CERA ALBA

Name / description

Cera Alba; Beeswax

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Function(s) of this ingredient in cosmetic products

FILM FORMING

Produces a continuous film on skin, hair and / or nails

PERFUMING

Part of perfume oils and / or flavours

SKIN CONDITIONING - EMOLLIENT

Softens and smoothens the skin

SURFACTANT - EMULSIFYING

Allows the formation of finely dispersed mixtures of oil and water (emulsions)

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Origin

plant

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Occurrence in cosmetics

Consistency enhancer and emulsifier for creams, ointments, makeup, emulsions and stick products

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Occurrence in other products

In medicinal products eg as consistency enhancer and emulsification agent for ointments etc

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Background information on use in cosmetics

Cera alba (beeswax) is a yellow wax produced by bees which they use to build their hives. In chemical terms waxes are esters consisting of a long-chain monohydric alcohol (fatty alcohol) and a fatty acid. The German Society for Fat Science defines waxes according to their physical properties: at 20 °C kneadable, solid to brittly hard, rough to finely crystalline, melt at over 40 °C, are then very thin and not ropey. Beeswax is a mixture of different esters (myricin) of C26 to C32 alcohols with palmitic acid and other long-chain fatty acids. In addition, it contains free acids, hydrocarbons and low amounts of sterol esters and fatty alcohols. Natural waxes have film-forming as well as hydrophobic (water-repellent) properties in cosmetic products and promote gloss formation on the skin (eg lipsticks). Beeswax serves as a consistency enhancer in creams or stick products and protects the skin against moisture losses. The beeswax used in cosmetics is purified and has a very high tolerance. Cera alba is frequently used for consistency enhancement and has an emulsion stabiliser in W / O creams. Fragrances or mixtures of fragrances are often referred to in the cosmetics area as "perfuming agents" or "perfume oils" or "parfum oils". On the cosmetic products they are declared with the INCI name "PARFUM". These are undiluted individual substances or their mixtures which originate from natural raw materials or can be produced (semi-) synthetically. They are starting materials for the production of perfume, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne and other perfumed cosmetic products. The average content of fragrances amounts in perfume to 15-30 %, in eau de parfum to 10-14 %, in eau de toilette to 6-9 %, in eau de cologne to 3-5 % as well as in skin creams, shampoos, hair and deodorant sprays to approximately 0.2-1 % and approximately 1-3 in deodorant sticks. The perfume oils include essential oils, resinoids and absolutes. The sources are, amongst others, flowers, leaves and stems, fruits and fruit peels or roots of plants; woods, grasses or herbs, needles, resins and balsams. Moreover, only compounds isolated from natural products such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, alcohols etc. are used (geraniol, citronellal, citral, eugenol, menthol) as well as semi-synthetic (citronellol, geranyl acetate, jonone) and synthetic scents (eg phenylethyl alcohol and linalool) are used. Scents of animal origin such as musk and ambra are only rarely used. Emulsifiers are often used in cosmetics as excipients. They allow actually unmixable components like oil and water to be brought in a permanently stable emulsion. In this way both aqueous and oily care and active ingredients can be used in one and the same product in cosmetics. Emulsifiers are able to do that since their molecules consist of a lipophilic and a hydrophilic part. In this way they can reduce the interfacial tension which actually exists between two incompatible substances like fat and water. Emulsifiers are, more particularly, used for creams, lotions and cleansing agents. At present emulsifiers are, however, more than only excipients which keep an emulsion stable. Fatty acid esters on the basis of sugar, lecithin or glycerin monodistearate contribute, for instance, to improving the moisture balance of the skin and are, therefore, also considered as cosmetic active ingredients.

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Belongs to the following substance groups

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Regulating cosmetics

Cosmetics Ingredients are subject to regulation. Please note, different regulations may apply to cosmetic ingredients outside the EU.