36 H&PCToday-HouseholdandPersonalCareToday, Vol. 8(5) September/October 2013

iNTrodUCTioN

Consumers’ purchasing decisions are increasingly influenced by considerations about a product’s origin and its ecological impact. That is why naturally derived products have become popular and have moved from niche products to mainstream. Demand for such products continues to soar, reaching the personal care

market long ago: many consumers are looking for environmentally compatible personal care products which still provide the desired performance. This neo-green trend has led to increased segmentation of

the personal care market, and continues to offer significant opportunities for growth. Global sales of natural personal care products experienced double-digit growth between 2005 and 2010, to a total sales volume of 23 billion US dollars (Figure 1). There has been growth across all regions, with particularly high rates in Brazil and Asia Pacific (Figure 2) and a very consistent growth in the European market for natural personal care products. In recent years, total sales in Europe have risen steadily, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.1% between 2006 and 2011 (Figure 3) (1).

CloSiNG THe GaP

As the market data shows, natural or naturally derived personal care solutions have increased considerably in popularity among consumers

Abstract Environmental awareness influences consumers’ day-to-day purchasing decisions in an increasing number of product categories, including personal care. As a result, the market for natural and

naturally derived personal care products has seen significant growth across all regions. Products, which are based on naturally derived ingredients have gone from niche to mainstream. However, at the same time, consumers still expect these products to deliver in terms of performance, functionality and efficacy. To meet this soaring demand, manufacturers of personal care products are constantly on the lookout for enhanced natural-based ingredients. Focusing on consumers’ desires and needs has led to the development of a new high-performance conditioner compound that is a combination of an emulsifier, a consistency agent and a conditioning agent, and consists solely of renewable and biodegradable raw materials.

HAIR CARE

Natural-based hair conditioning: Closing the gap A new way to serve the neo-green trend

SYBILLE CORNELSEN, ANSGAR BEHLER, HANS-MARTIN HAAKEBASF Personal Care and Nutrition GmbH, Rheinpromenade 1,

40789 Monheim, Germany

industry perspective

Figure 1.Source: Kline, Natural Personal Care 2011

Hans-Martin HaakeAnsgar BehlerSybille Cornelsen

37H&PCToday-HouseholdandPersonalCareToday, Vol. 8(5) September/October 2013

Using its unique combination of market empathy and science excellence, which includes outstanding expertise in technology and formulations, BASF has developed a new, naturally derived conditioner compound that closes the gap in the conditioner segment. Cetearyl Alcohol (and) Lecithin (and) Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate (and) Olus Oil [EU] (Plantaquat® NC) offers very good hair-conditioning properties, creates volume and protects against hair breakage and is environmentally compatible. To fulfill the standards set by various natural and organic cosmetic certification bodies, e.g. EcoCert, COSMOS and NaTrue, an unbleached GMO-free lecithin was selected for use in Plantaquat® NC.

PerFormaNCe TeSTS

The innovative formula contains fatty alcohol as a consistency giving agent, fatty alcohol sulfate as

worldwide. The growing demand for products that are both environmentally compatible and highly effective has become one of the main drivers of innovation in the industry. However, this demand proves particularly challenging in some segments when it comes to the formulation of suitable products, for example, when trying to find a solution in the conditioner segment that is both effective and environmentally compatible. In fact, satisfying both these demands is currently one of the major formulation challenges in the hair care market. Deeply committed to innovation, BASF’s Personal Care business strives to anticipate market demands and aims to develop products and solutions that are of real value for consumers and yield a return to its customers.

Figure 2.Source: Kline, Natural Personal Care 2011

Figure 3.Source: Kline, Natural Personal Care 2011

Figure 4. Scheme of automated anti-hair breakage test

Figure 5. Comparison of hair breakage of formulations with Plantaquat® NC with market benchmark hair conditioners. HB-DE-11-92-238: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Cetiol® C5. HB-DE-11-92-243: 7% Plantaquat® NC. HB-DE-11-92-254: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Sunflower oil. HB-DE-11-92-258: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Myritol® 312. HB-DE-11-92-255: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Cegesoft® SB

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aNTi-Hair BreakaGe

The assessment of the conditioner compound’s anti-hair breakage properties was carried out using a tailor-made device as shown in Figure 4 (2). Ten hair strands treated with test formulation were repeatedly combed using the device. The broken hair fibers were collected separately for each strand and were then analyzed gravimetrically. As shown in figure 5, the best hair-breakage prevention was achieved using a formulation containing 7% Plantaquat® NC plus 2% Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (Myritol® 312). It reached an anti-breakage level comparable to the benchmark that claims “up to 95% less hair breakage” (benchmark 4), and contains three classic cationics plus a high amount of amodimethicone. Figure 6 visualizes the excellent anti-hair breakage performance of the conditioner compound. Combined with Myritol® 312, it is ideally suited for products that are to be positioned with anti-hair breakage claims.

HalF-Head TeSTS

The half-head tests, which compare benchmark hair conditioners with test conditioners, were performed under standardized conditions to evaluate essential hair parameters by a professional hair-dresser after one application. The tests were carried out at an external test institute with 19 volunteers under double blind conditions. A formulation based on 5% Plantaquat® NC and 2% Cetiol® C5 (Coco-Caprylate) was compared to a benchmark hair conditioner certified to natural cosmetic standards. The wet hair parameters showed significant advantages in using the test formulation based on Plantaquat® NC and 2% Cetiol® C5 (Figure 7). Additional half-head tests compared the performance of a Plantaquat® NC test formulation to that of two classic

hair conditioners, one of which contained silicone oil. As shown in Figures 8 and 9, neither half-head test revealed significant differences between the benchmark conditioners and a formulation based on 7% Plantaquat® NC and 2% Cetiol® C5.

WeT aNd drY ComBaBiliTY

A combability test was conducted to determine hair-combing force, total work and electrostatic charge using a fully automated system (3) (Figure 10), which was developed for high throughput and reproducibility. The basic test formulations delivered good conditioning performance on both wet and dry

an emulsifier and lecithin as a conditioning agent. Comprehensive performance evaluation, including salon hair tests, was carried out. It showed that the conditioner compound offers very good hair-conditioning properties, creates volume and protects against hair breakage. Evaluation included comparing its performance with classic conditioner benchmarks on the market in terms of specific claims, such as hair conditioning, anti-hair breakage, increased hair volume, etc. In addition to performance tests on physical properties of Plantaquat® NC, half-head tests on Caucasian and Asian hair were performed, which showed that the conditioner compound exhibits outstanding sensorial effects on wet hair.

Figure 6. Visual effects of hair strands treated with market benchmark conditioner or test conditioner HB-DE-11-92-258: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Myritol® 312 after 50,000 combing strokes

Figure 7. Half head test of natural benchmark hair conditioner versus test conditioner HB-DE-11-92-128: 5% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Cetiol® C5

hair (Figures 11 and 12). However, they did not fully reach the performance level of a benchmark conditioner that contained Behentrimonium Chloride as a cationic ingredient.

Time oF FliGHT SeCoNdarY ioN maSS SPeCTromeTrY (ToF-SimS)

The ToF-SIMS (4) method makes use of the secondary ion mass spectra which are obtained when the sample surface is bombarded with a primary ion beam (Bi3+ ions were used). By this bombardment characteristic secondary ions are obtained from the surface of the sample. Positive/negative ion mass spectra are obtained by a time-of-flight detector (figure 13). Characteristic positive/negative ions were first identified in the mass spectra of the pure lecithin, which were then used as reference spectra to detect lecithin on hair following treatment. Bleached hair was treated with a formulation containing all ingredients but lecithin. This hair was used as a reference to proof that identified specific ions are generated by lecithin only and not by any other ingredient or the hair surface. ToF-SIMS imaging is performed by scanning the object surface, detecting the intensity of the emitted secondary ions and storing the data as distribution images. Such images (Figure 14) show the distribution of characteristic ions und thus of lecithin. In figure 14 different images of bleached hair without any further treatment (second row), bleached hair treated with the above mentioned placebo formulation (third row) and bleached hair treated with a conditioner containing Plantaquat® NC (first row) are shown. In the left column total ion counts (all ions obtained from the surface) are shown resulting in images similar to scanning electron images. In columns two and three the intensity of the characteristic ions of lecithin C5H12N+ and C5H15PNO4

+ obtained are shown in red to yellow (low to high intensities). Comparing these images, it can clearly be stated that lecithin is quite homogenously distributed on hair treated with the Plantaquat® NC conditioner. In contrast, only some noise can be seen in images of the other two hair samples.

PreParaTioN oF TeST FormUlaTioN

Place hot water (70-75°C) in a vessel. Add Plantaquat® NC in solid form and keep stirring until a temperature of 55°C is reached. Then, add the emollients while stirring, and homogenize with a rotor/stator mixer, e.g. Ultra Turrax, until a homogenous cream has formed. Cool down and add preservative and thermo-sensitive actives at 30-35°C. Finally, adjust pH. Formulations for hair conditioning rinses or hair

Figure 8. Half head test of a classic benchmark hair conditioner (without silicone) versus test conditioner HB-DE-11-92-130: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Cetiol® C 5

Figure 9.Half head test of a classic benchmark hair conditioner (with silicone) versus test conditioner HB-DE-11-92-130: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Cetiol® C 5

Figure 10. Fully automated hair combability measurement equipment

39H&PCToday-HouseholdandPersonalCareToday, Vol. 8(5) September/October 2013

Finding derived from a representative TNS market survey.

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reFereNCeS aNd NoTeS

1. Kline & Company, NaturalPersonalCare-AnOverviewoftheUSMarket, The Holistic Cosmetic Scientific Symposium, St. Paul, MN, March 15, 2011.

2. Haake, H.-M., Eisfeld, W.; Marten, S.; Seipel, W. JCosmetSci.2009, 60(2), 143-51.

3. Hloucha, M., Haake, H.M., Pellón, G., Cosm & Toil 124(5) 58-69 (2009).

4. Sodhi, R. N. S. Analyst. 2004,129, 483-487.

masks can be complemented by soothing oils, proteins and further actives. Due to the anionic emulsifier, the addition of cationic ingredients is limited. The final conditioner emulsion has a beige-brownish color – for this formulation to fulfill the requirements of natural cosmetics, a bleaching process therefore was omitted.

CoNClUSioNS

Plantaquat® NC can help manufacturers meet the needs of consumers looking for environmentally compatible personal care solutions that compromise neither on efficacy nor on performance. The conditioner compound perfectly supports manufacturers striving to meet the specific hair care demands generated by the neo-green trend. Comprehensive hair conditioning evaluation showed that Plantaquat® NC offers excellent conditioning, volume and protection against hair breakage on the level of benchmark products. The deposition and distribution of active substances, i.e. lecithin, on treated hair was characterized by ToF-SIMS (Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry) imaging.

Figure 11.Comparison of wet hair combability of Plantaquat® NC and/or plus emollients with market benchmark hair conditioner. HB-DE-11-92-328: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Myritol® 312. HB-DE-11-92-325: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Cetiol® C 5. HB-DE-11-92-323: 7% Plantaquat® NC

Figure 12. Comparison of dry hair combability of Plantaquat® NC and/or plus emollients with market benchmark hair conditioner. HB-DE-11-92-328: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Myritol® 312. HB-DE-11-92-325: 7% Plantaquat® NC + 2% Cetiol® C 5. HB-DE-11-92-323: 7% Plantaquat® NC

Figure 13. Schematics of Time of Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS)

Figure 14. ToF-SIMS imaging of deposition of lecithin, active of Plantaquat® NC, on hair fiber surface