Personal Care
Overview
Polypropylene glycols and polyglycol copolymers are widely used in personal care products. There are many typical properties of these products beneficial to personal care formulations:
- neutral and low in odor
- relatively low toxicity and low skin irritation potential
- do not become rancid and seldom react with other ingredients
- dissolve many cosmetic ingredients
Products
The following polypropylene glycols and polyglycol copolymers can be used in personal care products. Although each product has unique properties based on molecular weight and the monomer(s) used, they all share some common properties.
| Polypropylene Glycols |
Polyglycol Copolymers |
| P425 |
15-200 |
| P1000TB |
EP530 |
| P1200 |
EP1730 |
| P4000 |
112-2 |
Functionality
The choice of polypropylene glycol or polyglycol copolymer brings different benefits to personal care formulations. Listed below are the functionalities of different product families1.
| Functionality |
Product |
| Skin Conditioning Agents |
Polypropylene glycols |
| Solvents |
Polyglycol Copolymer 15-200 |
| Surfactants - Emulsifying Agents |
Polyglycol Copolymer PT700, PT3000 |
Specific Applications
The table below lists specific product uses taken from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Voluntary Reporting Program1.
| Product Category |
Polyglycols |
| Cleansing Products (cold creams; cleansing lotions, liquids and pads) |
Polyglycol Copolymer 15-200 |
1 CTFA Cosmetic Ingredient Handbook, 2nd ed., 1992
Note: The inclusion of products on the lists and tables above does not indicate that use of that product as a cosmetic ingredient complies with the laws and regulations governing such use in the United States or any other country.
CARBOWAX™ PEGs are also used in personal care fomulations. AMERCHOL™ products include a wide range of ingredients for personal care applications.
®™* Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") or an affiliated company of Dow
