Exciting evolution

Airless packaging has been popular for decades. Beauty brands were among the first to appreciate its ability to protect cosmetics formulations. As it continues to evolve, with new formats and systems being developed to meet changing market needs, its core features deliver the same strong benefits today.

First and foremost, airless packaging protects and preserves cosmetics from external contamination. Advanced formulations – in particular, those with actives that can degrade quickly like retinol or vitamin Care often sensitive to exposure to oxygen. By minimising contact with air, the product is prevented from oxidising, drying out or discolouring. This makes it a good choice for serums, day and night creams, eye contour creams and lighter formulas like face mists.

Related to this, is the fact that airless systems can help extend shelf life. By maintaining the integrity of the formula, it becomes possible to minimise the use of artificial preservatives in many kinds of products, not just those that are air sensitive. With built-in protection, airless is also perfect for organic and natural formulas.

Comfortable to use

Beyond protection from air, these packaging solutions have the advantage of precision dosage. Whichever dispensing system is used, one stroke delivers exactly one dose – no more, no less. This is the case for lotion pumps, fine mist sprays, droppers, discs, or any kind of airless dispenser. The system is engineered to deliver the precise quantity, so high-value or cosmeceutical formulations especially are not over- or under-used.

Airless packs are simply convenient. They can be used from any angle: upside down, sideways, it makes no difference. This is particularly useful with hair mists or topical body creams, where you must reach up, down or around to apply the product.

To complete the list of benefits is a high restitution rate. Airless packs typically dispense around 90 – 95% of the product, a few even up to 97%1. Consumers do not appreciate having to discard the last bit of formula in the pack, because it is too difficult to get out. With airless packaging, there is no annoying squeezing or scooping, as there is almost no waste.

The tech behind airless

So, what is airless packaging exactly and how does it work? First, airless is not a pack type; it is a technology, one that can be applied to droppers, tubes, jars, and a host of other formats. Its generally-accepted definition is ‘a non-pressurised, tamper-proof dispensing system combining a mechanical pump and a container which, after filling and airtight sealing, delivers the product with no air intake. The container is available with a soft pouch or a sliding piston.’

There are three main airless systems on the market today: piston, pouch-based and bag-in-bottle. Piston airless containers are typically cylindrical packs with an integrated piston that rises with each pump, pushing the formula up through the dispenser. In this way, the product is drawn upwards when used, unlike non-airless packs, where it settles at the bottom with an increasing amount of air filling the gap above it. Piston airless packs are sometimes recognisable for the tiny, discrete venting hole at the base of the pack. The pack is empty when the piston touches the housing of the pump.

Pouch-based airless packs comprise a rigid outer pack and a collapsible interior pouch, which contains the bulk. The pouch shrinks with the vacuum created by the suction of the pump every time the product is dispensed, with an equal volume reduction. These systems offer greater customisation possibilities, as the pouch can adapt to outer containers in many different shapes, not just cylindrical. This, of course, comes with an associated price tag.

The newest entrant in airless technology is a patented bag-in-bottle system2. Like pouch-based airless, bag-in-bottle features a rigid outer and flexible inner pouch. Manufactured in a two-phase process of bi-injection and blow moulding, the difference is that both the outer and the inner are injected together into a single, compact preform. These ­preforms can be held in stock and then blown in the desired shape, for an accelerated time to market and reduced cost of shape custo­misation. 

Ever-changing world

The world is constantly changing, and packaging must change with it. Several general market trends are influencing the beauty packaging sector, inspiring new ways of thinking and developing solutions. The overriding issue during the pandemic is safety and that goes for packaging, too. ‘Safe beauty’ has become a catch phrase. Airless offers a ready solution for anti-microbial formulas, while allowing clean and hygienic application, by minimising contact between skin and product.

Another rising trend is that of wellness and emotions. It is not enough to deliver a beauty product – it must also deliver an experience, affect the senses, or touch consumers on an emotional level. Now, more than ever, brands must show themselves to embrace diversity and inclusivity while, at the same time, expressing their own, unique identity.

This goes hand in hand with a greater environmental and social awareness. Greenwashing is no longer tolerated, and consumers seek out brands that are sustainable, not only in their products, but also in their processes and their behaviour. Companies must become good corporate citizens in 
all that they do. Sustainability extends beyond the product and becomes a whole lot more personal, where businesses look after people – their own and those in the communities around them.

Trends in airless

These global movements directly and indirectly affect the evolution of airless packaging. On a product level, nearly all new developments are related to materials, to make them more sustainable. For example, airless pumps cannot be dismantled, so manufacturers are looking to replace metal springs with materials that allow the whole pump to be recycled in one piece. These ‘monofamily’ pumps are emerging in a number of formats such as bellow pumps, plastic spring systems, membrane systems and skirt springs. 

Airless refill formats are coming onto the market, as well as packs with reduced material content and sustainable materials like PCR. It is challenging to make airless pumps sustainable, as they are very complex pieces of engineering, containing many components. Nevertheless, sustainability is now an imperative, including for airless, so it is heartening to see so much activity in this area.

In terms of wellness and emotions, the most successful beauty brands are those with a strong identity. New textures are emerging to deliver a differentiated experience. Airless supports many of these, being suitable for a wide variety of viscosities, mists, beads, and mixing formulas. 

Failing an unlimited budget, the ability to express a brand’s identity in packaging is not always easy. This is particularly the case with airless packaging, which has technical functionality that can limit creativity. Coupled to this is the pressure for a faster time to market. The ability to respond to changes in market demand is often crucial to a brand’s success. Solutions like bag-in-bottle address these concerns with manufacturing processes that bring greater flexibility in shape customisation and shorter lead times.

Future trends

So where is airless packaging headed? While it has been around for a long time, it is still the most efficient technology to protect formulas. What we will see now is greater flexibility, more inclusivity, improved manufacturing processes and, above all, a leap in sustainability, which is good for everyone, not least the planet. 

References

¹ For example Canvas by Quadpack

² Patented by Quadpack, developed with R&D partner Inotech.