David Koehl and Geoff Clay, TroyCare03.04.19
Regulatory and market trends pose greater challenges for formulators of personal care and cosmetics products. Pressure from regulatory bodies around the world, especially in Europe, forces formulators to select from a diminishing list of acceptable preservative chemistries. The EU (ASEAN) Positive List (Annex V) contains 59 actives, of which only a handful are not under pressure or review—for now. Additionally, consumers are more aware of the active ingredients in the personal care and cosmetics products they buy, and are driving the market toward “preservative-free” or so-called “green” formulations.
As a result, formulators seek alternative methods of protection, including efficacy boosting ingredients and multifunctional materials, such as fragrances or moisturizers, that provide a measure of preservation as a secondary benefit. However, these ingredients can struggle to provide the required levels of preservation, and can be costly and difficult to formulate, too. In fact, new “registered” preservatives are very rare. Just two new preservatives have been added to Europe’s Annex V in the past 15 years, and few, if any, are expected in the near future.
Organic Acids’ Long History of Safety
There have been interesting developments in “alternative” preservation, although frequently with a measure of compromise. Various “natural” or “natural identical” preservatives have gained in popularity during the past few years as formulators and consumers alike were drawn to the perceived “green” aspects of these products. However, many of these natural preservatives come with their own sets of challenges. Cost, higher use levels, low water solubility and limited micro efficacy are the common limitations experienced with many natural preservatives. While some consumers are willing to accept these higher costs for the sake of sustainability, the majority are all too aware of the compromises they’re making in cost and convenience, both at the cash register and when they have to dispose of cosmetics after six months when microbial growth begins to spoil the product.
There have also been some encouraging developments. Organic acid preservatives have gained in popularity due to their perception not only as natural and safer, but also as very cost-effective. Organic acids have a long history of safe use preserving foods. In Europe, which is the global regulatory leader in cosmetics and personal care, uses organic acids for preservation at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Formulators worldwide have come to follow the regulations and trends in Europe, especially if they’re formulating products intended for sale globally. As a result, the cosmetics and personal care world is realizing the advantages of organic acid based preservation. Organic acids face only limited restrictions anywhere in the world from any regulatory body—this cannot be said about most other preservatives. Furthermore, many organic acids are compliant with Cosmos Natural certification, something that is highly sought after in today’s market. Being widely used as food preservatives, organic acids are often familiar to and accepted by most consumers as being safe. For these reasons, organic acid preservatives are expected to continue to grow in global popularity for the foreseeable future.
Organic acids come in many varieties, with different strengths and weaknesses. Differences include natural vs. synthetic sourcing, effective pH ranges, efficacy range, water solubility, and cost. Troy has been deeply involved in the study and development of the best performing and safe-handling materials for more than 70 years, and is at the forefront of this next wave of innovation for personal care and cosmetics. Troy’s R&D team evaluated various organic acid systems to identify the best performing ones with the fewest compromises. Troy identified organic acids that are either naturally sourced or identical to those found occurring in nature. Additionally, Troy addressed one of the more significant drawbacks of some organic acids, that of pH range.
Formulators have been limited in the use of organics due to the relatively low pH ceiling many organic acids have. The limited efficacy range of many common organic acids was also overcome through Troy’s R&D work on broad-spectrum blends that protect against bacteria and fungi. Lastly, Troy’s efforts were also aimed at preservative solutions that do not present formulators with significant cost increases compared with other popular options. At the end of its intensive R&D evaluation, Troy launched a unique family of organic acid preservatives for the natural and sustainable formulations of tomorrow.
Next-Gen Preservation
In response to regulatory pressure and market demand, Troy has developed new TroyCare LSB organic acid preservatives. TroyCare LSB is the next generation of modern personal care preservation, offering formulators a more natural, customer-friendly preservative solution that combines efficacy with milder, safer attributes. TroyCare LSB offers a simple, customer-friendly INCI listing, naturally derived or natural identical components, and excellent broad-spectrum efficacy. The natural preservatives are also low odor, low color, clear liquids that are exceptionally easy to formulate.
TroyCare LSB offers formulators a blend of naturally derived or natural identical ingredients. TroyCare LSB is an expanding series of products based on levulinic, sorbic, and benzoic acids. Some versions of LSB contain additional components that have the important benefit of extending the maximum effective pH range. This broader pH range of TroyCare LSB significantly expands the range of cosmetic and personal care products which can now be successfully protected with organic acid based preservatives.
Great Performance
TroyCare LSB offers highly effective, broad-spectrum protection to a wide range of end-use products and, in fact, offers greater system compatibility and efficacy than other natural preservatives. Additionally, TroyCare LSB is effective at very low use levels compared with other natural preservatives and has been shown to protect many formulations at use levels as low as 0.4%. As a result of this and other factors, TroyCare LSB cost-in-use is much lower than other natural preservatives. The data shown in Fig. 1 illustrates not only the strong efficacy of TroyCare LSB, but also the range of system compatibility as well as effectiveness in higher pH formulations.
As the data in Fig. 1 shows, TroyCare LSB offers excellent protection of a variety of personal care applications at levels as low as 0.4%, which translates into low cost-in-use. Exhibit 1 illustrates how TroyCare LSB1 provides excellent performance in a shampoo with a pH of 5.5, while exhibits 2 and 3 show how TroyCare LSB2 and LSB3 provide broad-spectrum performance in systems with a pH of up to 6.5. These higher pH examples demonstrate how TroyCare LSB can provide excellent broad-spectrum protection where more traditional organic acid preservatives would fail. This is a distinct advantage of TroyCare LSB, and is good news for formulators of higher pH products who previously could not consider consumer friendly organic acid preservatives.
A Natural Choice
TroyCare LSB addresses the market’s demand for effective, safer, “greener” natural preservation. These innovative preservatives consist of a synergistic blend of globally-accepted organic acids that are naturally sourced or natural-identical. The resulting blend is a simple, customer friendly INCI listing that provides reliable and cost-effective protection.
TroyCare LSB offers excellent broad-spectrum efficacy in a wide range of systems—including those with pH as high as 6.5. These preservatives offer superior efficacy to most other natural preservatives available on the market, and is effective at very low use levels. This translates into remarkably low cost-in-use compared with other natural preservatives, and greater peace of mind for formulators.
TroyCare LSB represents a paradigm shift in the world of natural preservatives for cosmetics and personal care products. Finally, formulators have an option for safer, “greener” natural preservation that is also highly effective, offers greater system compatibility, and is cost-effective.
To discuss how this new series of natural preservatives from TroyCare can be the natural solution for your antimicrobial needs, visit www.troycare.com, or email koehld@troycorp.com.
As a result, formulators seek alternative methods of protection, including efficacy boosting ingredients and multifunctional materials, such as fragrances or moisturizers, that provide a measure of preservation as a secondary benefit. However, these ingredients can struggle to provide the required levels of preservation, and can be costly and difficult to formulate, too. In fact, new “registered” preservatives are very rare. Just two new preservatives have been added to Europe’s Annex V in the past 15 years, and few, if any, are expected in the near future.
Organic Acids’ Long History of Safety
There have been interesting developments in “alternative” preservation, although frequently with a measure of compromise. Various “natural” or “natural identical” preservatives have gained in popularity during the past few years as formulators and consumers alike were drawn to the perceived “green” aspects of these products. However, many of these natural preservatives come with their own sets of challenges. Cost, higher use levels, low water solubility and limited micro efficacy are the common limitations experienced with many natural preservatives. While some consumers are willing to accept these higher costs for the sake of sustainability, the majority are all too aware of the compromises they’re making in cost and convenience, both at the cash register and when they have to dispose of cosmetics after six months when microbial growth begins to spoil the product.
There have also been some encouraging developments. Organic acid preservatives have gained in popularity due to their perception not only as natural and safer, but also as very cost-effective. Organic acids have a long history of safe use preserving foods. In Europe, which is the global regulatory leader in cosmetics and personal care, uses organic acids for preservation at twice the rate of the rest of the world. Formulators worldwide have come to follow the regulations and trends in Europe, especially if they’re formulating products intended for sale globally. As a result, the cosmetics and personal care world is realizing the advantages of organic acid based preservation. Organic acids face only limited restrictions anywhere in the world from any regulatory body—this cannot be said about most other preservatives. Furthermore, many organic acids are compliant with Cosmos Natural certification, something that is highly sought after in today’s market. Being widely used as food preservatives, organic acids are often familiar to and accepted by most consumers as being safe. For these reasons, organic acid preservatives are expected to continue to grow in global popularity for the foreseeable future.
Organic acids come in many varieties, with different strengths and weaknesses. Differences include natural vs. synthetic sourcing, effective pH ranges, efficacy range, water solubility, and cost. Troy has been deeply involved in the study and development of the best performing and safe-handling materials for more than 70 years, and is at the forefront of this next wave of innovation for personal care and cosmetics. Troy’s R&D team evaluated various organic acid systems to identify the best performing ones with the fewest compromises. Troy identified organic acids that are either naturally sourced or identical to those found occurring in nature. Additionally, Troy addressed one of the more significant drawbacks of some organic acids, that of pH range.
Formulators have been limited in the use of organics due to the relatively low pH ceiling many organic acids have. The limited efficacy range of many common organic acids was also overcome through Troy’s R&D work on broad-spectrum blends that protect against bacteria and fungi. Lastly, Troy’s efforts were also aimed at preservative solutions that do not present formulators with significant cost increases compared with other popular options. At the end of its intensive R&D evaluation, Troy launched a unique family of organic acid preservatives for the natural and sustainable formulations of tomorrow.
Next-Gen Preservation
In response to regulatory pressure and market demand, Troy has developed new TroyCare LSB organic acid preservatives. TroyCare LSB is the next generation of modern personal care preservation, offering formulators a more natural, customer-friendly preservative solution that combines efficacy with milder, safer attributes. TroyCare LSB offers a simple, customer-friendly INCI listing, naturally derived or natural identical components, and excellent broad-spectrum efficacy. The natural preservatives are also low odor, low color, clear liquids that are exceptionally easy to formulate.
TroyCare LSB offers formulators a blend of naturally derived or natural identical ingredients. TroyCare LSB is an expanding series of products based on levulinic, sorbic, and benzoic acids. Some versions of LSB contain additional components that have the important benefit of extending the maximum effective pH range. This broader pH range of TroyCare LSB significantly expands the range of cosmetic and personal care products which can now be successfully protected with organic acid based preservatives.
Great Performance
TroyCare LSB offers highly effective, broad-spectrum protection to a wide range of end-use products and, in fact, offers greater system compatibility and efficacy than other natural preservatives. Additionally, TroyCare LSB is effective at very low use levels compared with other natural preservatives and has been shown to protect many formulations at use levels as low as 0.4%. As a result of this and other factors, TroyCare LSB cost-in-use is much lower than other natural preservatives. The data shown in Fig. 1 illustrates not only the strong efficacy of TroyCare LSB, but also the range of system compatibility as well as effectiveness in higher pH formulations.
As the data in Fig. 1 shows, TroyCare LSB offers excellent protection of a variety of personal care applications at levels as low as 0.4%, which translates into low cost-in-use. Exhibit 1 illustrates how TroyCare LSB1 provides excellent performance in a shampoo with a pH of 5.5, while exhibits 2 and 3 show how TroyCare LSB2 and LSB3 provide broad-spectrum performance in systems with a pH of up to 6.5. These higher pH examples demonstrate how TroyCare LSB can provide excellent broad-spectrum protection where more traditional organic acid preservatives would fail. This is a distinct advantage of TroyCare LSB, and is good news for formulators of higher pH products who previously could not consider consumer friendly organic acid preservatives.
A Natural Choice
TroyCare LSB addresses the market’s demand for effective, safer, “greener” natural preservation. These innovative preservatives consist of a synergistic blend of globally-accepted organic acids that are naturally sourced or natural-identical. The resulting blend is a simple, customer friendly INCI listing that provides reliable and cost-effective protection.
TroyCare LSB offers excellent broad-spectrum efficacy in a wide range of systems—including those with pH as high as 6.5. These preservatives offer superior efficacy to most other natural preservatives available on the market, and is effective at very low use levels. This translates into remarkably low cost-in-use compared with other natural preservatives, and greater peace of mind for formulators.
TroyCare LSB represents a paradigm shift in the world of natural preservatives for cosmetics and personal care products. Finally, formulators have an option for safer, “greener” natural preservation that is also highly effective, offers greater system compatibility, and is cost-effective.
To discuss how this new series of natural preservatives from TroyCare can be the natural solution for your antimicrobial needs, visit www.troycare.com, or email koehld@troycorp.com.
