Beauty at home: Res Pharma eyes potential for new multifunctional emulsifier in several APAC markets

Emulpharma Chroma is a liquid oil-in-water emulsifier which was developed for professional hair care products such as relaxants.

“When we think about professional hair care, we think about like hydrogen peroxide and relaxers which are hard to stabilise.​ This emulsifier has very interesting technical advantages. First of all, it has a wide pH ranging from 2.5 to 13.5. Also, at 20ºC or higher, it remains at a liquid state, so it is very easy to manage.”​

Since the launch of the Emulpharma Chroma, the firm has received a lot of interest from the Asian markets, especially Thailand and China.

The firm is also working with a few “important” Korean and Japanese cosmetics companies in testing the emulsifier for future projects.

Bringing pro-level beauty home

While the ingredient was developed to solve problems in the professional beauty area, the firm quickly recognised its potential as a product for the everyday consumer at home due to its ease of use.

The firm saw need for pro-level solutions in a home setting especially since more and more people have found themselves isolated at home due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

As such, the company believes the market will see more demand for do-it-yourself (DIY) beauty products.

“People are looking for an escape from this stressful situation, so they want to use their creativity to create something. Once they do, they love to share their results [on social media] as another way to embrace community,” ​said Siragusa.

He highlighted Shiseido’s Waso Silky Smooth Mochi Mask, a popular product in Asia, as an example of a DIY beauty product which can inspire such creativity while providing a new sensorial beauty experience.

Morphing textures

Another interesting aspect of Emulpharma Chroma is its ability to create different textures. When mixed with two parts water to one-part emulsifier, the transforms into a jelly-like texture.

The company has observed the rising trend of jelly textures in skin care and believes consumers globally will respond well to hair care products with a jelly texture.

For instance, using Emulpharma Chroma it has created a unique conditioner with a jelly textured it has dubbed the ‘jelly marmalade conditioner’ which evokes the feeling of freshness and hydration while having fun with a typical beauty routine.

With this new ingredient, the firm hopes to move innovation in hair care along as the market continues to grow in Europe and parts of Asia such as Thailand, Vietnam and China.

“We focused on the skinification of hair to bring something that is typical of skin care into hair care. Since jelly textures are more interesting for people and hair care sales are increasing in volume, we saw an opportunity to combine them and create a new offering,”​ said Siragusa.

Due to its versatile nature Emulpharma Chroma can also be used in skin care products as well.

One formulation the firm has developed with the emulsifier is an ampoule jelly treatment using the same two parts water formula.

It is a treatment that can be created at home as well so consumers can watch the transformation of the textures.

The firm has also been evaluating the compatibility of the ingredient with alpha hydroxy acids (AHA) for more than three months now and can tentatively say it is compatible with AHAs, said Siragusa.