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Microcare® Quat LDG. New Sustainable Liquid Diesterquat based on Olive Oil with Outstanding Benefits for your Formulations
Interview with Marta Rusiñol
Application Lab Leader – THOR Personal Care
Could you provide more details on In-cosmetics' recent introduction of a new olive oil-based diesterquat?
THOR has developed Microcare® Quat LDG to address market demands for high-performance and sustainable conditioning solutions. This innovative product prioritizes sustainability by offering features such as cold-processability, biodegradability, and a renewable source derived from olive oil and RSPO-certified palm-based feedstock.
As a versatile ingredient, Microcare® Quat LDG showcases its effectiveness across a range of personal care products, making it a key component for driving innovative product development. Its exceptional adaptability in various applications, including hair care, skin care, and wet wipes, underscores its ability to enhance specific formulas and deliver customized benefits.
What is the chemical composition and the key properties of your newly launched product?
The product's chemical composition predominantly includes DioleylethylDimoniumChloride, Glyceryl Oleate, and Oleic Alcohol. The key components of the product are sourced sustainably from olive oil and RSPO-certified palm-based feedstock, aligning with rigorous environmental standards. This product is 100% active, ensuring then optimal efficacy and minimal waste formulation. We can state that our formulation it’s environmentally friendly as it is free from solvents, reducing potential environmental and health risks. Additionally, it is non-flammable, ensuring safe handling and storage.
What innovative features differentiate this product?
Microcare Quat LDG is distinguished from other ingredients on the market by its unique properties:
Differing from conventional ingredients, our Microcare Quat LDG represents a recent innovation in the industry as it’s formulated using sustainable practices and innovative technologies to meet the growing demand for environmentally friendly solutions. While many ingredients are synthetic or derived from petrochemicals, our products harness the power of olive oil, a natural and renewable resource known for its beneficial properties in skin and hair care applications. Additionally, unlike some other ingredients that require heat or complex processing production methods, our Microcare Quat LDG is cold processable and can be easily incorporated into formulations using cold processing techniques, thus facilitating faster production processes, and reducing energy consumption. Another distinguishing factor is Its multifunctional condition that makes our product also different as it offers a versatile solution for formulators, combining multiple functionalities in a single ingredient. Our Microcare Quat LDG acts as a conditioning agent, providing softness and manageability to hair and skin but we have discovered other properties like it can be used as a make-up remover active. And last but not less important is its high natural origin content value (more than 90% following ISO16128) in line with consumer preferences for products derived from natural sources.
In summary, Microcare Quat LDG sets itself apart with its blend of sustainability, natural origin, processability, and multifunctionality. It is a leading ingredient that empowers formulators to create high-quality, eco-friendly products that meet consumer demands.
Could you provide details regarding the product's toxicological profile, including any assessment results conducted?
Regarding the toxicological profile of our product, Microcare® Quat LDG, we have conducted comprehensive in vitro studies to assess its potential for skin and eye irritation.
For in vitro skin irritation testing, we employed the Human Skin Model Test (OECD 439) under GLP conditions. In this test, three tissues of the human skin model Epiderm™ were treated with our test item for 60 minutes. The results indicated that the mean relative viability value after treatment with Microcare® Quat LDG was 93.69%, which exceeds the threshold for irritancy (≤ 50%). This demonstrates that our product is unlikely to cause significant irritation to the skin.
In addition, we conducted in vitro eye irritation testing using the Human Cornea Model Test (OECD 492) under GLP conditions. In this test, duplicate EpiOcular tissues were treated with our test item for 30 minutes. The results revealed that the mean relative viability value decreased to 87.96% compared to the negative control, which is still above the threshold for irritancy (≤ 60%). While there was a slight decrease in viability, indicating some potential for eye irritation, it is important to note that this value remains within acceptable limits.
Overall, based on these in vitro studies, Microcare® Quat LDG proved to be non-irritating to both the skin and eyes through IVT studies, making it a safe option for cosmetic applications.
Could you explain in a scientific way the efficacy of diesterquat in the different product categories?
The efficacy of diesterquat in hair care products is due to its ability to improve combability by reducing friction between hair fibres, providing silky texture by smoothing the hair surface, strengthening hair fibres by reducing breakage, controlling volume and minimising frizz by regulating humidity levels and improving foam stability in formulations, contributing to product performance and application experience.
In skin care products, diesterquat demonstrates its efficacy by providing immediate hydration upon application, acting as a moisture booster, improving skin moisture levels, increasing elasticity and improving skin firmness and resilience. It facilitates fast and effective make-up removal, ensuring efficient cleansing without compromising the skin's moisture and barrier function.
For wet wipes, diesterquat proves its effectiveness by providing a soft and gentle effect, ensuring comfort during use and reducing friction, allowing a smooth glide over the skin without irritation and proving its effectiveness on all types of non-woven substrates, ensuring consistent performance and suitability for various applications.
