The Lemon Bio is a new addition to the Original Extracts line, a range of ingredients that can replace some or all of the water in a formulation.
'The original extracts are closer in terms of pH, electronc potential and resistivity to the skin,' Gatefossé's Laurent Schubnel told CosmeticsDesign, speaking at this year's in-cosmetics show in Munich.
In addition, the extracts contain some fragrance elements and can be used as co-active ingredients as it can enhance the working of other actives, Schubnel explained.
100 per cent organic
Lemon Bio is produced by flash distillation and the water collected is 100 per cent from the fruit.
'As there is nothing added, this ingredient is 100 per cent organic,' said Schubnel.
It is this aspect of the ingredient that is likely to be appealing to formulators. Most organic certification systems demand a minimum percentage of organic ingredients along with compliance to a number of other parameters.
Adding even 10 percent of the organic lemon extract will bring the formulation up to the 10 per cent organic mark demanded by France-based certifier Ecocert.
Not a cheat, a solution
'It is not a cheat so much as a solution. The way our customers will be using this ingredient is not simply to turn a non-organic formulation, organic. I imagine they will be using it with other organic ingredients as well,' said Schubnel.
Indeed, organic certification includes other criteria for example an often very high proportion of natural ingredients, so the extract is only part of the anwser.
The full original extracts range contains 11 ingredients, two of which (lemon and orange) are 100 per cent organic.
Asked whether the full range was likely to go organic, Schubnel said it depended very much on customer demand, as well as organic crop availability.
'For a while we had the organic orange but it was not very popular. Then its popularity exploded which prompted the launch of the lemon variety. However, some fruits might be easier to find than others.'