cosmetics & personal care

Waxes are widely found in nature coming from both animal and vegetable origin. Natural waxes are composed of a group of materials, but their underlying wax composition typically are based on four main functional chemistries: fatty acids, fatty alcohols and esters as well as linear alkanes.

In contrast to mineral waxes, which are essentially pure hydrocarbons, the polarity of the natural waxes brings additional functionality to the formulator’s toolbox, imparting more effective emulsification properties as well as enhanced emolliency.

Today’s environmentally aware consumers seek out products based on renewable sources and more quickly biodegradable than the traditional petroleum waxes. Paramelt offers an optimized line of pure natural waxes, focusing on natural wax blends to provide targeted functionality at more effective price points.

Beeswax
Beeswax is a natural secretion of honeybees. Natural beeswax has a sweet smell of honey and a yellow color, but can also be further refined to offer a white product. Beeswax is predominantly composed of fatty acid esters, but also contains significant proportions of free fatty acids and natural linear alkanes. This blend gives the wax a natural degree of polarity, which makes it an ideal emulsifier for use in creams & lotions and imparts emolliency in lipsticks and lip balms.

Carnauba wax
Carnauba wax is a natural product obtained from the processing of the wax secreted by the leaves of the Brazilian palm tree named as Copernica Cerifera known as the “Tree of Life.”  Carnauba primarily consists of aliphatic esters together with free fatty acids and alcohols in the C26-C30 range. This balance of components makes carnauba the hardest natural wax available, so it is widely used to create hardness and gloss in stick products and mascaras. Carnauba has a relatively high melting point around 85C, which also helps to provide thermal stability.

Paraffin wax is primarily a linear hydrocarbon wax. It has a relatively low oil binding capacity compared with microcrystalline wax but is an excellent gelling and structuring material due to its high crystallinity. It is stiffer than microcrystalline wax and film forms well. It forms large crystals and enhances gloss and slip very effectively.

Paraffin waxes are typically refined mixtures of solid linear hydrocarbons composed of a C20 to C45 chain length. Paraffin waxes used in cosmetics usually melt between 50-65°C. Paramelt’s paraffin waxes have tightly controlled ratios of n-alkanes to branched alkanes (iso-alkanes). Paramelt understands highly consistent composition as being the most important characteristic as it relates to performance, not just melting point.

Ozokerite waxes were used in cosmetics until the mid 20^th century. A product originating in Eastern Europe from bituminous coal and having a relatively high melt point, they found usefulness in many application including cosmetics. With the improved availability of petroleum waxes, the darker color, stronger odor and contaminants present in Ozokerite caused them to fall out of favor. Today, Ozokerite waxes are designed mixtures of linear and branched hydrocarbon waxes. Mimicking the early traits of Ozokerite waxes, but also giving more range and flexibility in performance.

Used in stick products to prevent premature softening and melting originally. Also very useful in creams due to their thickening and stabilizing properties. Paramelt offers a broad range of Ozokerite type waxes. Each one designed to maximize the impact and performance needed, and to maintain the highest level of consistency.

Due to their superior ability to bind high amounts of oil and high flexibility, microcrystalline waxes are useful in practically all types of cosmetics and are especially useful in balms sticks to prevent “sweating” or oil migration. They also impart structure, body and strength where needed depending on their specific composition. They create small crystalline structures in a product, and help to give matte finish and excellent color depth.

Microcrystalline waxes are mixtures of linear and branched hydrocarbons. They are predominantly branched structures, with minor amounts of n-alkanes (linear hydrocarbons). Paramelt’s line of microcrystalline waxes are tightly controlled to ensure consistent levels of branching and linearity. Delivering a consistency of performance time after time.