According to Evonik, the acquisition of the Air Products specialty additives business will benefit the cosmetic ingredient portfolio of the German specialty chemicals company.
“We are adding interesting products to our actives and polymer portfolio for the cosmetics industry along with a highly attractive formulation technology,” said Dr Tammo Boinowitz, head of the Personal Care Business Line at Evonik.
The proprietary know-how of the former Air Products Schlüchtern GmbH includes a number of innovative encapsulation technologies for active cosmetic ingredients and multifunctional polymers. Using a variety of membrane-forming lipids, the active ingredients can be packaged into tiny vesicles, which serve as protective transport aids. “They enable us to deliver active ingredients specifically to the desired action site in the skin to improve the bioavailability of active ingredients and modulate their release. That also has additional positive effects, such as the stabilisation of sensitive cosmetic ingredients,” explained Michael Sacher, head of Personal Care Delivery Systems.
These technologies open up many new opportunities for innovative product development at Evonik. “It is conceivable, for example, to deliver innovative actives from the Evonik portfolio to deeper skin layers to enhance their efficacy,” said Sacher.
Thanks to these polymers, Evonik is also moving into hairstyling. “The acquisition is another step toward the goal of becoming the leading specialty provider for cosmetic ingredients,” noted Boinowitz.
