As more and more discerning consumers snap up personal care items with green, clean, or natural claims, hair care product labels are now falling under similar scrutiny. In fact, consumers today are often doubly concerned about purchasing natural claims haircare products, as these products are often massaged or rubbed into the scalp, and very readily absorbed into the body and bloodstream. Plus, natural claims hair care products are often seen as more healthful and nourishing for hair.

In addition to their inclination to go with natural claims, and hair products touting the benefits of their favorite “clean” foods, consumers also have a long laundry list of ingredients they want far, far away from their next clarifying shampoo, sea salt wave hair mist, or softening clay mask. Some of the biggest ingredient offenders the natural claims hair care shopper wants banished from his or her next purchase? ‘Unclean” preservatives that, though often not proven to have negative effects, are still an increasingly harder sell to consumers.

“Consumers have become ingredient-savvy and are very conscious of the products they are using on their hair and skin,” Steve Friedman, Vice President of Miami-based Hollywood Beauty Products said in an interview with Drugstore News. “Products with (ingredients) which were once widely used in hair care… have become taboo in today’s modern formulations.”

Still, manufacturers know that preservatives are a critical facet in creating safe, effective, and long-lasting hair care products consumers will love. Maybe most importantly, preservatives prevent or inhibit microbial growth like mold, yeast, fungus, bacteria, and even viruses in hair care products. Without the use of preservatives, a consumers’ newest curl cream or shine spray would become a veritable petri dish, teeming with bacteria, and the potential to cause an infection if ingested through the eyes or mouth.

Preservatives also offer shelf stability for hair care products, ensuring hair-amplifying items will last longer, and without chilled refrigeration (nobody wants to store their shampoo in the vegetable drawer!).  Additionally, preservatives ensure a product won’t separate, become discolored, change formulation, or release unpleasant gases and odors after the original open date. In short, preservatives are vital to creating safe, effective hair care products.

But what about the need for that increasingly important “natural” label on a hair care product?

Fortunately, for future-focused, innovative formulators who want to tap into the growing natural claims haircare market and create safe, efficacious products, multi-functional mild preservatives systems offer the perfect solution. With modern preservatives, like the Sharon Advanced Preservatives Line, new hair care product formulations can make both manufacturers and consumers happy.

Preservatives like the Sharon Advanced Preservatives Line are 100% free from consumer-shunned formaldehyde donors, isothiazolinones and other ingredients, as well as globally approved, heat stable, suitable for wide pH range, and offering broad spectrum protection. In short, contemporary preservative lineups such as the Sharon Advanced Preservatives Line mean a formulator doesn’t have to choose between safety, efficacy or the natural claims label.

Embracing the growing natural claims hair care product market? More than ever, it’s a profitable opportunity for manufacturers to use innovative modern preservatives to create effective products consumers will “naturally” love.