Croda launches cosmeceuticals
range of exotic oils for use in skin and haircare. Based on
tropical fruits and nuts grown in the Amazon region, the Crodamazon
oils use ingredients from pequi, maracuja (passionfruit), cupuacu
and Brazil nut.
British chemicals firm Croda Oleochemicals has introduced a new range of exotic oils for use in skin and haircare. Based on tropical fruits and nuts grown in the Amazon region, the Crodamazon oils use ingredients from pequi, maracuja (passionfruit), cupuacu and Brazil nut.
Croda said the fruits provide liposoluble vitamins and essential fatty acids (EFAs) and also unsaponifiable components such as tocopherols, phytosterols and triterpenic alcohols.
Crodamazon Maracuja is rich in linoleic acid (69.4 per cent), an EFA which forms part of the lipid complex of the epidermis, and so aids skin barrier function by helping to control transepidermal water loss (TEWL), explained the company. Maracuja oil also contains glycoside flavonoids which act as powerful free radical scavengers and antioxidants.
Crodamazon Cupuacu, a soft solid triglyceride, has been shown to increase skin hydration (Corneometer testing) and reduce transepidermal water loss (TEWL). The unsaponifiable fraction of Crodamazon Cupuacu also contains a range of phytosterols. These exert an anti-inflammatory action in skin care by acting as free radical scavengers and are also useful as carriers for active ingredients which by themselves cannot easily penetrate into the skin.
Croda Oleochemicals, a division of Croda International, added that Instron tests show that Crodamazon Pequi, derived from the fruit pulp, can increase the strength of hair fibres damaged by chemical dyeing. A surfactant soluble oil, Crodamazon Crovol Maracuja, has been specially developed for use in detergent systems.
The new oils are cold-pressed and processed without solvent extraction, offering the advantage of a 'natural' positioning for consumer products in the fast-growing cosmeceuticals market, claimed the company.
The products are part of an environmentalist-backed initiative in the Brazilian rainforest.
Croda Oleochemicals had sales of £261 million (€416m) in 2001, and recorded a trading profit of £37.7 milion. Over the past decade sales have grown at an annual compound rate of 7.5 per cent.
