Ashland introduces web-based tool to help personal-care manufacturers select best preservatives for hair care and skin care formulations
Press Release
Ashland introduces web-based tool to help personal-care manufacturers select best preservatives for hair care and skin care formulations
WILMINGTON, DE - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), today introduced a web-based tool designed to help manufacturers of personal care products identify preservatives best suited for skin care and hair care formulations. Ashland created the tool to better serve formulators responsible for preserving products in accordance with changing consumer requirements, varying regulations around the world and altering formulation dynamics. Formulators may access the all-new selector tool from any desktop computer or mobile device at ashland.com/pr/preservativesapp.
"A number of regulatory and marketplace dynamics are changing around the world to the point where it is no longer intuitive to determine a preservation strategy that is universal, consumer-preferred, regulatory compliant and formulation appropriate," said Eric Lippay, global marketing manager, skin care, Ashland Specialty Ingredients. "At the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC) Suppliers' Day in New Jersey, we demonstrated how the new selector tool allows formulators of personal care products to find a range of preservation starting points based on criteria relevant to today's market and regulatory realities."
Included in the selector tool are "dynamic criteria" that may be selected at the same time by formulators to narrow the list of starting point preservation technologies. For example, if a formulator wants a preservatives solution for a leave-on skin cream or lotion in the United States and Chinese markets using a nature-friendly preservation technology, or aromatic technology, they simply select the pH range of the formulation, countries of use, product application and chemistry choice. In just a few seconds, the options appear on screen.
Navigating regulatory hurdles and global preservation requirements
As product manufacturers create formulations for regional and global markets, a need exists to more easily navigate regulatory requirements. At the same time, formulators, increasingly working on products with high levels of naturally derived ingredients, may require a preservation solution without halogens that remains effective against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, yeast and mold for an extended period of time. Ashland designed its selector tool to address a set of formulation requirements like these and to indicate the various Ashland preservative offerings that may be used to build a robust preservation system.
"Most recently, we created two new offerings for our popular line of Optiphen™ preservatives approved for use in all major markets, compatible with a variety of formulations and not based on paraben, formaldehyde or halogens," said Andrea Wingenfeld, global market leader for preservatives, Ashland Specialty Ingredients. "Depending on a formulator's input using the selector tool, they may see Optiphen™ 200 and Optiphen™ 300 preservatives. These offerings may be used in specific situations as part of a system to build or complete a progressive preservative system."
Ashland also added several preservative boosters to its portfolio to take into account situations where a formulator may benefit by adding them to care products to optimize the microbial stability of the product. Boosters such as Optiphen™ HD, based on 1,2-Hexanediol, support overall microbial stability due to their water-binding properties and facilitate, when used in combination with preservatives, their penetration into the microbial cell wall.
For more information, visit Ashland at the SCC Suppliers' Day exhibition, Booth 601, in Edison, New Jersey, May 13 and 14, or at Ashland.com/personalcare.
About Ashland Specialty Ingredients
Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc., offers industry-leading products, technologies and resources for solving formulation and product performance challenges in key markets including personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, coatings and energy. Using natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers derived from plant and seed extract, cellulose ethers and vinyl pyrrolidones, Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers comprehensive and innovative solutions for today's demanding consumer and industrial applications.
About Ashland
In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Valvoline.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Amanda Rosete
Ashland Specialty Ingredients
+1 (908) 243-3547
arosete@ashland.com