19 Bottle Your Sustainability Goals Minimize
The first bar represents the impact of esters made with non-RSPO raw materials and a
conventional production process. The second bar depicts the improvement in the life cycle
assessment achieved by using RSPO mass balance (MB) grade esters with conventional
processing, resulting in a 47% reduction in CO
2
footprint. The third bar shows a further
reduction in environmental impact by combining RSPO MB raw materials with enzymatic
processing. By incorporating enzymatically processed emollients in the final formulation,
a 67% reduction in CO
2
footprint can be achieved, leading to a more sustainable product.
PHYSIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF LIQUID LIPOPHILIC EMOLLIENTS
Figure 11 provides a visual representation of four key attributes of emollients, including
viscosity, surface tension, spreadability, and polarity. The x-axis represents the viscosity of
the emollients, which indicates their fatty characteristic, while the y-axis shows the surface
tension. The size of the circle indicates the spreadability of the emollient. The polarity of
the emollient is also shown on this chart by the color depth of the circles, which indicates
its ability to solvate lipophilic crystalline structures such as avobenzone or ceramides. The
esters which are produced via enzymatic esterification are highlighted on this chart.
Of particular interest is Isoamyl Laurate, which is emollient #2 on the chart. This ester has
an extremely low viscosity and low surface tension, which lends to excellent spreadability,
and it is medium polar, so it can function as a solvating agent. In cosmetic applications,
emollients are utilized for their solvating and sensorial attributes on skin, but we can also
view this class of sustainable ingredients as practical solutions for chemistries that are
falling out of favor due to environmental concerns.
To illustrate this point, a high-spreading enzymatic emollient, Isoamyl Laurate, was used
in place of 6% ethanol to achieve a lower VOC of 55%. This emollient was chosen due to
its physicochemical properties, such as spreadability, which could mimic the behavior of
ethanol in this matrix.
Figure 10. Environmental impact of a market product: Life cycle assessment of an O/W cream cradle-to-gate.
20 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE
VOLATILE ORGANIC CARBON REGULATION
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) have been a concern for public health agencies in the
United States, with California being at the forefront of regulating their use in consumer
products, including cosmetics. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) enforces VOC
emission limits and has the power to impose fines and penalties for non-compliance.
Since 1989, California has restricted the use of VOCs in several personal care product
categories to reduce ground-level ozone. These categories include hair finishing spray,
aerosol sunscreen, dry shampoo, deodorant body spray, and antiperspirant/deodorant. New
limits have been implemented as of January 1, 2023, for most product categories, with the
remaining categories to follow in 2029 as seen in Figure 12.
To comply with these regulations, products in these categories are not allowed to use four
solvents that are considered to have “significant adverse health impacts”: perchloroethylene,
trichloroethylene, methylene chloride, and pchloro-α-,α,αtrifluorotoluene. Additionally,
compounds with a GWP over 150 CO
2 equivalents will also be prohibited.
Spray sunscreens and antiperspirants were in the original proposal, but because both
are over-the-counter drugs and controlled by federal monographs, the CARB board has
Figure 11. Physiochemical properties of emollients.
Figure 12. California Air Resources Board (CARB) has set new limits to lower existing limits for volatile
organic compound emissions from consumer products by 2023.
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