Men’s grooming meets sustainability

As we move further into the 21 st century, themes of inclusivity and sustainability are emphasised more and more. Jacques Strydom, technical manager at AECI Specialty Chemicals, discusses how to address these themes in the men’s grooming segment.

Since 2012, beauty and personal care launches targeting men have increased globally by more than 70%, according to Mintel. Similarly, GlobalData, which surveyed European men for its 2019 Q3 global consumer survey, concluded that 20% of the men completely or somewhat agree that they are willing to increase the number of products they use to improve their appearance. This increased to 30% in Poland, 29% in Italy and 27% in Portugal.

Men’s grooming routines have also become more sophisticated, with men experimenting with a wider variety of grooming products and some even trying makeup. Beard care in particular has been on the rise and is often fused with skin care, taking care of the skin beneath the beard and not just the beard itself.

Oils, waxes, serums, foams and many other textures have made an appearance on the men’s grooming scene. For example, Reuzel Beard Foam, produced in the Netherlands, is a leave-on beard conditioner designed to tame, deodorise, reduce itchiness and eliminate ‘beardruff’ and split ends, all while soothing and conditioning the beard and skin.

Naturally derived hair fixative

Dow recently launched its 2020 TrendsLab with a clear focus on inclusivity and sustainability. Included in this campaign is the newly launched bio-based hair fixative, MaizeCare style polymer, which stands out in applications for the men’s grooming category. This fixative delivers soft to stiff styling performance together with high humidity resistance and is 100% of natural origin, according to the ISO 16128 standard.

Derived from corn, the fixative is supplied as an easy-to-use powder, which when dispersed in water, forms a natural film that is comparable in performance to synthetic film formers with the added benefit of being non-hygroscopic.

When compared to PVP, the workhorse of the hair-styling industry, MaizeCare delivers comparable stiffness, superior humidity resistance and, as a result, better curl retention.

MaizeCare in action

As part of the TrendsLab launch, MaizeCare style polymer was included in a two-in-one hair and beard balm formulation called Gentlehype (see Table 1). The formulation also features Ucon Fluid AP, which is a high spreadability emollient that enhances conditioning and shine with a smooth after-feel. The rheology and texture are formed mostly with a combination of Aculyn 33A and Aculyn 88 rheology modifiers, which thicken the product, giving it good suspending capabilities and provide a rich, smooth and non-greasy feel.

When put to the test, the product exhibited superior curl retention and humidity resistance compared to a control formulation without MaizeCare style polymer. Using a Dia-Stron to measure hair friction, it was found that Gentlehype provided a lower coefficient of friction than both the control and the benchmark, thanks to Ucon Fluid AP. •