Cosmetics & Personal Care
24 hour perfection – lashes, locks, lips and face

By our Editorial team

Richard Giles, EMEIA Manager, Technical Service & Development Manager Personal Care at AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry, expl

Richard Giles, EMEIA Manager, Technical Service & Development Manager Personal Care at AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry, explains how to create products with long-lasting, consumer-driven effects.
 
Long lasting perfection is the demand of the modern consumer, who believe moisturizers should last all day, colour cosmetics should never smudge and hair should look perfect from dusk till dawn.
 
Is it feasible to rise to these expectations?
 
CKH (Global) found the answer when we spoke to Mr Giles in advance of his technical presentation at in-cosmetics Global – if you are attending in-cosmetics Global in Amsterdam, you can hear his presentation on 17th April in Technical Seminars Theatre 1 at 1:40 pm.
 
How has this expectation for ’24-hour perfection’ evolved – it wasn’t there in my mother’s day!
Mr Giles: The consumer wants to feel confident that they look perfect at any moment throughout the day, this is especially true for the younger generation as their social day is longer and involves more communication through social media. We feel that the underlying issues are frustrations with smudging, smearing and wear of eye and lip make-up and by frizzing-out or loss of volume and style for hair.
 
How does a formulator create a moisturizer that lasts all day?
Mr Giles: We tend to focus on a good long-lasting humectant such as Hydrovance (INCI hydroxyethyl urea) which provide 24-hour corneometry performance and skin firming, but without the tackiness of glycerine when dosed at higher levels (4% and above); this should be used in combination with a good emollient such as dicaprylyl carbonate.
 
How can colour cosmetics be prevented from smudging?
Mr Giles: For eye make-up and mascara a good quality water resistant film forming polymer such as Dermacryl C (INCI Acrylates Copolymer) allows the formulator to create a clump-free colour film that when applied smoothly and strongly, resists smudging due to touch or tears.
 
How can lip applications be formulated to withstand consumers’ eating and drinking?
Mr Giles: Lipcare Dermacryl 79 (INCI Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer), allows the formulator to create a flexible, very water and touch resistant colour film that is particularly resilient to smudging due to eating or drinking.
 
How do you prevent powdered cosmetics from ‘brushing off’?
Mr Giles: In the market, we see a trend towards make-up fixing sprays often using Dermacryl 79 (INCI Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer) or Dermacryl AQF (INCI Acrylates Copolymer) that prolongs the look of powder make-up and protects it from brushing off.
 
How can hair products be formulated to provide a longer-lasting hold?
Mr Giles: Humidity in the air is the most significant cause of a style failing or frizzing-out throughout the day. So, to prevent this we recommend using styling polymers with very good high humidity curl retention performance, (a standard industry test that assesses how well a product can maintain a style under humidity stress). The best performing products we have seen for this benefit are the Amphomer polymers (INCI Octylacrylamide/Acrylates/Butylaminoethyl Methacrylate Copolymer).
 
Are these longer-lasting formulations good for the skin and hair, or do they come with added issues of their own?
Mr Giles: In terms of skin care the film forming polymers typically improve TEWL and so improve the moisturization levels of the skin. Although the products give a water and/or touch resistant film they are balanced to be readily removable with mild soap and water cleansing.
 
 
Interview with:
Richard Giles, EMEIA Manager, Technical Service & Development Manager Personal Care at AkzoNobel Surface Chemistry, Hamnvägen 2, S-444 85 Stenungsund, Sweden
T: +46 (0) 303 85163; E: richard.giles@akzonobel.com