Preservatives and Cosmetic Ingredients

Versatile and easy to use, Copperhead's preservative and cosmetic ingredients provide multiple benefits to a variety of products.

Formulated to exploit certain active botanical constituents that are utilized by plants to provide protection from microbes in the environment, these ingredients, rearranged and concentrated, are useful for preserving and improving a wide range of formulations.

Copperhead produces two product lines of cosmetic intermediate products with water-soluble glycerol laurate and lauric esters derived from coconut or palm kernel oil: Biopolysan® and Laurest®. When added to personal care and cosmetic products, these ingredients provide additional preservation, skin-conditioning, and overall product stability benefits. Unlike Biopolysan® and Laurest®, competing ingredients contain polyhydric alcohol, which can withdraw water from the skin making it dry and cracked. Copperhead has patented a process to deliver glycerol laurate and other monoglycerides as a water-soluble, liquid crystal mixture that preserves the antimicrobial nature of glycerol laurate. Copperhead recently presented the science behind its preservative and cosmetic ingredient product offerings at the Society of Cosmetic Chemists’ 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting and Technology Showcase. See our poster presentation here.

Copperhead also produces PolyLaurin®, a plant-derived bacteriostatic and fungistatic preservative additive for industrial products which is FIFRA registered and designed to be used in the preservation of paints, coatings, adhesives, film-forming agents, cleaning products, and other finished products.

To determine which of our products best meets your needs click here.

BIOPOLYSAN^® PRODUCT LINE

The Biopolysan^® products use a patented liquid crystal delivery system to deliver otherwise insoluble ingredients from plant-based lauric esters which, in nature, protect everything from the coconut palm to healthy human skin. Biopolysan® 220B, which can be made entirely from ingredients of vegetable origin, can be used in formulations where the final product claims to be “natural”.

Biopolysan^® products are versatile and easy to use. They offer many benefits to the formulator, including: water-solubility, cold process capability, antimicrobial action, emollient and humectant properties, non-ionic emulsification and mild surfactant properties, stabilization and pH modification, and can act as excellent solvents or carriers for fragrances or active ingredients.

LAUREST^®

Laurest^® is unusually versatile among natural ingredients, with antimicrobial and skin calming actions, Laurest complements innate skin defenses, together with pleasing emollient and humectant properties in an easy to use, water-soluble ingredient. Independent studies have shown that when over 1.5% Laurest® is added to personal care products, it effectively reduces microbial load while remaining “non-irritating”. This unusual combination of qualities makes Laurest® an attractive ingredient for skin care products, especially those intended for people with sensitive skin or who are susceptible to microbial flare-ups and persistent infections but whose skin is too sensitive to tolerate other conventional or natural antimicrobials.

Laurest^®, Copperhead’s new multifunctional ingredient for cosmetics and personal care products is made from all natural raw materials for cosmetics and personal care products. The active ingredient in Laurest is Polyglyceryl-2 Laurate which is derived from glyceryl laurate from either coconut oil or RSPO (palm oil) and diglycerin from various plant oils. These ingredients are both natural and sustainable.

Laurest is manufactured at Copperhead Chemical Company Inc., a GMP API facility with comprehensive product standards that ensure consistent product purity, safety, and performance.

LAUREST^® 1240

Laurest 1240 is Copperhead's most elegant and effective ingredient. At Approximately 40% active Polyglyceryl-2 Laurate, adding Laurest 1240 at concentrations as low as 1.5% can reduce microbial loads, provide adequate preservation and provide impressive skin conditioning and repairing actions.

Introduced in 2016, Laurest 1240 has a long, successful track record of use and is currently used in many commercial personal care products including therapeutic shampoos, lotions and creams, color cosmetics, inks for permanent make up and tattoos, healthy aging products and more.

Laurest^® 1240 is a slightly viscous, water soluble gel that is easily added to product formulations. Laurest may also be added to certain oil phases where appropriate and is currently used in anhydrous products primarily for product performance and mold control. For a full list of Laurest solubility and miscibility, please contact Copperhead directly.

Laurest 1240 may also be used "neat" or at full strength on the skin. Human Repeat Insult Patch Testing showed Laurest 1240 to be non-irritating at full strength on human skin. Since Laurest 1240 is a viscous gel, it typically does not run at body temperature which makes it suitable for direct application to localized areas of skin and can be added to products without the risk of irritation. This makes it ideal for soothing and improving the appearance of skin and nails affected by fungus and bacteria.

Laurest® 1240 is appropriate for use in natural and organic cosmetics.