Product Info

The Apicare family prides itself on being the first company in the world to use active Manuka honey in natural skin care products.

We use only top quality and natural ingredients that have proven skin care benefits and ensure our ingredients are sourced sustainably.

Manuka honey added to our skin care has been tested by an independent laboratory and certified as being active prior to being added to our formulations.

We've crafted safe, gentle formulas for all your skin needs and it's important to us that you know what goes into our products and how we keep them fresh.

Discover the science behind the success of our natural honey skin care:

The science behind our success

All Apicare products meet the criteria set out in the European Union Directive for cosmetic safety and are clearly and accurately labelled in accordance with the EU guidelines.  We have always believed customers deserve to know what's in their skin care.

All Apicare products are tested for microbial safety during development and production.  We produce our skin care in small batches, which are tested for bacteria, moulds and yeasts at pre-production, production and post-production pre-packaging stages so you can be sure all Apicare skin care has been rigorously tested and is safe for you to use.

How are beauty products preserved?

The need to preserve arises only once water has been added to the formula, e.g. crèmes, lotions, body washes. Water is a great breeding ground for bacteria, so over time skin care products that are not preserved or are preserved inadequately can become loaded with micro organisms.

The problem is that this can happen very quickly (within weeks) from the time it is manufactured and you may not be able to tell.  A product can often look, feel and smell normal but have high bacterial readings.   It is obviously not safe to be applying contaminated products to your skin.

To ensure safety, all products requiring a preservative should be challenge tested.  This involves applying a selection of micro organisms to the skin care product under accelerated conditions to ensure the preservative system selected for the product is actually effective.

Crèmes, lotions and washes can be produced in small batches without the use of a preservative but need to be stored in the refrigerator and used within a few weeks of manufacture.  This is acceptable if you are making product for yourself at home and using it quickly but is not achievable for cosmetics that you buy online, in pharmacies, in supermarkets etc.

What does Apicare use to preserve its products?

We use a mixture of different preservative combinations as listed below.  All of our ingredients are listed as safe by the Cosmetics Ingredient Regulatory Expert Panel.

• Phenoxyethanol and Ethylhexylglycerin (>1.0%) in some of our leave on products (crèmes, lotions and body butters)
• and/or eco-certified dehydroacetic acid (and) benzyl alcohol
• Lexgard