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SEPAWA 2026: BASF draws inspiration from beauty rituals around the world to drive personal care innovation
- Concept translates key principles from global beauty rituals into market-ready formulations for skin and hair
- New volatility insights available in Emollient Maestro for more precise and faster product development
- BASF lectures at SEPAWA Congress focus on sun care and collagen science
Berlin, Germany – October 8, 2026 – At this year’s SEPAWA Congress, taking place from October 14 to 16 in Berlin, Germany, BASF will explore beauty rituals from across the globe. The company will showcase new ways to meet evolving consumer expectations by translating emerging global beauty rituals and trends into innovative, consumer-focused application concepts tailored to local market needs. “Beauty rituals from around the world have become a powerful source of inspiration for today’s consumers. They are increasingly blending traditions, benefits, and sensorial experiences from different cultures to create routines that reflect their individual lifestyles and needs,” said Anja Stork, Senior Marketing Manager, Personal Care, at BASF. “We see this movement toward personalized beauty as an exciting opportunity for innovation.”
With a special focus on Korean (K-) Beauty, Japanese (J-) Beauty, Nordic Beauty, and Brazilian Beauty, BASF will showcase market-ready skin and hair care formulations inspired by the defining principles of these globally renowned rituals. Drawing on key pillars such as layered hydration, barrier protection, minimalist routines, and radiant smoothness, the formulations translate global consumer trends into tangible product experiences. In addition, the concept highlights selected BASF ingredients – such as its readily biodegradable (according to OECD) conditioning agent Dehyquart® S18, Plantigenix™ Bisabolol, BASF’s biotechnologically produced solution for sensitive skin, its Emulgade® Verde line of natural-based emulsifiers (Emulgade® Verde 10 MS and Emulgade® Verde 10 OL), Floragenist™, BASF’s new generation of floral active ingredients, and NeoHelix™ Regenerate, the first intelligent peptide for targeted collagen renewal – that help bring these benefits and sensorial experiences to life. Visitors can explore the new concept and discover BASF’s latest innovations at booth F845–46, F856–57.
New volatility insights in Emollient Maestro
At the show, BASF will also showcase the latest advancements in its digital services portfolio, including new volatility insights in Emollient Maestro, its AI-powered digital solution for calculating ideal emollient mixes. Volatility plays a crucial role in shaping both the sensory profile and performance of personal care formulations, influencing a product’s skin feel as well as its stability and compatibility. Available through the company’s digital platform D’lite, Emollient Maestro enables users to identify natural-based alternatives to synthetic benchmarks by leveraging a database of more than 5,000 binary and 150,000 ternary emollient combinations. By providing deeper insights into how emollients behave on the skin over time, Emollient Maestro supports more precise, data-driven formulation decisions and helps accelerate the development of effective, more sustainable personal care products. Customers can now use it to uncover high-performing volatile and natural alternatives to silicones and other light emollients.
Lectures by BASF experts at SEPAWA Congress 2026
| Date & Time | BASF Expert | Topic | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
October 14, 2026 9:30–10:00 a.m. | Dr. Sascha Pawlowski | Improving Environmental Risk Assessment Options for Cosmetic UV Filters | Room 15, Cosmetic Science Conference |
October 14, 2026 11:15–11:45 a.m. | Dr. Torsten Clarius | Peptide for the Targeted Repair of Damaged Collagen in the Skin | Room 15, Cosmetic Science Conference |
October 14, 2026 4:30–4:45 p.m. | Stanislaw Krus | Maximized Protection, Smarter Formulation: A Practical Roadmap to Sunscreen Optimization | Rooms 12+13, Forum for Innovation |
About the Care Chemicals division at BASF
The BASF division Care Chemicals offers a broad range of ingredients for personal care, home care, industrial & institutional cleaning, and technical applications. We are a leading global supplier for the cosmetics industry as well as the detergents and cleaners industry, and support our customers with innovative and sustainable products, solutions and concepts. The division’s high-performance product portfolio includes surfactants, emulsifiers, polymers, emollients, chelating agents, cosmetic active ingredients and UV filters. We have production and development sites in all regions and are expanding our presence in emerging markets. Further information is available online at www.care-chemicals.basf.com.
About BASF
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 95,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €60 billion in 2025. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
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