Speaker: Dr. Holger Seidel

Company: Azelis Deutschland Kosmetik GmbH

Title: Studies on the Use of Sophoroliplids in Cosmetic Leave-On Formulations

Language: German

Abstract: Biosurfactants are surfactants produced by bacteria, yeasts and fungi. Current market trends show that the demand for biosurfactants will increase many times over in the coming years due to their environmentally friendly and sustainable character. Among the various biosurfactants, glycolipids -and in particular sophorolipids (SLP)- are the most promising biosurfactants.

In the context of these investigations, sophorolipids are used that were produced fermentatively (yeast strain Candida Bombicola) from wheat and maize (sugar source) and rapeseed oil. While the conductivity of SLPs in the detergent and skin cleansing sectors has been the subject of much research in recent years, little is known about the use of sophorolipids in cosmetic leave-on formulations and is essentially limited here to their use as active ingredients to balance the skin microbiome.

Due to the amphiphilic and structural properties of SLP, mixtures of SLP with suitable co-emulsifiers such as fatty alcohols, glyceryl stearates and the like are potentially suitable for building liquid-crystalline gel network structures in cosmetic leave-on formulations of the o/w-emulsion type. The mixing ratios of these complex emulsifiers for the formation of stable, stretched lamellar gel network structures are optimised by means of microscopic and rheological investigations (gel network studies).

Differences in the use of the two SLP modifications (lactone-rich versus acidic form) are discussed. The resilience of SLP-based cosmetic leave-on products is demonstrated on the basis of various example formulations. Another formulation approach describes the use and performance of SLP in two-phase leave-on emulsion gels.