Paid Content provided by BASF Care Creations:
Rosa Nicolini, Technical Service Specialist – Hair & Body Care, BASF Care Creations, North America
Jay Bhatt, Application Technology Specialist – Hair & Body Care, BASF Care Creations, North America
According to the World Health Organization, a person requires 50 liters of water a day to maintain health and hygiene.1 Only 2.5% of water on Earth is freshwater, and only 1% is easily accessible.2 With these frightening figures, it is no wonder that water conservation is gaining momentum in the market and we see an increasing number of products being launched to address this water scarcity issues.
When you zero in on the hair cleansing space, one will see a rise in the number of new product introductions of dry shampoos, dry mousses, and shampoo bars. For skin care, oil based, or completely anhydrous systems have been filling up more of the shelves. These products offer a sustainable platform with little to no water, while keeping the performance of traditional cleansing formats intact. In this article, we will investigate three different applications and describe their unique properties and benefits.
Cleansing tablet – “The Pocket Shampoo”
One type of unconventional formats is an anhydrous shampoo cleansing tablet. This formula makes cleansing-on-the-go achievable using as little water as possible to break down the tablet and activate the surfactant. This makes for a great solution for easy cleansing on hair and/or body.
BASF has developed this tablet with a ‘clean story’ and format that is convenient due to its size, portability and ease of use. What is most innovative about the tablet is that it readily dissolves upon contact with water, with little force required. This was made possible by carefully selecting ingredients that could be compressed into a tablet and are soluble in water. Due to its anhydrous nature, this tablet would require powders such as surfactants, sodium bicarbonate (binder), as well as citric acid (pH adjuster).
A powder surfactant is required for an optimal cleansing experience. BASF offers various powder surfactants that give different foam properties:
- Jordapon® SCI Powder (Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate)- an alternative for sulfate surfactants; a dense, creamy foam.
- Plantapon® SUS (Disodium Lauryl Sulfosuccinate)- Alternative for sulfate surfactants. Creamy foam, EO-free
- Glucopon® 50 G (Lauryl / Myristyl Glucoside (and) Sodium Sulfate (and) Sodium Silicate (and) Sodium Coco Sulfate)-mild surfactant with ample foam
- Texapon® K 12 P (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate)-traditional foam with large bubbles
The right surfactant(s) can vary based on formulation needs, regulatory restrictions, sustainability requirements, and more.
Other things to consider once the appropriate surfactant(s) are chosen:
Tablet punch (tool for making various sizes & shapes)
The size and shape of the tools determine the appearance of the finished product. Well-designed tablets are attractive to consumers and may differentiate them from other market products. Having an anti-tacking tool surface helps the pressing process and improves the tablet surface.
- Weight (amount of powder formula)
Well calculated weight can save other excipients and maximize the cleansing effect.
- Compression, torque ratio
Compression force is important for tablet hardness and for controlling the disintegration time. Suitable compression force will be used to achieve targeted attributes. The proper ratio is extremely important to attain good compression, quick tablet dissolution and acceptable cleansing experience. When we say ‘compression,’ we mean how all the ingredients in the formula will bind and hold together without breaking or cracking while forming the tablet.
Shampoo Bar- “The Solid Cleanser”
These sustainable, concentrated and solid cleansers are convenient, green and require little to no packaging. Some bars claim to last up to 80 washes, helping to replace a number of shampoo bottles. The three parts that are important to consider when making shampoo bars are 1.) concentrated surfactants, 2.) conditioning agents, and 3.) consistency agents.
There are many efficient, viable surfactant options in cleansing bars. Here are some examples under each surfactant type:
Anionic- Isethionates. Jordapon® SCI (sodium cocoyl isethionate) provides good foam development, and delivers dense, luxurious foam that is mild to the skin. It is available in high concentrations, which helps reduce the amount of water in your system.- Non-ionics- APGs (Alky Polyglucosides). Plantaren® 810 UP, 818 UP, 1200 N UP, 2000 N UP are 100% natural, renewable and plant-derived feedstocks with excellent foaming and cleansing properties.
- Amphoterics – Cocoamidopropyl Betaine. Dehyton® PK 45 is a great foam booster and very easy to use.
These surfactant groups provide efficacious and mild cleansing. The consumer’s hair and skin will feel clean, but not stripped of its natural oils.
This leads us to the next important part, which is the level of conditioning. Here is where you can experiment and see which ratio will provide you with the best possible result.
If you are making a conditioning bar, your total amount of conditioning agents will be higher in order to provide additional conditioning properties versus a bar focused on normal cleansing. Let’s go over a few key technology options.
- Conditioning Polymers – Dehyquart® Guar HP (Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride) provides conditioning onto the hair
- Lipid Layer Enhancer – Lamesoft® PO 65 (Coco-Glucoside, Glyceryl Oleate) is naturally derived from coconut and sunflower oil and provides softening and conditioning benefits on the skin.
- Emollients – the range is vast here. Cetiol® SB 45 (Butyrospermum Parkii [Shea] Butter), a natural waxy emollient, which provides heavy conditioning for hair types that are looking for the extra care.
A key point to remember is that the amount of conditioning agents present will affect the bar hardness. For higher levels of conditioning, more consistency agents like fatty alcohols will help provide stability and firmness to your bar.
Once the ingredients are chosen, you are ready to make your sustainable cleanser. These bars require heat of about 70-80C to properly melt the solid surfactants, butters and fatty alcohols. Once they are properly mixed, add the preservative and fragrance. Filling at 70C will allow for easy pouring into the molds. We recommend leaving them in a freezer to help set the bar. Once set, you can pop the bar out of the mold and let it sit at room temperature overnight. Your efficient cleanser is now ready to use!
Cleansing Oil – “The Dirt Dissolver”
Our last formulation is focused on skin care. An oil cleanser applied to skin at the end of the day helps breakdown oils, makeup, and sunscreen without leaving your skin stripped of its natural oils. This helps minimize dryness and over production of sebum, which could potentially lead to breakouts.
In order to formulate an oil cleanser, two important parts are essential; 1) an oil soluble surfactant / surfactant blend, and 2) the right combination of oils and skin care ingredients.
An oil soluble surfactant blend provides efficient solubilizing of oils, enhanced foam, and a pleasant skin after-feel. A key blend that is available in the personal care market is Plantapon® AF (MIPA-Laureth Sulfate (and) Laureth-3 (and) Laureth-7 Citrate) and contains ingredients to help support skin barrier function with significantly less trans-epidermal water loss. This helps enable efficient cleansing of the skin while maintaining hydration.
With some cleansers containing upwards of 50% oil, it is important to have the proper balance of oil to surfactants. This will ensure that you effectively cleanse the skin and maintain moisture balance. Without enough surfactants you risk not rinsing completely and leaving behind an oily residue. This could clog your pores and lead to potential breakouts. On the other hand, with not enough oils, you risk stripping your skin of its natural oils and drying it out.
When choosing your emollients, opt for ones that have a high or medium spreading value and are not heavy on the skin.
Here are two examples for appropriate emollients:
- Myritol® 331 (Cocoglycerides) is a modified coconut oil that replenishes the skin barrier and provides moisturization.
- Cetiol® C5 (Coco-Caprylate) is 100 % derived from renewable feedstocks, light on the skin and act as a silicone alternative.
These types of formulations do not need heat to process, but there might be heat needed in cleaning the tanks in between batches, since these are anhydrous systems.
In closing, consumers are looking for sustainable options to reduce their water footprint; companies are formulating products that are low in water or even water free; BASF offers many technologies to help companies on their quest to find solutions that help conserve water and create sustainable formulations.
References
- https://www.beautypackaging.com/contents/view_slideshows/2019-03-21/waterless-beauty/#slideshowimage_0
- https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/freshwater-crisis/
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Isn’t the amount of water in a product entirely negligible when compared to the amount of water that goes into the production and manufacturing of all these ingredients? And compared to the amount needed to wash the resulting products off??