Good news! Ocean Salt  has not only become self-preserving but also vegan too. To make

 this well loved face and body scrub self-preserving the inventors removed the two

 parabens and three synthetic emulsifiers that were in the original formula. These safe synthetics

 have been replaced with more fine sea salt and glycerine, as both are natural preservatives and

 mango butter and lanolin were added to the mixture to soften and soothe. The product is thickened 

with the added japan wax and avocado butter, which in turn prevents the onset of bacteria.

If I'm really honest I do prefer the original version of Ocean Salt to the self-preserving as ironically

 this one smells a little fake. I also prefer the coarse sea salt used in the original formula , but despite

 this both versions work just as well as each other at brightening the complexion.

 

Mask of Magnaminty is probably my favourite of all these four products. This face and back mask

 is great at unclogging pores and giving the skin a really deep cleanse. To make this a winning 

self-preserving formula Lush have replaced the synthetic preservatives with a higher honey,

 kaolin and glycerine content. When I tried this mask I really noticed a difference in the way 

my skin felt compared to the original formula. Whilst on the face my skin didn't tingle as much

 as usual, which may be due to less peppermint oil, but when I rinsed it off my skin felt smooth

 and supple. To me this self-preserving formula is much better than the original and has quickly

 become one of my favourite Lush products.

 Sympathy for the Skin is the final product released in the recent self-preserving range at Lush. 

This hand and body lotion, which I think smells of cake batter, is a firm favourite due to its

 beautifully light banana and vanilla fragrance. Again, there is less water in this body lotion and

 it has been replaced with a higher almond oil and glycerine content. The self-preserving version

 of this body lotion is much thicker and richer, so if you are looking for a really emollient cream 

this is the one for you.

All in all it is great that Lush are offering their customers the option of using products free

 of safe-synthetics. It is important to note that both the originals and the new self-preserving

 formulas will be available in stores and online.

Do you try to stay paraben free?