Polyacrylates for Personal Care

Abstract

Polymers have been used extensively in personal care products. The polymers used in personal care products range from both synthetic and natural polymers. The high demand for using polymers in personal care products is mainly because it is easy to obtain various final performance product attributes just by altering the structures and properties of the polymers. One of the polymers used in personal care products is polyacrylates. The term “acrylates” is defined as non-cross-linked copolymers containing a combination of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid and their simple esters. Polyacrylates in personal care products play important roles as thickeners, rheological modifiers, media for delivery of active ingredients, film formers, emulsifiers, moisturisers, dispersants, waterproofers and conditioners. Their key functionalities include the ability to increase the viscosity of solutions, form physical gels, stabilise dispersions and emulsions, induce particle aggregation, solubilise hydrophobic compounds, modify surface properties and facilitate the controlled release of active compounds.

Biodegradable Alkali-Swellable Emulsion Polymers: Industrial and Commercial Thickeners

“…Free radical emulsion polymerization is the method of choice for the synthesis of polymer dispersions widely used in coatings, adhesives, construction, personal care, plastic additives, and myriad other applications at the global scale. − The market was valued at ∼$30 billion in 2023 and is growing at ∼7% annually. , Latex production is inherently sustainable and features several of the tenets of green chemistry: polymerizations are performed in water and are self-sustaining (heat from the reaction drives polymerization), there are no purification steps, and because all reagents become part of the final product, there is little-to-no waste. ,, However, emulsion polymers built from acrylic monomers are not easily chemically or mechanically recycled and, if released into the environment, unlikely to degrade in a reasonable time frame (e.g., within one year). , Many applications benefit from the diverse physicochemical properties afforded by a broad monomer palette and the inherent stability of emulsion polymers, but numerous examples exist where biodegradation would be highly desirable, including personal and home care products, single-use adhesives, and packaging coatings. ,,− Latex polymers containing high levels of carboxylic acid groups (e.g., acrylic and methacrylic acid) are used extensively as thickeners in the home care and personal care industry. Colloidally-stable at low pH, these latexes swell and increase in hydrodynamic volume under alkaline conditions, thus increasing the viscosity of shampoo, shower gel, and cleaning product formulations. , The “down-the-drain” fate of these and other products thickened by latex (e.g., in oil and gas, adhesives, chemical processing, etc.) would substantially improve through the design of biodegradable polymers.…”

Sustainable formulation polymers for home, beauty and personal care: challenges and opportunities

“…polymeric surfactants) to different products which enables tailoring of the product to its use. 2,3 The ingredients used in consumer goods are carefully assessed to ensure safety for both humans and the environment however, most are discarded into waste-water streams and some may be poorly biodegradable in the environment. There is therefore both the requirement and opportunity to ensure that ingredients are selected to be as sustainable as possible, reducing the planetary impact of doing business and ultimately helping to regenerate natural systems.…”