The Exilva Blog

Have you heard the saying “Oil and water don’t mix”? This is a proverb said of things with such different natures that they cannot be combined. It is however not totally true since oil and water can be mixed into an emulsion. In many different industries such as cosmetics, pharma, paints, coatings, household products and many more, professionals mix different oils and water to create the desired performance of a product. They overcome the hurdle of “mixing” oil and water by using emulsifiers, surfactants and stabilizers. So how can MFC contribute?

One of the advantages of cellulosic materials (including nanocellulose and microfibrillated cellulose (MFC)) compared to synthetic materials, is their environmentally friendly profile as well as their biodegradability. This profile is impacted by the number of chemical reactions the product will undergo during the manufacturing process. It would therefore be favorable to obtain desired chemical properties via physical adsorption instead of chemical reactions.

In many end products, and specifically in cosmetics, the first thing that attracts the consumer is the packaging format. This implies that the packaging should look good and luxurious as a sign of product performance.

Have you run into problems with incompatibilities between the surfactant you would like to use and other ingredients in your formulation? This is a common problem since surfactants are quite versatile in charge and chemical structure as well as in functionalities. This could for example lead to undesired interactions with oppositely charged ingredients.

A unique character of MFC is that it normally comes as a water suspension and at very low concentrations, in some cases as low as 2% of active matter in water. This is a positive feature in the sense that non-dry MFC is readily activated and easy to introduce into various formulations.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) has many properties wanted in cosmetic products: good skin feel, desired rheological properties and improved stability of formulations. Moreover, it is a natural raw material, an increasing trend in cosmetics. MFC is made of natural cellulose sources and can be prepared by different processes. Both the source and the process determine the composition of the MFC and possible impurities that the MFC could have. It is, therefore, essential to have good control of both the composition of the material (see also our blog post about the raw materials of MFC) and of the process to prepare it. This is especially true when it is to be used in certain applications. Cosmetic products are an example of applications where the purity of MFC is essential since it affects us, our society and our environment all at once. 

Over the last several years consumers have become more and more aware of the environmental impact of cosmetic products. Indeed cosmetic products end up down the drain and in the water system after a shower. The trend today is, therefore, to use natural raw materials to replace synthetic ingredients and reduce the environmental impact.