Preservatives in moisturizers on the Swedish market

The presence of 9 common preservatives was investigated in 100 moisturizers by high-performance liquid chromatography. According to the manufacturers/suppliers 88 of the 100 moisturizers contained at least one of the 9 preservatives. This information was erroneous in 9 cases (10.2%). When the moisturizers were investigated for the presence of the 9 preservatives which should not be present in the moisturizers according to the manufacturers/suppliers, at least one of the preservatives was detected in 17 moisturizers (17.0%). Parabens were the most common preservatives. The concentrations of the 9 preservatives did not exceed the maximum concentrations allowed in cosmetics. When a patient with suspected allergic contact dermatitis tests positively to a preservative, the assessment of present clinical relevance requires demonstration of exposure to the sensitizer. This demonstration cannot rely solely on information on the packages or from the manufacturers/suppliers but has often to be supplemented by chemical analysis.