Sustainable Products for Skin Care and Cosmetics

Two sustainable products with optical effects were developed for skin care and cosmetic markets, aiming to address the evolving consumer and regulatory needs for eco-friendly and performing materials. These innovations include an ECOCERT-approved silica naturally derived from upcycled rice husk and a bio-based and readily biodegradable SPF booster with 100% renewable carbon.

The rice husk is made through a particle technology engineered to enable excellent optical soft-focus effects to reduce the appearance of skin blemishes and sebum absorption. The particle size was optimized to enable efficient visible light scattering and desired sensorial benefits.

The SPF booster, SunSpheres™ BIO, is a specific crystalline cellulose-based material made with a patented technology of wood hydrolysis. It`s designed to avoid performance trade-offs commonly exhibiting in “green” chemicals and address the key need in Suncare industry. Sun/ultraviolet (UV) exposure is the primary cause of non-biological skin cancer and skin aging. The particle size and the refractive index (1.51-1.56) of this material lead to efficient UV scattering. Such scattering deviates sunlight from its original path and increases the optical path length of the UV inside the sunscreen film, resulting in a higher probability for the UV filters to absorb or back-scatter the harmful UV radiation. This eco-friendly product therefore maximizes the skin protection from sun/UV damage while minimizing the negative health and environmental impact of sun care products. It provides additional rheological benefits such as water thickening and excellent shear thinning for spreadability and sprayability. The ingredient can be easily formulated into a variety of formulation chassis, including oil in water, water in oil, and water in silicone, with either organic or inorganic UV filters. This product received several global awards, including In-Cosmetic® Global- Silver Award of Innovation Zone Best Ingredient 2020 and ICIS Innovation Award 2021- Product with Best Benefit to the Environment and Sustainability.