According to the company, natural and organic products do not always have the same sensorial qualities, in particularly foaming ability, as traditional products without natural claims.
While the ability of a product to foam has no indication of its detergency, consumers expect a cleansing product to foam and if it doesn’t may question its efficacy, Croda claims.
This is the motivation behind the new ingredient Phytofoam, that Croda says can be added to formulations with natural claims, to boost foam.
According to the company, the ingredient can help increase the volume of foam, as well as resulting in a dense, compact foam.
Natural saponin content
Phytofoam is based on extracts from shikaki, desert date and gypsophilia, and Croda’s marketing executive for botanicals Victor Low explained that the foaming effect was related to the plants’ natural saponin content.
“The three plants are rich in saponins, an active which has been shown to develop a soap-like foam when agitated with water and have detergent like properties," he told CosmeticsDesign.com USA.
"These amphiphilic saponin monomers coalesce and form micelles which reduce the surface tension of water and aid in removing particulates found on the skin,” he added.
While no natural and organic certification has yet been sought, Low said the company may look to this in the future.
"Phytofoam is made through a multi-step aqueous extraction process. We are exploring new opportunities for the next iteration of the product to have it conform to natural and organic certification standards,” Low said.
Botanical blend demands cooler formulation stage
Low explained that the ingredient has been designed to be included in surfactant-based systems so can tolerate pHs from 3.5 to 6.5.
In addition, he said as it is a botanical blend, temperatures of below 40C are best to protect the sensitive active components, and suggested it be added during a cool down stage of a formulation.
The company recommends the use of Phytofoam for skin care products such as facial cleansers, mousse concepts, baby and sensitive skin products, make up removers and luxurious washers.