SILICONES
Silicones in personal care: The formulator’s dilemma
Tony O’Lenick – Nascent Technologies Corporation ABSTRACT
Today, it is expected that formulators will be able to adapt products quickly and efficiently to an ever-changing market. The market need may be a sensory one, or very commonly a response to the addition of a raw material to an ever-growing list of raw materials that are no longer acceptable in formulations. This requires an understanding not only of the chemistry of raw materials, but more importantly of how a raw material will function in combination with other ingredients. The most efficient method of removing one class of materials and replacing them with a different class is to understand their function in complex formulations. The concept of ‘functional formulation’ has been introduced and is now finding wide acceptance. Together with ‘minimally disruptive formulation’, this provides a pathway to efficient formulation.
The personal care market continues to evolve. In a recent article in an article entitled ‘From nature to hair beauty”, cosmetic chemists from Dow state that: “While evolving consumer preferences have shifted the focus from fully synthetic hair care offerings to biobased and degradable materials, natural alternatives struggle to achieve the smooth hair sensation that materials like silicones achieve. Cellulose, an abundant natural polysaccharide from cotton or wood, can be structurally modified to bring new benefits to hair care formulations, but often does not achieve silicones’ performance.”1 The formulation chemist needs to be able
to provide products that meet consumer preferences on the source of raw materials and customer demands in terms of performance. This means that there will be a dichotomy in the market between two types of products, one being all-natural and the other allowing synthetic raw materials to be present. The formulator needs to be able to switch
types of products quickly when the market demands. Fortunately, the use of minimally disruptive formulation (MDF)2 formulation (FF)3
can equip the formulator
to rapidly move from one type of product to another.
www.personalcaremagazine.com and functional
MDF: Foaming silicone polymer MDF refers to the ability to add low concentrations of silicone or other natural polymers into a formulation. The polymers need to be surface-active, that is active at the interface to work at low concentrations. The concept was introduced in 2015.2-5 This approach depends upon the
formulator’s skill to create products that impart consumer-perceivable differences to meet a market need. Since aesthetics are a key attribute of personal care products, the ability to alter their sensorial characteristics
CH3 CH3
R-Si-(-O-Si-)a CH3
CH3 R is-(CH2 )3 CH3
-(-O-Si-)b R
-O-(CH2 CH3
--O-Si-R CH3
CH2 -O)3 Figure 1: Bis-PEG-8-PEG-8 dimethicone -H
and provide a different consumer perception—with minimal changes to the formulation—is a very cost-effective way to develop new products Many formulations will be based upon
new raw materials that are modifications of existing technologies. One such formulation, called Bountiful Body Wash6
is based upon
Bis-PEG-8-PEG-8 dimethicone (Figure 1). This is a patented raw material that provides a shear-thinning rheology, enhanced foaming and silky feel. It is supplied by Siltech in association with ACT Solutions. The formulation shown in Table 1 is
sulfate-free and contains 3% w/w Bis-PEG- 8-PEG-8 dimethicone. This formulation is an example of where a unique raw material added at less than 5% w/w can alter the feel of a formulation and make a consumer perceivable difference.
FF: Replacing amino silicone with cellulose quat The concept of FF was introduced in a webinar in 2020.7
This approach is different from MDF
in that it does not add a new surface-active polymer to an existing formulation; rather it replaces existing surface-active polymers in the
October 2021 PERSONAL CARE
51
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92
