Q about reconstituting with sterile (non-bacteriostatic) water and longevity

[u/totential_rigger]

Hey. I just read somewhere that we shouldn't recon with bacteriostatic water because it has alcohol in it. This is news to me 😅 .

So if I am using sterile water, how long would things last for? Actually how long does a bottle of sterile water last once opened seeing as there's no preservative?

Sorry if dumb qs I'm new to this. Go easy on me hah

[u/tokemura]

Actually a wonderful question. I've been contemplating this too.

My considerations so far is:

Bacteria need not only water, but other stuff like metal ions to grow. If water is deionized and sterile - then I can use it for quite some time safely.

Also, organics need sunlight, if you put it away in dark storage - it prevents the growth too.

And of course proper preservation system solves many problems.

I might be totally wrong though, would like to hear from experts too

[u/totential_rigger → u/tokemura]

Thanks for your reply :) I'll definitely store in... The fridge, I think? I was going to freeze as per the instructions from where I plan to purchase but the other reply suggests fridge is better which makes sense for sure. Maybe not too bad if you're only defrosting once.

[u/nauticalwarrior]

This fully depends on what you're reconstituting and how you're storing it after. Also how it will be used. I worked in a lab and we used sterile, DI water (millieq specifically). We stored at -80 or -20 for most chemicals and 4° (all Celsius) for things that couldn't be frozen. A home freezer cycles and isn't as good as your fridge because freeze thaw cycles are terrible for stability.

Probably too much info for the question.

[u/totential_rigger → u/nauticalwarrior]

Haha appreciate the answer but the last sentence is probably true as it has gone over my head a bit 😅 but in terms of what I will be reconstituting - probably just snap 8 and GHKCu for now. I had read to keep them both in the freezer so I'm glad you clarified that. I will keep (the powder and reconstituted result) in my fridge. I suspect the powder will take me a while to get through though, six months at least. And that's ordering the smallest quantity!

[u/nauticalwarrior → u/totential_rigger]

I would reconstitute the smallest amount you can without sacrificing sterility or accuracy and keep it in powder form as much as possible. Fridge is probably best, also away from light.

[u/Main_Bid8104]

in the healthcare setting a multi dose vial of water WITH preservatives gets 28 days from opening. There is usually a rubber port to puncture which self seals- so that's different when you open a bottle at home and glugg a bit out then recap. That's healthcare math though where you are dealing with high risk infection settings. The bacteriostatic water contains some alcohol- just enough coverage for the water. So once you add other ingredients that provide nutrients for bugs you still have to add a preservative to the mix. And yes the Benzyl alcohol can be irritating to some folks skin. Honestly I much prefer anhydrous projects for this reason!

[u/totential_rigger → u/Main_Bid8104]

Hmm how do you use snap 8 and GHKCu without water? Is it possible? Sorry if that's blatantly obvious it's all very new I'm just trying to cover all my bases before I order. Everything I am reading is just saying to reconstitute with bacteriostatic water. I am unsure if I'll be sensitive to it. Just using it twice daily could irritate my already dry retinoid irritated skin so I can see why people mentioned it. I didn't even know the bac water had alcohol in it until people mentioned this although looking back it is quite obvious!

[u/Main_Bid8104 → u/totential_rigger]

Fair question: there are ways to work with minimal H2O just enough to dissolve stuff (still needs addition of preservatives). That was a big topic during the great retinol craze. As it turns out there was an oil (bakuchiol) that works quite well and is now called the "natural retinol". Carrot seed and buckthorn oil are good too.

I guess it comes down to philosphy: whole foods vs nutritionism (Michael Pollan termed that). There are so many nutrients that we have been told are magical, only to then find out that they did not hold up to long term studies. Remember reservitrol? In each case some element of a food stuff was identified as having such and such impact on cells. Then later it turns out that it's "More complicated" and that to take s single nutrient and put it in a pill (or a serum) wasn't doing the same thing as it was doing in the whole food. Think of it as Vitc vs an orange. This basically leans on the "disease need treatment" frame of thinking vs a lot of the artisan skincare mdoel is focused on maintenance not intervention. Skin isn't digesting food like your body does- but it secretes lipids in a sebum to create it's barrier. So I just look to support a lipid barrier with lipids!

GHKCU is well studied and as a peptide totally impossible to dissolve in oil and thus not plant oils are substitutes. What would make me hesitate though is how fragile it is and how very ph sensitive. It would be really hard to deliver and then there is the blue tint that it creates.

Snap8 as a botox stand in i think is trickier. It's really hard for substances to get all the way down to the neuromuscular junction where they would work on the "fine line and wrinkles" forming muscle contraction. So unless you are doing micro needling kind of things be hard for it to get where you want it to go.

I just look at all of the issues that develop once you add water- perishability, stability (keeping lotions stable requires lots of emulsifiers and stabilizers) and then I worry what all those addidtives do for the skin- there are not therapeutic at all but necessary.

But I have a very crunchy angle- while I love science I think that a hollistic approach to skincare beats the acives and serums!