Not all breakthroughs are down to new ingredients and formulations when there is so much that can be achieved through the processing. Trevor Barker invites formulators and product developers to come and have a feel
Texture is defined as “degree of roughness or smoothness; coarseness or fineness of some material objects; structure and constitution,” according to my dictionary anyway. This article outlines the degree to which texture has become an important factor in the formulation of cosmetics and, in some cases, has been the primary function of the formulation. It also discusses why texture has become such a dominant trend and where this trend is taking us.
It is a generally accepted fact that human beings have five main senses: sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Each of these senses contributes to our perception and understanding of the world around us and stimulating various senses can result in a range of physical and emotional responses.
Our senses can be stimulated to elicit certain required responses to alter our behaviour. The smell of fresh bread or bacon cooking may cause us to feel hungry, whereas the smell of rotting flesh or other unsavoury materials may cause us to recoil violently. The visual impact of a certain colour or shade may equally cause subtle or extreme changes in our mood and these responses have long been used to manipulate our behaviour. Hospitals tend to have pale green or blue walls which help to create an atmosphere of calm and tranquility, while warning signs tend to be red or yellow as these colours indicate danger in nature.
Supermarkets will ensure you are met with the smell of fresh bread as soon as you walk through their doors and colours are carefully chosen to ensure the customer is in the optimum frame of mind required for spending.
As far as textures are concerned there are a number of examples where textures are used: fabric conditioners give towels and clothes a soft feel which gives the wearer a feeling of warmth and comfort whereas deep pile carpets are luxurious and decadent. Texture can also be a visual cue and fashions and personal preference in decorative paints moves continuously from gloss to satin to matte.
The cosmetics and personal care industry has long used sensorial stimulation to entice the consumer. It is generally understood to be the case that the consumer initially uses visual indicators followed by smell in the process of deciding a purchase. In other words the customer will look at and smell the product before deciding whether to buy. The consumer is using all available senses to make a decision - not quite true... they cannot ‘hear’ or ‘taste’ the product but they can touch it.
Assuming therefore that there are three main senses used in the evaluation of cosmetics and personal care products it would be sensible to ensure that each is considered in the formulation and marketing process. Whilst visual and olfactory stimuli have long been fundamental in this process the feel of the product has not always been given such consideration.
The advent of the celebrity hairdresser has changed all that. The 90s gave rise to a number of salon ranges from a multitude of stylists all keen to assert their individual creativity on their branded products. These products needed to differentiate themselves from the competition whilst still delivering the functional benefits required for styling the hair.
The fact that styling products involve a good deal of handling by their very nature made changes in the texture a way to stimulate the senses and an ideal way to differentiate. No longer were we presented simply with wet look, firm hold and extra firm hold hair gels. Ranges were now more akin to funky gunks, muds and fudges.
The success of these ranges and the extra dimension of a third sense to motivate the consumer has brought about a sea change in other areas of the C&T industry. Just as Wash & Go was, to some degree, responsible for the trend in multifunctionality, then the success of textural innovation in styling is partly responsible for the increased awareness of texture in colour, toiletries and skin care products. The ever increasing need to extend ranges has also contributed to the need to create different formulation formats.
Skin care ranges now contain milks, serums and soufflés, whereas foundations appear in a diverse range of formats from stick to mousse to ‘cream to powder’.
With this trend in mind the Cornelius group technical centre (GTC) has been working on a project to create a range of interesting textures that can be applied to a number of formulation types. The use of novel silicones, esters and gelling agents along with waxes and nonionic surfactants allowed for some experimental blending and processing to create novel feeling bases which can be incorporated into end formulations.
The GTC has been looking to create a portfolio of interesting textural formats which can then be used as a basis for the development of innovative new product concepts across the whole cosmetics and personal care sector. The project was also conceived as a way of promoting creative thinking and can be used as part of a brainstorming session to help open the mind to new ideas.
The following bases were included in the Cornelius Textures - come and have a feel presentation launched at the SCS Formulate event in November 2008.
BUMPY BUBBLE BASE
This is a very simple concept that requires only strict process controls for success. The product is just a surfactant base (ammonium laureth sulfate) which contains a small amount of gelling agent (carrageenan was used here). The carrageenan has a light gelling effect which allows for the suspension of particulates. This suspending property also allows for the incorporation of controlled amounts of air and the key here is to ensure the processing incorporates an optimum amount of air; using a homogeniser followed by mixing and then taking top and bottom samples to test the specific gravity should do the trick. It is important to be careful not to add too much air as its removal will be extremely difficult.
The result is an interesting bubble base which can be formulated as a shower, bath or shampoo product. Researchers also looked at adding sodium polyacrylate granules which swelled to give mild exfoliating gelled balls to enhance the textural effect. Happily the only other novel ingredient is air which, at the time of writing, is still free! Cornelius would however be happy to supply Corneo-air in 200kg drum lots at very competitive rates.
HOKEY POKEY BAR
The wonderful Nigella Lawson uses this phrase when talking about honeycomb. Again the raw materials are relatively commonplace and the creativity comes from the processing. The formulation itself contains a blend of emulsifying wax (Ritachol 1000), sodium isostearoyl lactylate (Pationic ISL) and linear polyethylene wax (Jeenate 3H) plus avocado butter. Essentially this blend is heated until melted and then a second phase (consisting of newly prepared sodium bicarbonate solution) is added. The fizzy bicarb solution has a duel role of cooling the base and aerating the system. Subsequent crash cooling traps the air into the base and a light moisturising bar results. Additional additives that can be included include exfoliating and blooming actives.
MELTY EFFECT JELLY BASE
An ambiguous title you’ll agree! Here experience from the food laboratory was used to try to come up with interesting gel-like textures. Initially gelatin was tried with some success but also Vegegel, which is a readily available food grade vegetable alternative.
Both gelling agents were added to cold water and then heated to boiling point. The resulting liquid was poured into non-stick trays and allowed to cool. The subsequent films were then used to create a range of product ideas including: Bath Sushi (novelty bath), Cooling Sunburn Strips and Anti-Cellulite Strips (with anti-cellulite active). These products all have a cold wet fish feel, which certainly gets a reaction.
MOUSSE/FOAMY EFFECT
This uses what is probably the most technically oriented product from Phoenix Chemical Inc. Essentially the technology is based around the ability of Phoenomulse 100 [INCI: Polyhydroxystearic acid & isononyl & isononanoate/ethylhexyl & isononanoate & sodium cocamidopropyl & PG-dimonium chloride & phosphate] to emulsify difficult solvents. In this case Phoenomulse 100 has been used to emulsify 3M’s Cosmetic Fluid CF-61 [INCI: Ethyl perfluorisobutyl ether and ethyl perfluorobutyl ether].
The resultant material (Phoenomulse CE1) has been incorporated into a range of bases, all with a shear thinning gel structure. Phoenix used a number of gelling agents including bentonite and Simugel NS [Hydroxyethylacrylate/
sodium acryldimethyltaurate copolymer & squalane & polysorbate 60]. The technology has been used in a range of self-foaming products including sunscreens, shower gels and face masks.
So it is possible to use a little creative thinking to add value to formulations. It is often assumed that high value products need to contain new and expensive raw materials. But as shown here, new and interesting products can be achieved by looking at the manufacturing process as opposed to the formulation. All that is needed is an understanding of the process equipment you have available and possibly a friendly and helpful process manager.
