This week’s ingredient comes from Mitch in San Dimas, California.
Mitch writes: “Ms B. My lady friend insists the EDTA in my Vaseline Intensive Care Lotion
is totally ruining the environment.
That stuffs in everything!
Is she right?
Should I make her happy and just get rid of it?”
Now Mitch, Ms. Beautyphile is a cosmetics show and not a relationships column, but I’ll
give you the down-low then let you two talk it out.
So what is EDTA and where does it come from?
Enter a dark laboratory, where a mad scientist combined ethelynediamine, formaldehyde & sodium
cyanide to create an ingredient named Etheynediamenetetraacetic acid or E.D.T.A.
Better known as THE CLAW!
It’s alive!
The claw grabs metal atoms with it’s super strong chemical grip rendering them helpless!
Oh!
Hi guys!
EDTA is what we call a chelate, a molecule that forms several bonds around a single charged
metal, preventing it from interacting with anything else.
The claw is here to help us understand EDTA’s molecular structure.
Hit it claw!
At the claws center is an ethylene group(CH2-CH2) with 2 nitrogens attached.
Each nitrogen is bonded to 2 acetic acid units.
What’s acetic acid you ask?
Vinegar!
The 2 nitrogens and all four acids radiate a negative charge.
It’s like a magnetic force field ,disarming metals caught in it’s merciless grip.
It turns out the claw is not the villain here, but wayward metals that wreak havok on life
as well as carefully balanced cosmetic formulations.
In your everyday life, EDTA...
Keeps your tighty whities white, by preventing metals from weakening your detergents.
And removes disruptive metals from victims of arsenic and lead poisoning.
And fortifies foods so your morning breakfast cereal doesn’t look like this…
Thanks claw!
In some ways, products in the beauty aisle are no different from food in the grocery
aisle - they develop funny smells, look less appealing, and can become downright hazardous
over time.
Who wants a product that features bacteria, oxidation, and spoilage?
Not me!
In Mitch’s Vaseline Intensive Care, EDTA:
Improves Stability.
It acts as an antioxidant preventing oils and fragrance from degrading, so you can say,
“what a lovely lotion” instead of “pee you!”.
Helps Out Preservatives.
It’s been known to give preservatives a big boost, by dismantling the metals in the
bacteria’s cell wall, allowing them to penetrate and do their job more effectively.
Locks in Color and Feel Removing the metals from chemical contact within the formula guarantees
that the next bottle you buy has the same color and texture as the very first bottle
purchased.
In products like soaps and shampoos, EDTA is a water softener, freeing bath time from
the minerals that dampen suds, reduce cleaning action, and create that soap scum ring around
the tub.
EDTA is pretty helpful, no?
Before you get excited, let’s talk about EDTA and the environment.
It’s not very biodegradable and it can build up in surrounding areas.
The good news is, we are seeing less EDTA in our products as companies begin to use
greener alternatives.
If you’re thinking of avoiding EDTA consider this:
Products without EDTA have shorter shelf lives, and look or smell bad in less time.
EDTA makes up less than a tenth of a percent of most cosmetic formulas, and you’ll need
to keep an eye out for environmentally sound alternatives
Need relationship advice or got an ingredient you want me to review?
Do like our friend Mitch, and fire off an email to askme@msbeautyphile.com.
The next ingredient I review could be the one you requested.