Enhancing Viscosity of Biosurfactant-Based Personal Care Formulations: A Breakthrough Ester-Based Rheology Modifier

Abstract:           In the personal care market, customers often associate product performance with aesthetics and product properties such as lather, slip, viscosity, color, and odor. Recently, biosurfactants have gained significant interest in personal care product development due to their environmentally friendly, sustainable, and less skin-irritating characteristics. However, formulating with biosurfactants can be challenging, particularly in meeting customer satisfaction. This work aims to explore various rheology modifiers to address the flowability enhancement of biosurfactant-based formulations for mid-range shampoos.
          In this study, a newly developed ester-based rheology modifier was evaluated alongside other conventional rheology modifiers for viscosity enhancement. The findings revealed that the ester-based rheology modifier enabled the biosurfactant-based shampoo to achieve a good viscosity with a modest usage compared to all other conventional rheology modifiers tested. Furthermore, the results demonstrated varying biosurfactant ratios can influence the viscosity of the formulation.
         In addition to superior viscosity enhancement, the ester-based rheology modifier offers several other benefits, including compatibility with SLS-free and salt-free formulations, targeted pH stability, preservative compatibility, ease of formulation, and the elimination of heat treatment requirements.
         These exceptional properties of the newly developed ester-based rheology modifier pave the way for more environmentally friendly personal care product development while meeting consumer expectations for product performance and aesthetics.