Antimicrobial effectiveness of tea tree oil in cosmetic formulations

化妆品产品经常暴露于开放环境并与皮肤接触。因此，需要合适的防腐剂以使产品的微生物污染最小化。传统的化妆品防腐剂因健康问题而备受争议。例如，对羟基苯甲酸酯防腐剂与癌症，DNA损伤有关，并且可能具有不必要的激素效应。消费者正在寻找天然和更安全的替代品，这些替代品与目前的合成化合物一样有效地保存产品。因此，需要研究天然防腐剂的有效性和达到有效性所需的量。本项目探讨了天然抗菌剂（即茶树油）作为防腐剂和/或防腐剂在复杂的多组分化妆品中的潜在用途。主要目的是确定这些天然产品的优选组合物，从而在常规使用期间延长保质期并减少产品内的微生物污染。

Cosmetic products are often exposed to open environments and come into contact with skin. A need therefore exists for a suitable preservative to minimize microbial contamination of the product. Traditional cosmetic preservatives are becoming controversial due to health concerns. For example, paraben preservatives have been linked to cancer, DNA damage, and may have unwanted hormonal effects. Consumers are in search of natural and safer alternatives that are as effective in preserving the product as the current synthetic compounds. A need therefore exists to research the effectiveness of natural preservatives and the quantity required to reach effectiveness. The present project addresses the potential use of naturally-occurring antimicrobial (namely tea tree oil) as an antiseptic and/or preservative used in complex multi-component cosmetics products. The main objective is to determine the preferred composition of these natural products resulting in increased shelf-life and decreased microbial contamination within the product during regular use.