74 JOURNAL OF COSMETIC SCIENCE
excellent eco-compatibility. As a result, glycolipids are more environmentally friendly and
can enter the natural recycling streams without negative effects. Strong consumer demand
for clean and renewable solutions, particularly in cosmetics and cleaning applications,
has led to a significant increase in market growth for biosurfactants. The availability of
commercial production processes is an important factor supporting this development. We
are at the beginning of a new era for renewable, environmentally friendly and effective
surfactant solutions with a growing product portfolio inspired by nature.
REFERENCES
(1) Mueller J, Wenk HH. Biosurfactants – Nature’s Solution for Today‘s Cleaning Challenges. CHIMIA.
2021 75(9) 752–756.
(2) Brandt K, Venzmer J. Micellar Formulations – Old Wine in New Skins? SOFW Journal 03/2020 146
34–37.

75
J. Cosmet. Sci., 76.1, 75–85 (January/February 2025)
*Address all correspondence to Hans-Martin Haake, hans-martin.haake@basf.com
Overcoming Challenges in Silicone Alternative Solutions in
Personal Care
HANS-MARTIN HAAKE, JOHANNES CROTOGINO, SANDIP BHATTACHARYA,
YEAH-YOUNG BAEK, MARKUS DIERKER, WERNER MAUER AND
CHRISTINA KOHLMANN
BASF Personal Care and Nutrition GmbH, Monheim, Germany (H-M.H., J.C., S.B., Y-Y.B., M.D.,
W.M., C.K.)
Accepted for publication November 11, 2024.
Synopsis
Silicones are widely used in cosmetic formulations due to their specific physicochemical properties and
resulting strong contributions to the performance on skin and hair. However, restrictions for cyclic silicones
put in force by the European Union coupled with increasing consumer demands for cosmetics based on
renewable resources and biodegradable ingredients result in cosmetics formulators facing challenges to find
silicone alternatives while maintaining product performance levels. In this review, the challenges in finding
alternative solutions are described for the three different types of silicones: volatile (cyclic), low molecular
weight (linear), and high molecular weight (linear) silicones. While there are replacements for volatile
silicones, which match many properties, the substitution of the other two types is more difficult and typically
requires the adjustment of the complete formulation. This is shown with several examples.
INTRODUCTION
Silicones (Polydimethylsiloxanes and derivatives) have been used in cosmetics products
for decades due to their unique sensory and conditioning properties for both hair and
skin applications1,2,3. For skincare applications, silicones produce a pleasant “silicone-like”
sensory effect. In addition to this, silicones also reduce the soaping or whitening, which
is an undesired sensory aspect appearing upon applying skin-care emulsions on skin. For
haircare, they contribute to claims like hair shine, combability, or reduced hair breakage.
The distinctive properties of silicones can be explained by molecular characteristics, which
are quite different from carbon chemistries. The silicon-oxygen and silicon-carbon bonds
are comparatively longer in comparison to the carbon-carbon and carbon-oxygen bonds
due to increased steric repulsion owing to a larger silicon (Si) atom. Therefore, for silicones,
the bonds have a high degree of freedom, and the molecules have a high flexibility. This
unique structure with the Si–O–Si backbone and the hydrophobic side groups results in
properties like low surface energy and thus low surface and interfacial tension leading to