What’s the secret of lasting, natural beauty? The capacity of the skin and hair to protect themselves and stay healthy. The skin is the largest organ in our body. It protects us from environmental factors and promotes immune response and metabolic processes. It’s our largest sensory organ, too. However, it also acts as the interface through which we come into contact with the world. The same goes for our hair: it protects our scalp from UV rays, for instance, has a heat-regulating effect, and, last but not least, plays a big role in our appearance.
Log in to view the full article
What’s the secret of lasting, natural beauty? The capacity of the skin and hair to protect themselves and stay healthy. The skin is the largest organ in our body. It protects us from environmental factors and promotes immune response and metabolic processes. It’s our largest sensory organ, too. However, it also acts as the interface through which we come into contact with the world. The same goes for our hair: it protects our scalp from UV rays, for instance, has a heat-regulating effect, and, last but not least, plays a big role in our appearance.
As we get older, our skin and hair also go through several changes. They regenerate less effectively, become drier, thinner and more sensitive, and find it increasingly tough to withstand factors such as stress, UV radiation, exhaust emissions, smog, and soot. The more skin and hair are exposed to external factors, the more important it is to boost their own powers of recovery and self-defense.
Ceramide technologies for resilient skin and hair
Ceramides are a huge factor in our skin’s composition (up to 50%) and can also be found in the hair’s cuticle—so it’s no surprise that they play a vital role in determining how our skin and hair look and how they respond to environmental threats. But with the extreme strain they are under, we need to support these little helpers from time to time in keeping our skin and hair healthy. What really offers skin and hair reliable protection and maintains its beauty? Well-formulated skin-care products containing ceramides will help reinforce the natural lipid barrier against moisture loss and external damages. Moreover, they counteract photodamage and reduce inflammation as well as prevent hair breakage and shield fibers against mechanical and thermal stress.
Beauty comes in all skin and hair types, ages, or genders—that’s why beauty products should be for the young and the old, female and male, lighter and darker skin, straight and curly hair, and everyone in-between. Ceramide technologies are proven to help enhance and strengthen all types of skin and hair. The wide variety of applications allows for an equally wide variety of care products.
What makes Evonik’s ceramide code so unique?
As one of the leading manufacturersof active ingredients in cosmetics, Evonik has been conducting fundamental research into this for years now. We are working to decipher natural processes and develop the right system solutions and formulations to make beauty products effective. With our ceramide and sphingolipid technology, we developed active ingredients that are proven (in vitro, in vivo) to help enhance and strengthen skin and hair.
Ceramides are classified as skin-identical ingredients. Since they appear naturally in skin and hair, they can be produced with biotechnology. Evonik’s ceramide portfolio offers a wide range of bio-based active ingredients. We have even developed our own, patented biotechnological production process, which is based on the fermentation of an unconventional yeast from the tonka bean. The ceramides therefore have the same stereochemical conformation as the body’s own ceramides—making them truly identical to skin and hair.
Achieve more—with beauty products that work the way you want
The market for beauty care products is vast. From household ingredients and vitamin preparations to creams and treatments, you’ll find all kinds of tips and tricks in blogs, magazines, and TV ads. And it’s the same on the production side: as a manufacturer of beauty and personal care products, you face many challenges in today’s fast-paced industry. And more and more demands are being placed on your formulations, such as sustainable ingredients. That’s why it’s all the more important to focus on the right trends, or identify those that go way beyond short-term consumer trends—especially when it comes to established components in many products like ceramides for skin and hair care.
Over the past 25 years, Evonik has developed a range of ceramide and sphingolipid technologies—including the production of pure skin identical ceramides—with a variety of applications. And we continue to develop new products based on market trends and consumer needs.
Ceramides by Evonik: new possibilities for your formulations
Designed with the diverse needs of the manufacturers in mind, our range of cosmetic ingredients is highly versatile and offers unparalleled benefits. Whether for skin care or hair care, our advanced products make it easy for them to develop beauty formulas with profound and truly impressive effects. Do you want to have a little glimpse into our portfolio?
Our SK-INFLUX® V MB, for example, is a skin-identical lipid concentrate for enhanced skin moisturization and protection. It is the ideal remedy for dry, sensitive, and aging skin. SK-INFLUX® is a concentrated formulation consisting of a multilamellar (membrane) system similar to the structure of the lipid barrier in the stratum corneum. It is a concentrated blend of various types of ceramides, cholesterol, free fatty acids, and phytosphingosine, making it an ideal ingredient for personal care products with unique restorative capabilities.
When it comes to hair care, HAIRFLUX® is the go-to choice. This bio-inspired hair- and scalp-care ingredient combines the power of olives and the well-known strength of ceramides. The outcome: mild and well-tolerated efficacy, as well as excellent performance on various hair types. HAIRFLUX® is the best-in-class multifunctional olive-based ceramide for hair and scalp care, with proven effectiveness in repairing damaged hair as well as scalp irritation.
Inspired by the diversity of ceramides and sphingolipids and their bioactive function in skin-aging processes, we have developed SPHINOX® Lift—a unique short-chain ceramide with age-defying and skin-firming properties to reveal a visibly healthier and reshaped skin. As a result of the special way it functions, SPHINOX® Lift stimulates the exchange between the cells throughout the skin, achieving multilayered activity and improving the density of the different skin layers. It counteracts the visible signs of aging by lifting, firming, and sculpting facial contours while reducing wrinkles around the eyes.
Evonik—your solution provider for ceramide technologies
At Evonik, we understand that consumers expect a lot from their cosmetic products. That is why we create highly effective active ingredients that offer outstanding performance across different skin and hair conditions. Plus, our system solutions are simple and easy to add to a diverse spectrum of formulations. And as your ceramides partner, we put all our experience to work to find the best solution for your formulations. Together, we take your beauty products to new heights!
Want to find out more about ceramides and how they work? Take a look at our website (www.evonik.com/ceramides-decoded) or scan the QR code below.
