Sustainable emollients for eco-friendly cosmetics
Enzymatic production of emollients for low-CO2 footprint formulations
The urgent need for climate action and the growing trend towards personal care products are transforming manufacturing processes. Emollients make up an important part of personal care formulations. At Evonik, we have developed an enzymatic esterification process to manufacture emollients with an improved ecological profile.
Our enzymatic technology has the following benefits:
- Low temperature process leading to reduced climate footprint
- Use of renewable feedstocks that are sustainably sourced
- Elimination of solvents to minimize waste
- High purity, high-quality, biodegradable product
Emollients manufactured with this enzymatic process can improve the ecological profile of formulations, decreasing the climate footprint of cosmetic products and enabling manufacturers to meet the rising demand for eco-friendly personal care products.
Rethinking Emollient Manufacturing with Biotechnology
Traditionally, ester emollients have been produced via synthetic, high-energy processes reliant on fossil-based feedstocks, leading to considerable waste and a high climate footprint. In contrast, biotechnology allows for the production of ester emollients from natural, renewable feedstocks through energy-efficient enzymatic processes. Evonik employs an enzymatic esterification process that uses enzymes as biocatalysts to synthesize emollient esters from fatty acids and alcohols.
Improve the environmental profile of your formulation with Evonik’s sustainable emollients
Emollients make up 10 to 25 percent of cosmetic emulsions. They play a significant role in skin and hair care products and are crucial ingredients for improving moisture retention and delivering a smooth skin texture. However, currently emollients account for 70 to 80 percent of a product’s climate footprint. Switching from a chemical to an enzymatic esterification process when manufacturing emollients can reduce the climate footprint by more than 60 percent.
That’s why our emollients are one of the best selections of ingredients for sustainable beauty solutions, covering all diverse cosmetic formulation needs, including sensory improvements, UV filter solubility and pigment wetting enhancements, natural alternatives, and moisturization benefits. Thus, with these emollients, formulations can be developed across all categories, from skin care and sun care, to color cosmetics and hair care as well as AP/Deo.
Want to learn more? Visit intoBeauty for our concept presentation and to learn more about the product TEGOSOFT® BC MB.