Dow Corning launches healthcare grade ingredients for skin care and cosmetics applications

18-Oct-2015 - Last updated on 19-Oct-2015 at 15:45 GMT

Feifei Lin, of Dow Corning (left), in conversation with Cosmetics Design reporter Deanna Utroske at the 2015 SCC Suppliers Day event.

At the SCC Suppliers Day event in California, the silicone materials company debuted a topical-ingredients portfolio intended for formulating OTC products that bridge the gap between beauty and wellness.

The company is just getting started with this concept. “Further prototype formulations will be added to this line in the very near future,” says Feifei Lin, North America Drug Delivery Market Leader for Dow Corning Healthcare Industry.

At the Suppliers Day event—where two of the company’s distributors, Univar and Nexeo, were showcasing the new line— Lin spoke with Cosmetics Design about the new ingredient offering and Dow Corning’s plans to keep expanding this portfolio: “This will definitely not be the end of it…for ingredients” says Lin.

Options

The grouping currently comprises 19 ingredients and several representative formulations “designed to help customers drive innovations in topical over-the-counter (OTC) and medical device products that treat scars, stretch marks, acne and other skin conditions,” according to the company’s press material about the launch.

This segment of personal care is in its infancy, explains Lin. And the company’s new ingredients grouping advances what formulators can do by including multiple forms and textures: a wax, an emulsifier, blends, resins, as well as numerous traditonal and specialty grade fluids.

Expertise

Dow Corning is taking full advantage of its over 60-year history serving the healthcare industry in offering its personal care customers this new portfolio of silicone-based ingredients that can be used in topical applications in the cosmetics space, in consumer healthcare, and as topical excipients in the pharmaceutical sector.

And as personal care regulations are increasingly stringent and more challenging to comply with, the company is confident that ingredients which support customers’ regulatory compliance will prove quite popular.

Look and feel

The line takes more than efficacy and safety into consideration. The various forms in Dow Corning’s latest ingredient portfolio allow cosmetic chemists to formulate multifunction and sensorial products, which are both very much in demand.

Lin tells Cosmetics Design that silicone adds “a touch of lux” to product formulations, explaining that it is less greasy than an ointment and leaves skin feeling softer after use.

“Silicone helps remodel collagen to help repair scars,” she affirms and notes that some of the company’s prototype scar care formulations are already multifunctional and include either sunscreen or pigment.

Trends come and go, but with this topical-ingredients portfolio Dow Corning is betting that wellness and beauty will continue to converge. The market for scar care products and those that treat stretch marks has been growing well for the last two years, Lin observers. And she’s confident that the segment will see growth well into the future.