Sun care demands sees Ashland call upon legacy technology
The commercial unit of Ashland Inc., is now offering Escalol HMS ultraviolet (UV) filter technology to sun care product manufacturers; a legacy technology first reviewed by the FDA in 1978, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) grade (INCI: homosalate) is a popular UVB filter in sun care products.
Ashland added the UV filter technology to its popular line of Escalol UV filters to meet growing demand and to better support a range of broad-spectrum UV formulation solutions.
New demand
"Changing formulation trends and new regulations are prompting new demand for a well- established sunscreen introduced more than 30 years ago," said Anna A. Gripp, global marketing manager, skin care and sun care, Ashland Specialty Ingredients.
"Our technical team has worked with homosalate for many years on projects that involve broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection strategies. Today we are pleased to add this technology to our commercial offering of Escalol UV filters."
Ashland says that manufacturers may use Escalol HMS UV filter at levels as high as 15 percent in the US and 10 percent in the EU, in either sprays or lotions.
Sun care research
The organic compound and ester is formed from salicylic acid and 3,3,5-trimethylcyclohexanol, and claims to absorb medium wavelength rays within the UVB spectrum.
The filter comes off the back of research done into the market demands, combined with knowledge of previous technologies to optimize sunscreen formulations.
Ashland's sun care technical teams also looked at the mechanisms of action behind experimental sun care formulations for potential new formulation synergies.
"A number of factors are driving this research, including the need for a range of sun care formulations with improved sensory attributes, such as daily wear products, and the expansion of SKUs containing UV filters," ends Gripp.
