Researchers at the University of East Anglia (UEA) have developed a new technology that turns beauty products like moisturiser into a dry piece of confetti-like ‘paper’.
The claimed breakthrough means that 98% of the water in products like moisturiser, sun-cream, shampoo and conditioner can be removed while preserving the stability of delicate active ingredients.
Users simply need to add a drop of water to the paper-like disc to rehydrate it instantly.
The UEA says it could revolutionise the beauty industry by dramatically reducing both its carbon footprint and packaging waste.
The new technology also removes the need for preservatives in these products and improves their shelf life.
Lead researcher Professor Sheng Qi, from UEA’s School of Pharmacy, said: “The technology that we have developed uses a no-heat process to transform a range of water and oil-based based beauty and skincare products into small discs of paper-like material.”
“We originally developed this technology for the pharmaceutical industry, but it quickly became clear that it could really help reduce the carbon footprint of the beauty and skincare industries,” she added.
UEA has partnered with PBL who are leading on the commercialisation of the patent-pending DRIES technology.
“Removing the water and oil from toiletries like moisturiser, sun cream, and other hair and beauty products means that we can not only improve their shelf life but hugely reduce product and packaging weight, transportation costs, plastic waste and the need for preservatives,” said Qi.
“Above all, it dramatically reduces their carbon footprint, which is better for the environment. We hope it will help the beauty industry achieve Net Zero carbon targets and sustainability goals, without compromising product quality and performance.”
