environmentally-friendly and
therefore suitable as a replace-
ment.
Ingredients from
calcium carbonate
Millions of years ago, marine or-
ganism skeletons and shells set-
tled on ocean floors, forming rich
deposits of calcium carbonate in
carbonated sedimentary rocks.
Over time, the Earth’s heat and
pressure have converted these de-
posits into naturally white calci-
um carbonates. These resources,
today found in marble, limestone
and chalk, have now been devel-
oped by the Swiss company
Omya
into a portfolio of ingredients that
complies with stringent regulato-
ry and quality standards, offering
high chemical purity and con-
trolled low microbiology.
Omya has more than 130 years of
expertise as a global producer of
natural calcium carbonate. Very
sophisticated processes are im-
plemented to develop tailor-made
solutions that address the specific
needs of the cosmetics and toilet-
ries industries. The company’s
Omyacare
range consists of dif-
ferent natural calcium carbonate
particles that provide multifunc-
tional ingredients for innovative
formulations and are active and
sustainable alternatives to mi-
croplastics.
The natural minerals are sustain-
ably produced under clean and
controlled manufacturing condi-
tions that have a reduced carbon
footprint and generate minimum
waste.
Omyacare particles comply with
recognised natural and organic
cosmetic standards, including
Cosmos
and
Ecocert
.
A question of size and form:
scrubbing formulations
Skin feel and exfoliating perfor-
mance are related to the hardness
and morphology of the cleansing
particles within a formulation,
and various particle structures
from 140µm to 400µm satisfy dif-
ferent specific demands.
Omyascrub S 20
, for example, is
designed to exfoliate and rejuve-
nate the skin. The bright white
particles are easy to incorporate
and non-dusting. By altering the
amount of ingredients used, the
cleansing effect and the consist-
ency of the formulation can be
adjusted. After application, parti-
cles are simply removed while
rinsing the skin, leaving no resi-
dues on it. And once washed off,
the calcium carbonate simply re-
turns to the natural environment
from which it came.
No thermal treatment
required before use
Besides polyethylene (PE) mi-
crobeads,
Omyascrub
products
can also replace other plant-based
abrasives such as apricot kernels,
nut shells and bamboo, all of
which require extensive thermal
treatment before use. Another ad-
vantage of calcium carbonate is
that its millions of years’ worth of
natural biological purification
makes irradiation treatment –
which is needed to process plant-
based materials – unnecessary.
Due to their low microbiological
activity, the particles guarantee
hygiene and enhance the shelf-
life of end products.
The sparkling brightness and
opacity of the company’s miner-
als means that they are ideal for
use in both white and coloured
cosmetics. They can even be used
to enhance whitening effects, re-
placing, for instance, titanium di-
oxide partially or completely.
When used in toothpaste, the size
of the particles defines the grade
of abrasion.
Expressed as RDA (Radioactive
Dentin Abrasion), toothpaste for-
mulations can be developed to of-
fer low (60 RDA,
Omyacare HP
900-OG
), medium (90 RDA,
Omyacare S 70-KP
) or high (110
RDA,
Omyacare S 100-AV
) abra-
sion.
The more sensitive the teeth, the
gentler the cleaning should be.
Additionally, different mixtures of
particle types and sizes can be
used to adjust cleansing level,
texture, viscosity as well as
mouthfeel.
As well as being used in face and
body scrubs, microplastics are
regularly incorporated into other
cosmetics and toiletries for sever-
al reasons – for instance, as bind-
ers, film formers and fillers. But
natural calcium carbonate can
fulfil these functions too.
Further benefits for
skin care products
Omyacare
minerals can be used
in a variety of skin care products,
such as emulsions (o/w and w/o)
and anhydrous (non-powder) for-
mulations, to provide body and
texture.
They deliver smoothness and a
pleasant skin feel when used in
body lotions, body creams, or
coloured cream formulas which
are formulated for a smoother
skin feel, reduced tackiness and
faster drying times.
Whatever the formulation, these
minerals can be heated up to
85°C and homogenised without
affecting their properties.
As they can be used at high con-
centrations while still maintain-
ing the quality of the formulation,
they are also cost-effective fillers.
In essence, calcium carbonates
are a suitable fit for the key trends
of natural, organic and sustaina-
ble products.
As tailor-made ingredients that
can be supplied in different parti-
cle structures and sizes to suit dif-
ferent needs, they are a good
choice for a wide range of envi-
ronmentally-friendly, respectful
functional cosmetics and person-
al care applications.
□
Additional information can be found
on the Internet – see download panel
CALCIUM
carbonate
Biologically
purified for
millions of years
Particle structures
from 140µm to
400µm satisfy
different
specific
demands
The cleansing
effect
and the
consistency
are
adjustable by the
quantity used
The minerals
provide
body
and texture
in
emulsions and
anhydrous
formulations
DOWNLOADS
Additional information at
Your access codes for
January/April
:
User name:
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Password:
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