Products that can be challenging to thicken can include formulations that have no water content, those with very extreme pH levels or those with a very high electrolyte content, the company claims.
“An example of an anhydrous product would be an oil based sunscreen, and a product with an extreme pH could be a hair relaxer,” ISP’s senior director – global marketing for personal care Anna Gripp told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.
In addition, the company claims the thickener remains stable in ingredients such as glycolic or salicylic acid, making it a potential thickener for acne treatments.
The company also claims the thickener is compatible with both polar and non polar systems.
Challenging formulations
According to ISP, thickening these types of systems has not always been easy and FlexiThix can open up new avenues for formulators that would otherwise not be possible.
“Typical thickeners are not compatible with some of these systems. This is a product designed to be used when other thickeners can’t be,” Gripp said.
Furthermore, the company claims the ingredient has little odor, creates a pleasant after feel and requires no neutralization (a step needed when using carboxyvinyl polymers as thickeners).
According to a recent report from market researchers Kline and Company thickeners is one of the largest classes of cosmetics ingredients, which estimated 22,700 metric tonnes of the ingredients would be used in 2010. This compares to 35,800 metric tonnes of surfactants, and 18,600 for emollients.