Benoit Souyri, Nathalie Chevrot, Severine Sigurani
2018, 4th CosmeticDays
The return to nature and the search for well-being trends leads consumers to an increasing interest in aromatherapy for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes. Sales of essential oils indeed increased by 57.3% in France between 2012 and 2016 *. Simultaneously to desire for naturality, the consumer is looking for sustainability without compromising aesthetics and use comfort. The use of essential oils by the dermal route requires a formulation vehicle offering guaranteed stability .
Thus, essential oils are usually formulated in a vegetable oil, an emulsion, a balm or sometimes solubilized in water. Nevertheless, when a vehicle, which is both consistent and fresh, is desired to potentiate the relaxing feeling after sports, these formulations are either too liquid or too rich and don’t give full satisfaction. In classic skin care, the suspension of a fatty phase by a polymeric system dispersed in an aqueous vehicle allows the realization of a "gel-cream" without added surfactant, very appreciated for its freshness. The aim of our study is to develop a gel-cream formulation with essential oils to formulate comfortable aromatherapy products, together with cooler sensation than an emulsion, and meanwhile promoting g energy-saving manufacturing processes.
Our objective is to identify among a range of polymers known for their performance in gel-cream or used more conventionally as emulsion stabilizers, the ones which are compatible with essential oils to facilitate their formulation and to guarantee the final ou resulting product stability. The evaluation focused on stability criteria but also on formulation visual appearance. Experimental trials have shown the interest of combining a texturizing polymer with another one, more robust in presence of active ingredients to obtain perfect stability of the final gel-cream. An instrumental evaluation of the sticky effect demonstrated the sensory benefit of the formulation. Assessment of formula sensory profile by expert panelists finally confirmed the desired fresh effect.
* FranceAgrimer Jan 2018
Seppic, 22 Terrasse Bellini, Puteaux, France