WERNER MAUER*, NADINE LE BRIS, ANKE BECKER, HANS-MARTIN HAAKE
*Corresponding author
BASF Personal Care and Nutrition GmbH, Düsseldorf, Germany

Abstract

The demand for certified natural cosmetic and care products is increasingly growing. At the same time, consumers expect that personal care products are achieving better effects paired with attractive sensory properties. In 2022, a new wax-based pearlizer was launched that offers a combination of both requirements: based on naturally derived ingredients, it expands the spectrum of eco-friendly beauty products while delivering an extraordinary performance compared to formulations containing conventional ethylene glycol distearate-based pearlizers. For cosmetic manufacturers, the new pearlizer offers another opportunity to enlarge their product spectrum for natural cosmetics – a market that is expected to grow globally at a speedy rate (1, a).

A NEW ECO-FRIENDLY AND HIGH PERFORMANCE PEARLIZER
Sustainability is on top of the agenda across industries. Consumers’ expectations for eco-friendly products are rising rapidly as they turn to more sustainable lifestyles. Similar to observations in the food market years ago (2), the market for natural cosmetic products is growing continually and has moved out of a niche (3). Consumers are looking for products that offer high performance and are environmentally friendly at the same time. In Europe, it can be seen that the number of product launches claiming to be more than 90% natural and/or COSMOS certified are increasing significantly (4).

In 2022, a new pearlizer with the INCI name Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (and) Cocamidopropyl Betaine (and) Glyceryl Oleate was launched (b). It offers excellent performance and meets consumer demand for eco-friendly beauty products. Pearlizers are cosmetic ingredients used to obtain luster and shimmering effects in cosmetic products. Generally, the luster effect is achieved by microfine crystalline compounds (e.g. pearlescent pigments or pearlecent wax particles) able to reflect light waves. The ...