Top five challenges faced when optimizing sunscreen formulations
By Ann Marie Vieira
Senior Regional Manager, Asia Pacific
BASF Care Chemicals
LinkedIn
One of the hottest trends among international sunscreen manufacturers is the optimization of their formulations to deliver good protection efficiency and the light skin feel that consumers demand, while meeting full regulatory compliance and controlling costs. But optimizing a formulation to meet these often competing criteria represents a huge challenge for even the best cosmetic chemists, and can involve a lot of trial and error. Below I outline the top challenges you need to watch out for if you’re embarking on a reformulation, and my advice for avoiding these pitfalls.
Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs)
The first step in any reformulation is to decide on a set of key performance indicators for the final product. Unless your customers are providing specific KPIs they have already settled on, you’ll have to figure out how best to optimize your product for your specific market. This isn’t an easy process considering there’s no single way to optimize a sunscreen, and the number of different options available can be overwhelming.
Determining which ingredients meet your requirements
How to achieve your KPIs with the available ingredients and suppliers in the marketplace can also present some hurdles – especially when you consider how individual ingredients can interact with each other to impact the final performance and quality. You’ll need to sort through and prioritize exactly which ingredients can help you meet your requirements, while discarding unsuitable alternatives.
Balancing sensory performance and protection efficiency
Once you have established which ingredients you want to use, the really challenging part of the formulation process begins. Having laboratory staff match your benchmark level of performance with substitute ingredients is a complex task made all the more difficult when one considers that even the tiniest variation in a formulation can end up giving end users a significantly different experience. The fragile balance of sensory feel and wide spectrum protection is where this plays out most often. You’ll need lots of testing and investigation to get things right in this area.
Ensuring specific SPF and/or PA ratings
Similarly, great care is needed assure that your optimized formulation’s level of protection matches the product’s stated performance. Although internationally accepted SPF (Sun Protection Factor) and Protection Grade of UVA Rays (PA) standardizations exist, slightly modified methods of testing and evaluation may still end up being used in different markets. If you don’t take this into consideration, you can end up producing a product that might come under scrutiny for not being sufficiently “protective” as stated on the label.
Achieving regulatory compliance
Finally, a problem inherent in formulation optimization is that possible changes in ingredients will require a lengthy approval process by relevant regulatory compliance bodies. This can create significant delays and costs.
As we can see, formulating superior sunscreens can be a difficult task. Fortunately, with the right partner, you can sidestep many of these challenges. My advice? When considering a supplier, make sure to ask:
- Do they have experience developing specific KPIs for reformulated sunscreens?
- Do they have comprehensive knowledge about the full range of ingredients – such as emollients, moisturizers, UV filters, and thickeners – that are involved in the latest sunscreen formulations?
- Can they offer expert technical advice not only about formulations and ingredients, but the testing and production process as well?
- Are they familiar with different product regulations in the global marketplace, and can they advise on possible impacts when it comes to optimization?
Interested in learning more about optimizing your formulation, or currently involved in a reformulation? Then please contact us to learn more about our solutions for the sunscreen industry.