The cosmetics and personal care market, due to a direct contact of the preparations with the skin, is characterised by very high requirements laid down in a number of regulations, especially with regards to products dedicated for children.
Increasing awareness of the contemporary consumer makes it mandatory for manufacturers to consider their choices of components more carefully. It ensures the proper washing and cleaning characteristics of their products in combination with the softness and mildness for the user. To achieve this, it is vital to use high quality ingredients providing excellent cleaning and foaming properties as well as the foam stability.
A range of preparations available on the market is constantly expanded to new items. In addition to standard products such as shampoos, shower gels, bath preparations, or liquid soap, manufacturers create new ones featuring improved usability characteristics. The trend prevailing over the recent years to use cosmetics based on natural components is a great challenge when designing new formulas. Ecological aspects are increasingly important for contemporary consumer as well as the manner of production and source of the individual constituents.
Surfactants as cosmetic components
Surfactants (surface active substances) are used as elementary ingredients in cosmetics and personal care formulas and therefore the PCC Group developed a series of products under the brand name of EXOLcareline. The offered products satisfy a number of requirements typical for the cosmetic market such as biodegradability, consistency with the EcoLabel requirements, NordicEcolabeling, and Nordic Swan certification. Furthermore, the selected ones have the ECOCERT and ECOCERT COSMOS attestations.
Foaming agents in cosmetic formulas
Foaming agents stabilising the foam and improving its quality are basic components of the cleaning preparations. Very good foaming properties are usually identified with the high quality of the end product. The most popular foaming substances offered by the PCC Group are SULFOROKAnols, i.e. Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES), and ROSULfans, including the Sodium Lauryl Sulphate (SLS) with varying concentration of active substance. Based on the current cosmetics market trend, alternative foaming agents are being now looked for to design the SLES Free preparations. The response to the need for creating such preparations is the Ammonium Lauryl Sulphate (ALS) under the trade name of ROSULfan A. Another product in the offer of the anionic surfactants is ROKAtend GL – a mild amino acid surfactant with exceptional washing properties, which reduces the irritating effect of other components.
The portfolio of amphoteric surfactants includes betaines with the unique thickening properties and, first and foremost, good foaming characteristics. Additionally, they are perfect foam stabilizers and soothe the irritating nature of some formulas, especially SLES. The offered products contain Cocamidopropylbetaine in the concentration of 30% and 40% (ROKAmina K30, ROKAmina K40, and Rokamina K40HC) as well as Coco Betaine (ROKAmina K30B) featuring a lower CLP classification, which is particularly dedicated to cosmetic formulas of high quality.
Skin-friendly surfactants
In formulas designed to be delicate for the skin and not to cause allergic reactions (e.g. cosmetics for children), thickening substances modifying rheological properties are used. It allows to limit the addition of salt and obtain the required consistency of the final product. PCC Group offers for this application alkanoloamides such as Cocamide DEA (ROKAmid KAD) and Oleamide DEA (ROKAmid RAD), sorbitan esters and their derivatives (ROKwin and ROKwinol series), ethoxylated fatty alcohols with a low content of EO as well as betaines.
Additives improving the quality of cosmetics
The PCC Group product portfolio contains a wide range of emulsifiers, which are necessary for cosmetic preparations such as ethoxylated fatty acids of the varied chain length including Ceteareth–20 (ROKAnol T20) and Ceteareth–25 (ROKAnol T25). The effective emulsifying properties are also ensured by the ethoxylated fatty acids offered in the ROKAcet series. An example of such products is PEG–40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, i.e. ROKAcet HR40, which emulsifies fragrances, essential oils and other oily substances. The offer also contains polyethylene glycols (PEG) under the brand name of POLIkol generally applied in cosmetics. The functions they perform depend on the length of the polyethene chain and therefore may act as emulsifiers, wetting and dispersing agents as well as solubilizers, emollients or humectants. Improvement of wetting properties in cosmetic products may also be achieved through applying alkoxylated fatty alcohols with reduced foaming abilities.
To satisfy the requirements of the customers looking for universal and economic components of a cosmetic formula, a surfactants blend was created under the trade name EXOcare PC60. This product performs special foaming, thickening and cleaning properties. The careful selection of ingredients makes it an ideal ingredient of shampoos, bath preparation, or shower gels.
Raw materials in the cosmetic industry
The PCC group portfolio also includes basic raw materials. Sodium hydroxide (soda lye), caustic soda flakes and hydrochloric acid are generally applied in the soap production and other ingredients of cosmetics and personal care market. The membrane installation for the sodium hydroxide production is one of the youngest and at the same time the most modern installations of this kind in Europe. The hydrochloric acid synthesis installation allows to manufacture an exceptionally pure product of unique on the European scale concentrations.
Ready-to-use products
Our portfolio, however, does not only contain raw materials and components but also the ready-made products. The PCC Group offers its B2B clients the Roko Hygiene line, i.e. a series of liquid soaps and a foaming soap for comprehensive applications, which may also be used in different types of dosing devices. The products have been tested dermatologically and undergo regular microbiological tests. The preparations are gentle for the skin and do not cause any irritation due to the skin-neutral pH. Roko Hygiene are both economical solutions and formulas designed to satisfy even the most demanding customers. The entire product line is manufactured using high-quality surfactants and additives such as glycerine, aloe extract, lanoline, collagen with elastin and natural lipids.
Green offer for the cosmetics industry from the PCC Group
The chemical industry is constantly developing and introducing modern technologies that take into account different aspects of sustainable development. The PCC Group also extends its range with a series of ecological products dedicated to the cosmetics industry. This is a response to the growing popularity of products based on natural raw materials.
Among these chemicals we can find the green product brand Greenline®, which offers basic raw materials for the cosmetics industry, such as hydrochloric acid and caustic soda lye.
More products from the green range of the PCC Group, dedicated to the cosmetics industry, are available in the Product Portal catalogue. Their ecological properties are marked with special pictograms, which you can read more about on the Greenline® website.