Vit C and Sodium Benzoate?

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Oxana124
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Vit C and Sodium Benzoate?

Post by Oxana124 » Wed May 22, 2013 2:21 pm

I recently learned that Sodium Benzoate, although safe on its own, when combined with Vit C and similar acids can produce the carcinogen Benzene.
I just wanted to ask about this since I know some of the serums, including the Mama's Helper that I use, have both Sodium Benzoate and Vit C.
I know there are various forums of Vit C, and the one in the serum is not the typical ascorbic acid, but instead magnesium ascorbyl phosphate. I am assuming those are different. And so I wanted to ask how this type of Vit C reacted with the Sodium Benzoate.
Thank you.
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karen
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Re: Vit C and Sodium Benzoate?

Post by karen » Thu May 23, 2013 9:03 am

You are correct- they are very different forms of vitamin c. Ascorbic acid has a low pH so it stings on your skin, and it oxidizes pretty quickly. Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate is very stable, and has a much higher pH.

In our finished products the concentration of sodium benzoate is less than .1%- legally I don't even have to declare that it's in there, but that's not how we roll.

I like sodium benzoate because it is food safe, and it's an effective preservative against molds, and fungus even at a very low usage rate. We use preservatives to make safe products- I've seen reports of people actually dying from using improperly preserved products, and it's something I feel very strongly about. While I wouldn't use it to preserve an ascorbic acid vitamin c product I do feel that it's safe to use along with the magnesium ascorbyl phosphate.

As always, I leave it up to you to decide, but for me, and for SN I think it's very safe. Here's a link to the wiki article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_benzoate
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_in_soft_drinks
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Oxana124
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Re: Vit C and Sodium Benzoate?

Post by Oxana124 » Thu May 23, 2013 9:13 am

Thank you for clarifying Karen :)

I did a lot of researching last night on it and found this great and thorough article:
http://blog.salonnaturalsonline.com/201 ... -cancer-2/

Sounds like a lot of conditions need to be met for benzene to form, like:

"Benzene production drops sharply at pH levels of between 3 and 5 and laboratory tests indicate that benzene does not form at pH 7."

What Ph are the serums? I'm assuming a higher Ph since skin I think is 6, and anything too low would sting.

Overall it sounds like the chances of the serums forming any benzene are virtually zero :)
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Re: Vit C and Sodium Benzoate?

Post by rymorg2 » Thu May 23, 2013 9:47 am

Not Karen, but skin is 4.5-5.5 just Like hair.
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Re: Vit C and Sodium Benzoate?

Post by JenW » Thu May 23, 2013 10:49 am

The article also mentions that pairing the Sodium Benzoate with Gluconoacetone stabilizes it even more.

And rymorg 2 is right, healthy skin is usually around 5.
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Re: Vit C and Sodium Benzoate?

Post by karen » Thu May 23, 2013 12:16 pm

Great article link!!! FWIW the WHO says that up to 10 parts per million is safe in drinking water, and you get the most exposure when you're pumping gas, but I don't want to add to anyone's exposure to it.

The pH of the serums varies a little depending on the other ingredients. They're all between 5.5-7. Heat is another variable in the reaction, and we don't heat any of the Vitamin C serums either.

Preservative systems are tricky- it requires a lot of research, and testing to make sure they match well with the products you're making, and not toxic. I researched for about 2 years before I settled on the one that we use (I started working on skin care almost immediately). I felt really comfortable with it at the time, and going on 4 years later I'm still glad we use it.
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