A-Leen 5 and E-Leen Smart Blends – Smart Solutions for Preservative-Free Natural Cosmetic Products

Summary

Consumer demand for natural cosmetic products continues to become a global trend. For this reason, cosmetic product and cosmetic raw material manufacturers share a common objective: finding cost-effective bio-based components. A-Leen 5 is a nature-derived version of the popular component Pentylene Glycol. Produced from sugarcane waste and possessing the same skin moisturising, emollient and antimicrobial effects as its petrochemical equivalents, it is a product that has proven itself. E-Leen products consist of the A-Leen 5 product range of optimised blends. These blends create self-preserving cosmetic products at low usage levels.

Introduction

With the aid of the internet and mobile media, consumers are becoming more educated and informed than ever before. Global discussions on product safety, environmental compatibility and sustainability are increasingly influencing consumer purchasing decisions.

For this reason, consumer product suppliers must answer two fundamental questions:

1) How can attractive, safe and sustainable products be designed at the same time? 2) How can these products be low-cost for the consumer? Here, joint creativity of product and ingredient developers is required.

Sustainable Production

The production of sustainable cosmetic components from renewable sources should ideally not compete with food production. One of the main reasons for this is the use of by-products from food production in cosmetic products. To give an example: bagasse from sugar production is a waste product that is normally burned or composted. However, bagasse can be converted into the naturally derived intermediate product "furfural," which contains indigestible hemicellulose. This intermediate product is used as raw material for Pentylene Glycol (Trade name: A-Leen 5), a popular and multifunctional component. A-Leen 5 is a colourless and odourless liquid, contains no genetically modified organisms, is USDA BioBased certified, Cosmos approved and Natrue compliant. All of this makes A-Leen 5 suitable for use in natural cosmetic products.

Green Preservation

Typically, the addition of 3% to 5% A-Leen 5 to cosmetic products ensures complete product protection. The effectiveness of conventional preservatives or antimicrobial agents is also significantly increased with A-Leen 5. Such combinations are highly effective at lower usage levels than A-Leen 5 alone, which results in lower costs and softer skin feel. Minasolve offers many optimised "smart blends" under the "E-Leen" brand: E-Leen Green A: A-Leen 5 provides reliable protection even at high pH values when combined with the natural aromatic component Phenylpropanol. E-Leen Green A contains a bio-based, Cosmos-approved and patent-pending version of Phenylpropanol (Trade name: A-Leen Aroma 3) produced solely by Minasolve. The smart blend E-Leen Green A (INCI: Pentylene Glycol, Phenylpropanol) is highly effective at 2% usage level against bacteria, yeasts and moulds. Additionally, E-Leen Green A imparts a warm and pleasant aromatic scent to formulations. E-Leen Green B: E-Leen Green B (INCI: Pentylene Glycol, Water, Sodium Benzoate, Benzoic Acid) is a Cosmos-compliant product designed to provide cost-effective preservation of natural cosmetics. The patented solution combines A-Leen 5 with benzoic acid and sodium benzoate, the salt of benzoic acid. Both are effectively stabilised by A-Leen 5 in an optimised blend. For this reason, any pH variation that would normally result from pure benzoic acid is typically avoided and the preservative effect is enhanced. E-Leen Green C: E-Leen Green C (INCI: Pentylene Glycol, Glyceryl Caprylate/Caprate) is a mild solution used to protect green cosmetic products, particularly against bacteria and yeasts. The blend is made from components derived from renewable sources and 100% nature-derived. Its non-ionic component-based content allows for a wide variety of applications, particularly for sensitive skin. E-Leen Green OR: E-Leen Green OR (INCI: Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Bioflavonoids) is a unique combination of A-Leen 5 and organic citrus extracts obtained from food waste. Its antioxidant properties make E-Leen Green OR particularly suitable for facial care products and detox concepts. The preservative formulation-building capabilities of A-Leen 5 and E-Leen smart blends have been demonstrated by microbial challenge tests according to ISO 11930. Results are summarised in Table 1. All blends demonstrated high to very high efficacy in the two products tested. [caption id="attachment_103719" align="aligncenter"] Table 2. O/W emulsion subjected to challenge tests.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_103720" align="aligncenter"] Table 3. Sulphate-free shampoo formulation subjected to challenge tests.[/caption] Summary Nature-derived materials open up new possibilities for the creation of natural cosmetics. The bio-based component "A-Leen 5" has multiple functions in formulations in which it is incorporated. These include antimicrobial preservation of formulations, skin moisturising, improved sensorial properties of skincare products and use as a solvent. A-Leen 5 also serves as an efficacy booster in ready-to-use E-Leen Green A, E-Leen Green B, E-Leen Green C and E-Leen Green OR blends. All these components are Cosmos-approved solutions for the creation of fully self-preserving natural cosmetic products. A-Leen 5 and the E-Leen series enable the reduction of the carbon footprint of personal care products without compromising performance.   Berk Hakkı Gazioğlu Sales Manager Arerko Kimya Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.             Markus Nahrwold Senior R&D Chemist Minasolve Solutions SPRL