SKIN & FACE CARE
In support of cleansing – the overlooked skin care step Cleansing is a key part of a skin care routine, but this essential step often gets overlooked in favour of more novel products, such as moisturisers and colour cosmetics. However, according to Alchemy Ingredients, this is the most important step of a skin care regime in order to prepare the skin as a blank canvas.
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emoving dirt and grease by cleaning skin is an ancient ritual dating back to prehistoric times. The first ‘soap’ was made from ash and animal fat; the Romans built luxurious baths where cleansing could take place as a social communal activity. The first commercial soap bar was marketed by Pears in the UK in 1884 and synthetic surfactants became mainstream in the 1940s. Since then, ever more sophisticated ingredients have become available with consumers often looking for mildness coupled with care for the environment, which presents formulators with new challenges.
BAR CLEANSERS – NOT JUST SOAP Traditionally this category consists mainly of soap, in the form of the sodium salt of a vegetable oil fatty acid, e.g. sodium palm kernelate or sodium cocoate. Often glycerine, a by-product of the manufacturing process, is left in the product for additional moisturising claims. Unfortunately, the resulting blend often has a high pH which can lead to skin irritation and can also dry the skin, even if it is effective at removing grease and dirt. Retail brands such as Lush have made soap popular again with its novelty products and have also introduced a new type of cleansing bar based on oils and butters. These bars melt at skin temperature to produce an oil, which can be removed using a hot cloth. Ingredients such as sugar esters or saponins can also be added to this type of formulation to make the oil easier to remove. Other types of bar cleanser include those with solid synthetic surfactants – a classic example is Unilever’s Dove bar, which uses the isethionates in combination with a traditional soap base to bring the pH down and provide mildness. Sugar esters could be added to this type of bar to improve mildness and provide natural foam boosting. One of the main advantages of the bar format is little plastic packaging, together with no water in the formulation. The products are also highly concentrated and ideal for travelling.
FOAMING CLEANSERS This sector remains popular due to ease of use and the fact that foam is seen as evidence that a product is working. For facial cleansers,
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"Cleansing will continue to be a product sector where innovation and performance are key“ mildness and foam type are important. A dense, creamy foam is most desired, often obtained by using non-SLES detergents such as the isethionates, sulfosuccinates and glutamates. Foam boosters such as quillaja saponins or sugar esters can be a useful addition due to their mildness and production of a creamy foam that lasts longer on the skin. Quillaja saponins in particular have been used by South American people for centuries and leave the skin moisturised as well as cleansed. Another product format in this category is the mousse pump; this is where a liquid surfactant blend is dispensed through a non-aerosol aerating pump to produce a dense mousse. Suitable ingredients for this format include mild surfactants such as sulfosuccinates, together with foam boosters such as protein and saponins.
GEL-TO-MILK CLEANSERS Also known as melting gel cleansers, there are now a number of these on the market. They are a credible alternative to the traditional bar and foaming type of cleanser. High in oil, gel to milk cleansers are applied as a thick, often transparent gel and massaged over the face to remove waterproof makeup. When water is applied, the product transforms into a milk and is rinsed away. The advantage of these type of products is that they are based on oil, which dissolves waterproof makeup
