When you hear the words “Grapefruit Seed Extract,” what do you picture? For me, images of a nice, juicy grapefruit being hand-picked come to mind. And that’s exactly what companies with all-natural labels want you to see.

Unfortunately, grapefruit seed extract is not so innocent. Companies misleadingly market products as “all-natural” while sneaking in hormone-disrupting chemicals like benzalkonium chloride, triclosan, and methylparaben. So today, we’re digging into the startling findings from a recently published report that tested grapefruit seed extract products from six major companies—all but one contained synthetic preservatives.

What this means for your favorite products can be a bit complicated. So tune in to have it laid out straightforwardly because here’s the thing – your skincare shouldn’t be messing with your hormones. Simple as that!

In this episode, we’re chatting about:

• The Reality Behind Grapefruit Seed Extract
• Why is Grapefruit Seed Extract Even Being Used in These Products? 
• How to Spot Skincare Companies That Are Actually Clean

What is Grapefruit Seed Extract?

If you were to take the actual grapefruit seeds and extract them, there are some natural preserving qualities and antimicrobial properties to them. In fact, a lot of essential oils have some of these properties, but it doesn’t mean that’s enough to preserve a product. You can’t rely on that alone to ensure mold and bacteria aren’t growing in something you’re putting on your face or using in your home.

If you have a product with water in it, it will grow mold and bacteria. You need a preservation system for that product. So if grapefruit seed extract is not enough on its own to be a preservative, then why are companies selling it as a preservative? 

It’s being sold by companies selling preservatives and they’re calling it grapefruit seed extract, but that grapefruit seed extract also contains additional synthetic preservatives. Synthetic preservatives that are hiding in grapefruit seed extract are the things that are actually preserving the product. It’s not the grapefruit seed extract. It is the synthetic preservatives that are hiding in there that are not on the all-natural labels.

Why is Grapefruit Seed Extract Problematic?

A study looked at six major companies that sell grapefruit seed extract as a preservative. Depending on the one they tested, they found other synthetic preservatives like benzalkonium chloride, triclosan, and methylparaben. 

If you’ve been following me for any amount of time, you know those three things are on my avoid list. They are hormone disruptors. They have other health implications that come with them. These synthetically added preservatives make grapefruit seed extract work, but they aren’t listed on all-natural labels, so you have no idea that it’s actually in there, which I find extremely misleading. 

Of those six products that were tested, one of them didn’t contain any of those toxicants in it. None of those synthetic preservatives were present. It was just grapefruit seed extract. But here’s the thing: Researchers found it didn’t have any significant antibacterial properties, which means it’s completely ineffective as a preservative. So if a product has grapefruit seed extract in it and it is the only preservative that’s in that product, it isn’t going to effectively preserve that product. It will eventually grow mold and bacteria, and these are things you don’t want to put on your body or be exposed to.

How to Research Ingredients

When you research ingredients, go to reputable sources. One of the places and sources I use a lot is the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel, which does deep-diving reviews on ingredient impacts. They reviewed grapefruit seed extract in 2021, and they didn’t even list preservation as a function of that ingredient. 

Listen to episode 57 for my opinion on using apps to review ingredients.

Can You Trust All-Natural Labels?

The short answer is no. You need to dig a little deeper into the ingredients companies are using to preserve their products. If you’re using a product that claims to be preserved with grapefruit seed extract, that’s your sign to research more. If it’s a certified organic extract, it’s fine to have that extract in the product. There are positive reasons to use grapefruit seed extract in a skincare product, but if you don’t see another preservative in that product and there is water in that product, that is a huge problem. 

Look for preservations that are approved by organizations like EcoServe or Cosmos. You need to make sure that if you’re buying something with any amount of water in it, it has a preservation system, and grapefruit seed extract is not it.

I am a big believer in being informed and proactive. Reach out to companies, ask them questions, and hold them accountable. You’re giving them their dollars. You have a right to ask them about their ingredients.

If you enjoyed this week’s episode, please:

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Related Episodes:

Episode 57: 5 Reasons I Don’t Recommend Relying on Ingredient Apps (Yuka, Think Dirty, EWG)

Episode 61: Behind the Scenes of Farm Fresh Skin Care with Sara from Willow Moon Farm

Episode 77: What does BPA-Free Mean, Really? What are the Dangers of BPA (and How to Read Labels)