Waterfree challenge

COSSMA: In the last years waterfree formulations have become a growing trend in the personal care industry. Why?

Josefine Schroeder: The growing interest in sustainable products and the increasing awareness for resource- friendly technologies have significantly contributed to the greater use of waterfree formulations. With a world population projected to reach the mark of 10 billion by 2050, water will become an even scarcer source. As a result, companies in the personal care industry have been looking into new ways to reduce water consumption while at the same time finding innovative solutions to meet the increasing demand for skin and hair care products.Figures from the year 2019 show that in Germany, for example, consumers spent 3.3 billion Euros on skin and face care – 3.3% more than in 2018. We experience a rising demand with our customers in the last years, especially for personal care products wich are more sustainable. Waterfree formulations without environmentally harmful packaging have therefore become a suitable alternative in the personal care industry. At BTC Europe, we are already offering our customers waterfree product solutions. Our recent product collection – our Solid Collection – for example, has been created in cooperation with our colleagues from BASF and was presented at the last Sepawa in Berlin. The idea was to create a collection of products based on waterfree formulations such as easy foaming shampoos, solid conditioners, cream shower bars and more.

What are the main challenges with waterfree formulations?

Choosing the right ingredients is essential to waterfree formulations.

When we produced the different solutions for our collection, for example the easy foaming shampoo or the solid conditioner, we used ingredients that have the same properties as those used in conventional, diluted formulations. We chose surfactants that quickly dissolve in water and that are easy o process. We also used different types of surfactants in order to obtain optimal foaming and cleansing while minimising skin sensivity and abrasion. The balance between the different ingredients’ ratios in the formulation is crucial for the outcome.

Which ingredients are best, and which are less suitable?

All ingredients should have a high level of solubility in cold water. In addition, a surfactant like Sulfopon 1214 G is well suitable for waterfree formulations due to its good cleansing and foaming performances. Cationic conditioning agents like Dehyquart A-CA are well suited for achieving better combing. Waxes with a high melting point are highly effective since they are resistant to high temperatures. This property is extremely important for products distributed mainly in southern countries where higher outside temperatures prevail. Cegesoft HF 62, for example, is a cosmetic wax component consisting of hydrogenated vegetable oil that is used as solid emollient and for the stabilisation of many solid products.

On the contrary, diluted ingredients are not conducive to waterfree formulations since they influence emulsification properties, stability and abrasion. A high amount of emollients compromises the foaming behavior as it generates an emulsions, which inhibits foam formation.

Are there any special conditions that need to be considered regarding waterfree formulations?

The ratio between the waxy part and the surfactant part is important. The amount of the wax should always be higher than the amount of surfactant

in order to obtain an optimal dispersion of the product. For an optimal performance, the specific kind of surfactant as well as its ratio in the formulation are important for generating a high amount of foam, thereby providing a good

cleansing effect. Equally important is the abrasion of the product, for example: soap bars. If the consistency of the final bar is too firm, the cleansing effect is diminished. Here, the mixture of different waxes generates the right amount

of abrasion. When producing hair care products like shampoo bars, cationic conditioning agents are essential to an effective formulation. Since human

hair is negatively charged, cationic conditioning agents are indispensable delivering a good combing performance.

How do waterfree formulations correspond to diluted formulations in terms of performance?

In order to compare our solid shampoo and conditioner bars with traditional

systems like liquid shampoos and conditioners, we made test trials on the conditions of combing wet and dry hair of diluted shampoo and conditioner bars. Wet and dry combing can be reduced via cationic ingredients like Dehyquart Guar. The degree of cationization influences the hair smoothness and the electrostatic

repulsion. For the consumer, this becomes obvious

in reduced combing.

The dilution of the bars was important to gain the same active ingredient content – the amount of cleansing substances in the surfactant – as traditional applications. The tested products showed the same or an even better performance than traditional systems.