Smooth and sustainable: Cargill showcases natural, renewable ingredients at In-Cosmetics

What do seaweed, citrus peels, corn, and oil from coconuts, sunflower and canola seeds have in common? They’re renewable ingredients in all of the personal care products Cargill is showcasing this week at the In-Cosmetics exhibition in Paris. More than 8,000 visitors from 104 countries are expected to attend the global exhibition April 12-14, 2016, including cosmetics and beauty manufacturers, research institutions and distributors.

As consumers increasingly seek personal care products made from natural, sustainable ingredients, manufacturers aspire to achieve clean labels with more familiar-sounding ingredient lists targeted to health-conscious consumers. These ingredients must deliver the same – or better – quality and product performance as the synthetic materials they replace. Cargill’s innovative approach, formulation capabilities and broad natural and sustainable ingredient portfolio help customers develop products that meet evolving consumer preferences.

Achieving the right texture

While use of sustainable ingredients is a priority, combining them to achieve sensorial benefits, including texture and skin feel, is paramount. The texture of skin care, body care and hair care products is a critical part of the consumer experience. Cargill’s Texture Profiling System helps customers develop the precise formula to balance key factors, including:

• Feel – greasiness, softness, freshness, body
• Appearance – transparency, gloss, silky or velvety surface
• Consistency – firmness, viscosity and more

Cargill’s Texture Profiling System helps customers develop the precise formula to balance key factors. Better performing sunscreen from nature-derived ingredients

Using nature-derived polymers, Cargill developed and tested new product formulations for skin and sun care applications that meet market trends without compromising performance. The company tested the viscosity (thickness), rheology (flow) and stability; conducted sensory evaluations; and measured the water resistance, sun-protection factor (SPF) values and moisturizing capacity of its formulations containing nature-derived ingredients – including seaweed, starch and citrus peels – compared to synthetic ingredients.

Test results demonstrated that Cargill’s three sunscreen solutions being showcased at In-Cosmetics – Actigum™VSX 20, Lygomme™VPC 50 and Lygomme™VPC 30 – performed as well or better than synthetic ingredients. These solutions provide thickness, help stabilize sunscreen formulations, ensure uniform spreadability on the skin, boost SPF values to protect against harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays, improve water resistance and impart moisturizing properties. They also exhibit superior sensory performance, including smoothness, non-stickiness, non-greasiness, spreadability, gloss and less whitening.

Sustainable skin cream

Also on display at In-Cosmetics is Cargill’s velour body milk – a lotion that includes oils, starches and texturizers from natural, renewable sources, including:

• Sunflower and canola: Oil extracted from sunflower and canola seeds (including high oleic canola oil) helps resist oxidation and contributes to the richness of the formulation.
• Coconut: Oil extracted from coconuts serves as an emollient, leaving skin smooth, soft and conditioned. (Read about our work with farmers in the Philippines to develop a certified sustainable coconut oil supply chain.)
• Corn: Corn-based starch helps reduce greasiness.

More starch, less grease

In addition to corn-based starches, Cargill also uses starches extracted from wheat to enhance the sensorial experience delivered by personal care products. Starches not only help decrease the greasiness of a formulation, they also add softness, stabilize oil in water emulsions to prevent separation and provide texture for skincare, hair care and other personal care products.

Deep expertise

With more than 100 years of expertise in the design of food texture, Cargill helps customers enhance product performance, optimize processes and streamline resources. The company’s experience and innovative approach has yielded a broad range of easy-to-manufacture, versatile products focused on skin-friendly ingredients for the following segments:

• Bath and body care
• Color cosmetics
• Fragrances
• Hair care
• Oral care
• Skin and sun care

As the focus on healthy lifestyles and appearances continues to grow, Cargill helps customers adapt to today’s market needs, anticipate emerging trends and prepare for future opportunities in the personal care market.