18 SITE VISIT


footprint, much of the freight transport to/from Seneffe is via barges. Dow says this method takes the equivalent of over a thousand road tankers off the road every year. Dow is also committed to inclusivity and


education at Seneffe. There are seven employee resource groups plus the Seneffe United inclusion council. Dow’s STEM Ambassadors meanwhile encourage students to choose a scientific or technical orientation and participate in university job days. STEM Ambassadors also organise visits to the


‘Inspiration Studio’ at Seneffe, which showcases its R&D and efforts to develop a customer- centric, science-led partnership approach to creating new personal care solutions. The collaborative spaces to enable


customer-driven innovation includes 2,700 square metres of lab space broken into 50 multifunctional laboratory zones. While there, I was shown the benefits of


silicones in numerous applications, such as enhanced water repellence and hydrophobic properties for hair care. In addition, there was a demonstration of a skin-imaging system that provides an in-depth analysis of facial characteristics such as fine lines, wrinkles, UV spots and pores. I was also shown an ozone-induced chamber


used to evaluate the benefits of Dow’s cosmetic ingredients to prevent ozone-induced skin damage.


Challenges and opportunities After the tour, I spoke to Isabelle Van Reeth, Dow personal care technical service and development Fellow and skincare global technical leader and Isabel Almiro do Vale, global marketing and strategy director for personal care. Isabel is keen to clarify misconceptions


about silicone-based ingredients. “It’s silicon-based chemistry, from fluids


PERSONAL CARE November 2023


through emulsions to emulsifiers, to film formers to elastomers. But people silicones interchangeably and, unfortunately, an opinion-maker may say silicone is bad for your hair. “And suddenly a full set of chemistry is


perceived as the key cause of a formula poor performance, when there was no independent testing to isolate the cause-effect.” Isabelle Van Reeth adds: "We would like


consumers to understand that silicone is a very extensive chemistry, encompassing a large number of materials such as organic chemistry. "Some materials like cyclics are being


regulated in Europe. These behave in a different way compared to other silicone- based ingredients that bring a unique performance to personal care products." Dow sees exciting opportunities to innovate


with silicone chemistry due to the growing skinification of hair care trend, which is opening up new avenues for products targeting


(Above) Dow's ozone-induced chamber evaluates how its cosmetic ingredients prevent ozone-induced skin damage; (below) Dow personal care TS&D Fellow Isabelle Van Reeth


different hair types and textures. “When you go into new formats, you’re changing the rheology and stability of the formulation. With our capabilities, we have the power to create products for the new formulas,” says Almiro do Vale. “People like Isabelle on the technical side


can engage with our R&D team and come up with new film forming solutions. And we can do this in collaboration with brand owners.”


Collab central Collaboration is an increasingly important part of Dow’s personal care business offering, says Van Reeth. “Early collaboration is accelerating. It’s a


different way of working but there is a trend towards big brand owners to rely ever more on suppliers to provide finished formulations.” “I think the reason is that the turnover on the finished product market is very high and even big companies can have issues with keeping up with consumer wishes. “I think is a great move, because by


collaborating you can bring better things to market.” Almiro do Vale adds: “We create new


ingredients and new materials. By working really collaboratively with brand owners, it also helps them to have early access to the right materials and be the first in the market. “Anyone who has a brand that stands out there


with a reputation wants high performance, and we can come up with something, whether it’s an incremental improvement or a super new concept. They want to work with us, and we want to work with them. It’s really a joint-win proposition.” PC


www.personalcaremagazine.com


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