Suncare film-formers: functional formulation

Minimally disruptive technology

The concept of minimally disruptive formulation1-4 was introduced in 2015 and much has been written about using it. This approach depends upon the ability of personal care formulators to provide products that have consumer perceptible differences that meet a market need. Since product aesthetics are a key attribute of personal care products, the ability to alter product aesthetics to provide a different consumer perception with minimal change to the formulation is a very cost-effective way to develop new products. The concept was to add a particular polymeric surface active agent (including silicones, polyester or other polymers), to an existing formulation to effect a consumer perceptible change in the formulation.

The fact is that polymeric surface actives, properly chosen at a concentration of 5% or less, will provide to the formulation a lowering of surface tension, an alteration of feel, an altering of cushion and play time, a change in gloss, and a perception to a customer the product is different from the formulation to which the additive has not been made. This makes surface active polymers quite valuable at low concentrations in formulation to make ‘new products’. I have often said that if a personal care product is compared to a gourmet meal, polymeric surfactant additives will be the spice, not the meat or potatoes1 . This means that small amounts of surface active polymer added to great formulas will bring out desired properties to a consumer, that will amaze and delight. This approach will allow the formulator to make small but major modifications to formulators in a very efficient way by modifying well known formulations to provide new products with different aesthetics.