UV Protection in Multi-functional Cosmetic and Personal Care Products
The demand from products targeted towards cosmetics and
personal care market has always been very high. The expectations and demands of endusers make it necessary for manufacturers to break the innovation barriers and develop formulations that are efficient, sustainable, safe and have cosmetic elegance.
Multi-functional products meet several expectations at the same time and fuse different
product segments. Nowadays, multi-functionality is crucial from both the customers and manufacturers perspective. Customers can use fewer number of products to satisfy their needs while spending less money. On the other hand, manufacturers can promote
their multi-functional products with multiple claims.
The use of actives that offers UV and/or high energy visible light/blue light (HEVL) protection in a variety of product types and SPF levels is an important example for products with multi-functionality. With the growing understanding of the harmful effects of UV and HEVL light, customers also need UV protection in cosmetics and personal care products in addition to their sunscreens.
Sun serums, lip balms, coloured cosmetics (make-up products, BB creams, etc.), hair care products (e.g. powder shampoo, hair oil, hair spray), anti-aging and anti-blemish moisturizers are some examples of multi-functional products with UV protection expectations.
Lately, multi-functionality trends in cosmetics and personal care market have been discussed thoroughly in international conferences and fairs such as IFSCC 2022 and In-cosmetics 2023. The active ingredients used in UV protection can be broadly categorized
into two as organic (chemical) and inorganic (physical).
While mineral filters titanium dioxide (TiO
2) and zinc oxide (ZnO) are more human and environment friendly compared to chemical filters, they also provide higher and broad-spectrum protection performance from UV radiation compared to chemical filters
1.
The protection performance of mineral UV filters in cosmetics and personal care formulations is more dependent on the formulation type, processing conditions, and usage amounts compared to that of chemical UV filters. Accordingly, high performance, multi-functional formulation design and development using mineral filters is of crucial importance.
The interaction of mineral filters with different formulation types such as emulsions, oil-based systems, gel and spray forms is important in terms of the consistency, stability, sensorial characteristics and performance of the end product. Moreover, not only the design of such multi-functional formulations should be novel, but also the UV active ingredients
used needs to be innovative as well.
Besides providing high and broad spectrum UV protection performance, UV filters used in these multi-functional formulations must be sustainable, safe, reliable, eco-friendly, devoid of white-cast on skin, easy to formulate and not leave unpleasant skin feeling upon application.
The fact that the end-product users expect the best for all the features offered in
multi-functional products means that such requirements from UV filters must be met.
There have been extensive innovative product development efforts to enhance the protection performance and sensorial characteristics of existing ZnO and TiO2 actives to meet the demands for multi-functional products with UV protection.
Development of size and shape controlled ZnO actives (e.g. MicNo®-ZnO) offering natural and high performance solutions to the existing demand is critical. There are important ZnO UV filter manufacturers in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific and Turkey targeting cosmetic and personal care applications.
Joint projects and partnership agreements between mineral filter manufacturers and/or other partners is cruical to answer the growing demand effectively. A great example of such partnership has been realized in 2020 between Entekno Materials and Croda International Plc on the development of new generation, high performance, human and environment friendly inorganic UV filters.
Such projects and agreements are getting attention and open up new opportunities for future collaboration. Among the market segments that offer multi-functional products
with UV protection, coloured cosmetics stand out as an important field.
Having more than 70 billion dollars’ worth in 2021, the coloured cosmetics market is expected to reach 100 billion dollars in 20292, with other estimates indicating that the potential will reach over 110 billion dollars.3 Tinted moisturizers, BB/CC creams, lip balms, make-up products such as foundations, blushes, primers are examples of coloured cosmetic products that include UV filters.
The coloured cosmetics manufacturers have already great expertise in working with inorganic pigments, and hence they commonly employ formulation ingredients that are
chemically and physically compatible with inorganic surfaces which makes the integration of mineral UV filters into coloured cosmetic formulations easier.
Face area is the most exposed region on our body to UV and HEVL radiation regardless of the season. Considering that almost all of the coloured cosmetic products are used on and around the face, protection of skin from such radiations is almost mandatory instead of being considered as an added benefit in the product.
To sum up, it is of great importance to use cosmetic and personal care formulations that offer multiple solutions in terms of practicality, economical utilization, and more importantly from a sustainability perspective. As end-product consumers, we need to demand more of such innovative and multifunctional products.
Among the functional product claims, UV and HEVL protection is one of the mostly widely utilized claim in cosmetics and personal care market. Developing novel and innovative formulations and mineral UV filter actives are critically important for protection against harmful UV and visible radiation.
References
1. Ergin, N., Sapan, Z., Kesim, M. T., Suvaci, E., “Understanding the Effects of Particle Size and Anisotropy on Microstructural and Rheological Properties of Suspoemulsions”, International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists, Vol. 26, No: 1, Mart/2023.
2. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/colour-cosmeticsmarket-104305 (son erişim: 16.04.2023)
3. https://brandessenceresearch.com/consumer-goods/color-cosmetics-market-size (son erişim: 16.04.2023)
M. Tümerkan Kesim
R&D Manager
Entekno Materials
