An interview is always good as it forces me to organize my thoughts, do some reflection and evaluate my goals. My background sometimes seems a disorganized jumble of various disciplines and interests, but there really is a pattern. My interests have always been in understanding the nature of life, which is basically, biology! This interest was fostered as a child by gardening, hiking, camping and doing plant identification. These interests led me to study biology in college, earning degrees that finally led to a Ph.D. in biochemistry - or understanding life at the chemical or molecular level.

Since then I have enjoyed working in research, consulting, writing, and teaching as well as in my own business where I can incorporate many of the things I love. Currently I work part time teaching anatomy & physiology and part time with my business.

Besides working, my time is spent as a mother of two boys, a wife, a gardener with an emphasis on growing herbs and tending to a cat, dog, hamster, chickens, horse and hopefully soon some goats. I hope to soon be able to move all of this to a small farm and work to increase awareness of small scale, sustainable and alternative agriculture.

I come from a family of 7 siblings which has taught me that there are many points of view and all should be heard and honored. I value my connections to my family as well as to the earth.

Many people don't understand the ubiquitous nature of bacteria. Microorganisms which include bacteria, fungi and yeast are found everywhere including in oils, solids and water based ingredients you use for making cosmetics. Although many are not harmful, and are even necessary for our survival, others can be deadly or at least make our lives uncomfortable.

Bacteria are microscopic organisms that can only be seen if magnified 1000 times. Once they become visible to the naked eye as a bacterial slime or fungal filaments, their actual numbers are in the millions. Some bacteria can divide as rapidly as once every 20 minutes, getting out of control in no time!

The growth requirements for bacteria are very similar to that of humans and include a good supply of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals. Therefore, most anything that you put in your lotion that is good for the user is also good for the bacteria - including herbals. Since every formulation is unique with unique ingredients or food sources for microbes,
there is no once size fits all preservative and each formula should be tested for the presence of microorganisms.

Some of the most common bacteria that can infect cosmetics such as Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Pseudomonas as well as some fungi can lead to allergic reactions that cause irritation and itching of the skin.

When consumers experience this they rarely consider the possibility of microbial contamination but rather assume a reaction to one of the ingredients. Some bacteria can lead to more serious infections of the skin such as folliculitis or even gangrene! Products used around the eye have been known to cause conjunctivitis or even blindness from contamination.

I follow the Microbiological Methods for Cosmetics in the FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual which can be found here:

http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~ebam/bam-23.html

This involves using specific nutrient media to enhance the growth of bacteria and another one for fungus or yeast.

The cosmetic sample is weighed and a dilution of it is made in growth media so that appropriate calculations can be made later to enumerate the number of organisms per gram.

Polysorbate 80 is added to the dilution as it will inactivate certain preservatives that can interfere with the results, something to keep in mind if using polysorbate in formulations.

The dilution is mixed thoroughly and a portion of it spread on a nutrient agar plate and incubated at a temperature of between 30-35 degrees Celsius which is optimum for most organisms. After 48 hours, the numbers of colonies on the bacteria plate are counted. Colonies refer to a visible area of bacterial growth that arose from a single bacterial cell. After the number of colonies per plate is counted, the dilution factor is used to calculate the number of colony forming units per gram of cosmetic. Bacterial colonies are visible to the eye in 48 hours, however, fungal colonies, because they grow slower are not counted until 7 days. When I find samples that are positive I always recheck them because there are many 'slips' that can happen during the procedure that can result in a false positive.

I have received many questions about the natural preservative systems on the market such as Biopein, Suprapein, and Neopein all by BioBotanica I believe.

Although I have not personally used these products I have not heard of anyone using them successfully either. Many crafters complain about the strong smell they have. The complaint I have with the manufacturer is that they have not shown the consumer any convincing evidence that the products work effectively in a lotion or cream. They only show that each product has a very good mean inhibitory concentration (MIC). This alone does not mean that it can preserve a product and hold up under insult. Of course every lotion is different and should be tested independently, but I would like to see these companies show home crafters data on challenge testing a lotion preserved with their product. In challenge testing a known number of bacteria are introduced into a lotion, the lotion plated out as above after various times. The purpose is to see how long it takes the preservative system in the lotion to kill the introduced bacteria. This would be a more convincing test for home crafters and make them more willing to give up their money.

Hurdle technology refers to using a combination of methods in order to achieve a goal such as preservation.

Many essential oils have documented antimicrobial properties and established MIC. But, as before, this does not directly transfer to them having the ability to preserve a lotion/cream.

However, there is every reason to believe that it is possible to come up with a combination of essential oils that could inhibit bacterial and fungal growth in a cosmetic product. I certainly encourage experimentation, but to do so would just not be in the budget of a home crafter.

Various combinations at various doses would all have to be tested in a lotion sample. Each formulation is different and any preservative will act differently in a different formula.

At the levels necessary to inhibit microbial growth toxicity of the essential oils may be a problem. We know that some essential oils can cause skin sensitivities and other problems. In a stay on product like a lotion this could become an issue. High doses of essential oils can also affect the texture of a lotion.

Personally, I think safe is more important than natural. We are all aware of natural products that are very toxic, so we need to stop thinking of natural and safe as being synonyms.

Because a scientist takes a starting material and changes it through a chemical reaction cannot make something innately bad.

Commercial preservatives have undergone considerable safety testing and although you may disagree with the interpretation of some of that data, at least the data is there.

Oftentimes data on natural products is missing and the assumption is made that it is safe whether that is true or not. However, consumer demands are driving research in the area of safer and more natural preservatives and I don't doubt that there will be more and better products on the market soon.

You mention that you are available for 5 different Scientific Consultations.
Can you elaborate a little about these consultations?

These other services are mainly for larger businesses. As a scientist and a writer I have worked on a consultant basis with several large, health related companies. Many times this involves searching the scientific literature to find support for a particular product, writing educational articles on a variety of topics, and writing monographs (both herbal and drug).

For instance, I worked with the American Botanical Council in compiling scientific literature for herbal monographs as well as with Micromedex compiling information on both herbal and drug monographs.

I have also written disease based monographs and alternative and herbal treatments associated with those diseases as well as health encyclopedia articles. I find now that most large companies have scientists on staff to do this type of thing, but I enjoy giving seminars on the role of herbs in health and writing when the opportunity is there.

Cindy Jones, Ph.D.
Sagescript Institute, LLC
Microbiology Assays, Herbal Distillates, Teas, Skin Care and Personal Products

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