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STELLAGUARD
Product Range

Partner Manufacturer

Identity and history: Manufacturer of preservatives for the cosmetic industry, active since the 1990s and distributed internationally. The company includes a dedicated technical team with its own microbiological laboratory for formulation support, stability testing, and microbiological challenge test services.

Positioning: Specialist in preservative systems and antimicrobial additives designed to protect formulations against microbial spoilage, while meeting regulatory expectations and sustainability constraints.

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Products & technology

  • Formulation philosophy: A range of broad-spectrum preservatives based on optimized blends as well as individual active ingredients. The approach also integrates environmental and sustainability criteria.
  • Product families:
  • Liquid blends: High-purity grades (methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, and their sodium forms) and blends for robust antimicrobial protection in many types of formulations.
  • Paraben-free systems: Multi-active blends free from parabens, isothiazolinones, and other controversial classes, designed to suit "modern" formulations.
  • Dry preservatives: Pure powders or customizable blends (Imidazolidinyl urea, etc.) that can be used as preservative actives or integrated into more complex systems.
  • "Preservative-free" / multifunctional additives: Natural or renewable agents (glycols, fruit acid extracts, phenylethanol, caprylyl glycol) offering self-preservation or suitable for high skin tolerance formulations.
  • Typical applications: Rinse-off and leave-on (shampoos, shower gels, creams, lotions), eye and oral care, children's products, wipes, etc. Several products target "sensitive" profiles (no isothiazolinones, no formaldehyde).
  • Compliance & certifications: Several formulations are compatible with ecological labels (Ecocert/COSMOS) and market requirements (formulations without certain regulated preservatives).

Technical support & services

  • Tools & assistance: Brochures and support for preservative selection, samples on request, and formulation assistance (including challenge tests).
  • Consulting approach: Support for formulators in making the right choice based on pH, matrix, compatibility, and regulatory constraints, reducing the risk of preservation failure.
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Preservative systems in cosmetics: Formulation & regulatory approach

  • Function of the preservative: control of the microbial load over the shelf life and during use (PAO), within the framework of the EU Cosmetic Regulation (≤ 100 cfu/g), without disinfectant effect or correction of GMP deviations.
  • Preservation failure: physicochemical instabilities (emulsion breakdown, pH drift, loss of viscosity), organoleptic alterations, microbial proliferation, and risk of skin irritation.
  • Critical efficacy parameters: water activity (aw), pH and ionized/non-ionized form, temperature, nutrient load (polysaccharides, proteins, plant extracts), formulation compatibility (adsorption, inactivation), and type of packaging.
  • Formulation complexity: high-risk matrices (surfactants, emulsions, masks, wipes) requiring multi-active systems and/or multifunctional preservation approaches.
  • Microbiological validation: standardized challenge tests (ISO 11930, EP, USP) with log reduction interpretation according to regulatory requirements and usage profile.
  • Market evolution: reduction of actives listed in Annex V, lowering of maximum doses, toxicological reclassification (CMR, ED), and the rise of acid systems, glycols, alcohols, and "self-preserving" formulations.
  • Stellaguard positioning: modular portfolios (parabens, Annex V alternatives, acid blends, multifunctionals, eco-label solutions) allowing for optimization of efficacy / tolerance / regulatory compliance.