Safety-conscious consumers have shaped consumer-preference needs. Progressing from green to natural, and natural to conscious, this has culminated in the progressive “clean beauty” movement.
Clean beauty trends place focus on transparent labelling of ingredients and testing, making information more readily available and, ultimately, empowering consumers to make informed purchases.
Brands have responded with an increase in on-pack claims ranging from vegan or cruelty free to so-called ‘free-from’ claims, some of which have been fuelled by changes in regulations, such as paraben-free, whilst others simply highlight ingredient classes which consumers may wish to avoid (such as sulphate-free, fragrance-free or even colourant-free).
Free-from claims are particularly useful to consumers with sensitive skin, and as the population of people identifying as having sensitive skin issues is growing*, it has never been more important to select ingredients that reduce negative impact to skin.
Furthermore, growing awareness of the negative impact that urbanisation, pollution, stress and hormonal changes can have on skin has fuelled the need for sensitive skin solutions; dermatologically tested products and those that have free-from claims.
Since those with sensitive skin are likely to be highly attuned to the perceived efficacy and mildness of the products they purchase, choosing the right combination of surfactants at levels that deliver optimum performance is key in building their trust and encouraging continued use.
Recently, Croda Beauty’s research and development team explored the synergistic benefits of combining sulfate-free surfactants with a new, glycolipid-based cleanser, NatraFusion™ SL HA. This investigation helped to understand if traditionally mild, sulfate-free surfactants, such as betaines, could be made even milder when used in combination with this new, ultra-mild biosurfactant.
Zein protein solubilisation was used to simulate the irritation potential of ingredients when in close contact with skin. The protocol is based on the premise that the less zein protein solubilised, the less irritation potential a surfactant poses to skin and thus, the milder it is likely to be.
Our technical team identified synergistic ratios of surfactants that, when used in combination with NatraFusion SL HA, minimised zein protein solubilisation. We found that for a commonly used surfactant already recognised as being mild, cocamidopropyl betaine, used at 10% active, just 1% active concentration of NatraFusion SL HA delivered a statistically significant improvement in the mildness of the surfactant blend. That is, NatraFusion SL HA was able to reduce the irritation potential of cocamidopropyl betaine at a 1:10 combination ratio, with the mildness being improved further as the inclusion level of NatraFusion SL HA was increased.
Individuals with sensitive skin are increasingly searching for gentle cleansing solutions with optimised performance to deliver truly mild, low-irritation claims. Building confidence with a gentle yet powerful cleansing system by employing clever formulating insights can create an opportunity for brands to effectively navigate today’s more safety-conscious consumer landscape.
You can learn more about NatraFusion SL HA and download the full technical datasheet here which provides more detail about the synergistic surfactant combination test results.
