COLD PROCESSING ECO REPORT
“Cold processing potentially allows the formulator to construct entire phases separately and to simply bring them together with a suitable mixing system.
“This process also allows greater flexibility for formulation development.”
MEETING THE TREND
Of course, as Le Bris explains, “not all ingredients for personal care products are cold processable”. “Suitable raw materials must be liquid or readily soluble at room temperature,” she adds. “For solid materials, such as coconut oil or beeswax, the current processes require hot blending.”
That said, for BASF, with an eye on sustainability across the value chain, “cold processable ingredients is one of many opportunities to work on this important goal”. Le Bris says BASF’s portfolio of cold processable materials includes Euperlan NL Pearl, a pearliser that also boosts the conditioning effect of cationic conditioning polymers in shampoos; Verdessence Alginate, an algae-based, natural rheology modifier for hair care; Verdessence Glucomannan, a natural, cold processable rheology modifier, obtained from the tuber of the konjac plant; Dehyton SFA, an ultra-mild surfactant blend for shampoos and body washes; Plantapon ACG 50, an anionic surfactant suitable for personal care cleansing preparations; and Plantapon Soy, a bio-based surfactant with excellent mildness. Mibelle Biochemistry, meanwhile, specialises in active cosmetic ingredients and, as Düring notes: “Active ingredients should be incorporated into the finished product at the end of the manufacturing process, below 40°C, if possible.
“This means that most of Mibelle Biochemistry’s active ingredients are suitable for cold processing.” Two recent examples she flags up are NovoRetin and CALMandrin, which are “both liquid active ingredients that are very easy to homogenise at the end of the manufacturing process”.
NovoRetin is based on mastic from the bark of a tree that grows on the Greek island Chios and provides a natural alternative to the gold-standard anti-ager retinol, while CALMandrin, which derives from upcycled mandarin peel paste (also sourced from Chios), combats inflammaging. The company’s IceAwake, meanwhile, which addresses visual signs associated with poor sleep quality, “is an example of a powder active ingredient without preservatives, that easily dissolves in the water phase by stirring. “It can also be pre-dissolved in a small portion of the water phase and added at the end.” Such ingredients, says Düring, prove “it is still possible to develop a finished formula and at the same time do something for the environment by developing a process that is saving energy and still being able to follow the biotech beauty or natural cosmetics trend”.
She predicts that cold processing “will become a megatrend” for creating “resource-saving,
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sustainable and natural products, whether active ingredients or finished cosmetic products”. BASF’s Le Bris, in addition, believes the method’s popularity will only grow as the technology increases in sophistication.
“The potential of cold processing technology is high and, in the coming years, further scientific expertise, as well as the availability of compatible raw materials, should lead to an increased number of cold-processed finished products,” she predicts
WE ASK THE EXPERT
Tumi Siwoku, Creative Director, Beauty Science Labs How helpful are ingredients that can be cold processed when
creating products with a sustainable brief? At its heart, sustainability is the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance on earth. Sustainability in the personal care realm is where we can incorporate the most sustainable practices in not only the supply chain for creating products, but in the process of formulating products. Sustainable supply chains think about how the
environment, people and other external ecological factors are affected by a product’s large scale manufacture. That’s why many brands are trying to achieve net zero (reducing carbon footprints), B Corp and the many other ways brands try and earn their credibility for their commitment to protecting our planet. How can we replenish, conserve and maintain
our earth’s resources when we are formulating? The simple answer is to reduce the energy consumption, time and resources we use while producing a product. This includes utilising ingredients that are not taking away from the earth’s reserves (energy and/or physical resources) at a rate faster than it can be replenished. One way we can do this is through cold
processing formulations. A cold process formulation is a product that can be made at room temperature with no requirements to use heat. This way of formulating often requires less stages and steps than hot processing, which, in turn, increases the efficiency of the manufacturing processes whilst reducing the energy consumption. Ingredients that allow for a cold processed
product formulation introduce simplicity and ease to the development process. Not all ingredients can be processed cold, this is particularly true for waxes, high melting point emulsifiers and some powdered ingredients with poor liquid solubility. Cold processing is a means of conserving energy and the process can also save time (and money); this is very helpful for those meeting a sustainable brief.
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