Meet consumer demand for sustainable and high-performing sunscreens

For many of us, hot summer weather makes sunscreen a necessary component of our daily skin care regime. Whether for the daily commute to work or outdoor activities, savvy consumers around the world have become more discerning in their selection of sun protection products to maintain fairness and avoid skin damage due to sun exposure. The global market can be segmented into the three categories of sun protection, after sun and tanning – with sun protection being responsible for almost 80% of the total consumption worldwide.

Despite the negative effects of worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns and consumers having to cancel their travel plans, the consumption of sunscreen is expected to recover as the world gradually adopts a new normal. According to Euromonitor, the size of the global sun care market is projected to reach $13.2bn by 2025, showing a CAGR of 4.3% during 2021 and 2025.

As consumers continue to adopt sun protection as the best way to maintain healthy skin, they want products with added benefits, a soft feel, high SPF protection and perspiration-resistant properties. The demand for natural and plant-derived formulations is increasing as a result of consumers becoming more eco-focused when shopping and increasingly conscious of the impact of their choices on the environment and marine pollution in particular.

We’ll continue to see growth in organic, mineral, ocean-safe and reef-safe sunscreens. The sun care industry is changing rapidly with innovation driving new formats – gels, sticks, mousses, powders and serums – and products that offer more than just sun protection. Over the past five years, multifunctional sunscreens have become popular, providing consumers with additional benefits, from anti-ageing, skin brightening and moisturisation to self-adjusting formulas that blend into all skin tones to reduce dark spots.

The next generation of super powerful sunscreens combine skin care and SPF to prevent sun damage and wrinkles while delivering ingredients that help improve skin radiance. Needless to say, there are incredible opportunities for advanced multifunctional formulations within SPF-rated colour cosmetics. Makeup products with a built-in sunscreen, such as lipsticks, foundations, primer, setting sprays and tinted moisturisers are already finding their way into consumers’ new beauty routines.

Manufacturers of sunscreens are also becoming more inclusivity-focused by creating and branding products that are effective for all demographics. As consumers better understand the importance of sunscreen for dark skin, we will see growth in sun care products that meet the needs of the BIPOC (black, indigenous, and people of colour) community with new formulations that blend flawlessly into all skin tones without leaving any noticeable residue.

Bio-based non-toxic film former

In response to the new needs of consumers and to address the challenges of formulating high-performing natural sun care products, Nouryon – represented locally by IMCD South Africa – has introduced SolAmaze Natural, a novel 100% bio-based, biodegradable, film-forming polymer that offers superior water resistance and pleasing aesthetics for high SPF emulsion sunscreens. The film former is compatible with typical sunscreen formulations and can be applied to a wide range of personal care applications.

When formulating high-performing sunscreens, formulators have learned to fully trust synthetic ingredients that provide outstanding water resistance and pleasant consumer aesthetics. However, these ingredients, which are often based on petrochemically-derived raw materials, are under scrutiny from NGOs and the media for their persistence in the environment and arguable sustainability. As a result, consumers are demanding more sustainable product solutions with equivalent performance to synthetic options.

Produced from completely non-hazardous raw materials in a solvent-free and waste-free process, SolAmaze Natural film former conforms to the 12 principles of green chemistry, showing maximum atom economy, the highest degree of renewable carbon usage and excellent process efficiency. Nouryon’s film former has been determined to be readily biodegradable by OECD 301D biodegradation testing. It has also been tested for toxicity and was determined to be non-toxic to aquatic life.

In formulations, SolAmaze Natural provides outstanding water resistance performance without any negative effect on skin aesthetics, enabling solid SPF claims and high reproducibility in both in vitro and in vivo SPF testing.

Formulation flexibility

SolAmaze Natural film former performs well in typical sunscreen formulations, such as oil-in-water and water-in-oil, and has excellent compatibility with commonly used organic and mineral sunscreen actives. It is also compatible with a wide range of commonly used biodegradable rheology modifiers and emulsion stabilisers, such as hydroxypropyl starch phosphate (Structure XL starch), dehydro-xanthan gum (Amaze XT polymer) and modified potato starch (Structure Solanace), allowing fully acrylate-free sunscreen products.

SolAmaze Natural’s lipophilic nature makes it the ideal companion for anhydrous systems such as mineral and organic sunscreen sticks as well as high SPF lip sunscreen. It is stable to heat and shear and does not require any specific handling during production.

Featured formulations

In Table 1, Hybrid Mineral Sunscreen Fluid SPF 30 (expected) is an ultra-lightweight, non-whitening and fast absorbing oxybenzone-free formulation containing both mineral and organic UV filters. It contains SolAmaze Natural film former for enhanced water resistance, Amaze Nordic Barley for enhanced sensory attributes such as reduced gloss and a soft after-feel, and Amaze XT for improved emulsion stability as well as increased suspension capability to uniformly disperse the mineral UV filters for optimum SPF performance.

Targeted Defense SPF 30 (expected) Mineral Sunscreen Stick in Table 2 balances performance and aesthetics by providing excellent protection from the sun’s UVA and UVB rays with an easily spreadable, virtually non-whitening 100% mineral formulation. It features SolAmaze Natural film former for improved water and rub resistance while delivering consumer-preferred aesthetics.

In Table 3, Nature-Made Solar Defense SPF 50+ (expected) Sunscreen 2823-86 offers excellent UV protection and a quick absorbing and lightweight feel on skin. This formulation features three naturally-derived and biodegradable Nouryon products for a high-performing acrylate-free sunscreen:

1. SolAmaze Natural film former for improved water and rub resistance while delivering consumer-preferred aesthetics

2. Structure XL starch for a smooth and creamy texture

3. Amaze Nordic Barley starch for reduced oiliness and gloss of organic UV filters to create a lightweight and powdery finish.

Did you know?

SolAmaze Natural is a 100% bio-based, biodegradable film former created as a solution for a wide range of sun and skin care formulations to meet the needs of increasingly eco-focused consumers.

SolAmaze Natural film former conforms to the 12 principles of green chemistry

Empowering formulators

In addition to SolAmaze Natural film former, sun care product formulators worldwide can count on Nouryon’s sensory enhancers and rheology modifiers for exceptional aesthetics for eco-conscious consumers. These include:

• Dry-Flo PC – a modified granular starch providing exceptional skin feel improvements to oily sun care formulations

• Dry-Flo TS – a modified tapioca starch with low allergen potential to reduce the oiliness of sunscreens

• Tapioca Pure – a 100% natural native tapioca starch providing a velvet skin feel to sunscreens

• Amaze Nordic Barley – a COSMOS-approved, 100% natural barley starch for conventional and certified natural sunscreens

• Structure XL – a naturally-derived, readily-biodegradable rheology modifier, enabling light textures

• Amaze XT – a 100% natural rheology modifier with a positive impact on SPF performance

• Cekol and Akucell – anionic water-soluble polymers that are used in a variety of personal care formulations such as sunscreens, body lotions, moisturising serums and makeup products. •