What preservatives do, and the parabens question
Any product that contains water needs something to keep microbes out of it, and for a century the workhorse has been the paraben family - methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben, ethylparaben and a few others. They are effective at very low concentrations, cheap, and stable across temperature ranges, which is why they remain legal in EU cosmetics under Regulation 1223/2009 at strictly limited percentages. The contested part is their weak estrogen-mimicking activity in laboratory studies; the European scientific consensus is that parabens at permitted levels are safe, while the consumer concern is that cumulative exposure from many products is hard to quantify. Khan Al Saboun preserves its range differently, and the section below describes how.
What our products use
Cold-process soap bars are essentially self-preserving: their high pH and low water content make them inhospitable to microbial growth. For the water-containing products - hydrosols, body splashes, creams - the formulas rely on phenoxyethanol at well under 1%, potassium sorbate (the same preservative used in cheese and bread), and the inherent stability of cold-pressed oils stored away from light. The trade-off is a shorter shelf life than heavily preserved cosmetics: the products are typically dated to twelve to eighteen months from production. Store them out of direct sunlight, replace the cap firmly after each use, and the dates printed on the label are conservative.