High-Retinol Oil Formulation With Tocopherol Storage Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing formulations of retinol for personal care products face challenges in maintaining high retinol concentration while ensuring stability during storage, often requiring the use of banned antioxidants like BHT or BHA, and typically involve emulsions that can complicate application flexibility.
Innovation Solution
A formulation comprising 40-75% retinol, 20-55% apolar lipophilic hydrocarbon solvent without alcohol or ester groups, and 0.1-5% mixed tocopherol as an antioxidant, with minimal water content, ensuring stability and flexibility in application.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If high concentration of retinol is used in formulation, then the effectiveness and activity of the product is improved, but the stability during storage deteriorates due to oxidation
Solution Approach 1:
Mixed tocopherols are introduced as intermediary substances that act as antioxidants to protect retinol from oxidation during storage. The tocopherols sacrifice themselves to prevent retinol degradation, enabling high retinol concentrations (40-75 wt.%) to be maintained stably in the formulation without requiring banned antioxidants like BHT or BHA.
2Stability of the object's composition
If conventional antioxidants like BHT or BHA are used to maintain stability, then storage stability is improved, but the product becomes prohibited in various countries for specific applications
Solution Approach 1:
The formulation changes the type of antioxidant used from conventional prohibited substances (BHT, BHA) to mixed tocopherols, which are naturally occurring and permitted in cosmetics and food applications. This parameter change in antioxidant selection maintains storage stability while enabling market approval and broader applicability across different countries and product categories.
3Ease of operation
If emulsion formulations are used to deliver retinol, then skin delivery is improved, but the formulation complexity increases and application flexibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts retinol from complex emulsion formulations and delivers it in a simplified pure oil form. By removing the emulsion base and associated emulsifiers, thickeners, and stabilizers, the formulation achieves high application flexibility while maintaining effective retinol delivery. The retinol is dissolved directly in suitable oil vehicles at high concentrations without requiring emulsion technology.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The formulation maintains high retinol concentration and stability during storage, avoiding the use of banned antioxidants and providing a stable, oily form that can be easily incorporated into various products.
Implementation Method 1
0.1 - 5 wt-%, based on the total weight of the formulation, of mixed tocopherol
Implementation Method 2
The solvent, wherein the retinol is solved must not comprise any alcohol group. The solvent which has been used is an apolar lipophilic hydrocarbon having no alcohol group and no ester group.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a new formulation, which comprises a high amount of retinol in a specific solvent and in the presence of mixed tocopherol.