Sustainable and Upcycled Cocoa Butter Alternatives from ICSC

Sep 9th, 2024

ICSC - International Cosmetic Science Centre

Cocoa butter, being renowned for its moisturizing benefits, is extensively used in cosmetic formulations such as creams, lotions, lip care products and the like. Moreover, cocoa butter helps the overall consistency, sensory properties and stability of formulations.

In early 2024, though, due to cocoa shortages, cocoa prices touched all-time record high in comparison with the last 50 years. Climate change-induced drought was the reason for historically low production, combined with aging cocoa plantations. According to experts, not only is the cocoa shortage expected to continue, but also the high prices. Due to this uncertainty and subsequent cocoa butter shortage, prices have risen above and beyond what manufacturers can absorb, when it comes to their formulations.

Beauty brands focusing on sustainability are looking to replace or reduce the amount of cocoa butter in their formulations. In view of helping these brands, International Cosmetics Science Centre A/S (ICSC), with its 40 years of expertise in lipids, has launched two new all-natural butters that can substitute cocoa butter in terms of consistency, texture and stability, all whilst offering enhanced moisturizing properties. Furthermore, these new butters are made from upcycled and sustainable ingredients that have been ethically sourced.

Cocoa butter alternatives:

Cosmosil 922 M I.S. and Cosmosil 923 M I.S. have been specially developed to match the desired properties of cocoa butter; in particular its consistency, melting point, texture and stability in cosmetics formulations.

Picture 1: Comparison of Cosmosil 922 M I.S. (A) and Cosmosil 923 M I.S. (C) with cocoa butter (B)

The benefits of Cosmosil 922 M I.S. and Cosmosil 923 M I.S. compared with cocoa butter include:

Comparable properties in terms of consistency, texture and melting point
Enhanced moisturization
No impact on formulation color or stability, making it easy to replace or reduce cocoa butter
Uniform triglyceride structure and
Manufactured from upcycled raw materials.

Comparison in formulation:

In order to compare the performance of the new cocoa butter alternatives with cocoa butter, three lotions were prepared: one with Cosmosil 922M I.S., the second with Cosmosil 923M I.S and the third with cocoa butter at 10 % concentration. The physical properties of the three lotions were similar in terms of texture, color and flowability.

Picture 2: Comparison of lotion made with Cosmosil 922 M I.S. (D) and Cosmosil 923 M I.S. (F) with cocoa butter (E).

The below video shows how lotions for the study were prepared.

Sensory evaluation and moisturization comparison:

In-house studies have been carried out to compare the moisturizing properties of the above three lotions on volunteers. The study clearly demonstrated that both Cosmosil 922M I.S. and Cosmosil 923M I.S. actually had better moisturizing properties than cocoa butter.

The feedback from the volunteers regarding the texture and sensory properties awarded all lotions a similar score.

Picture 3: Comparison of hydration values after, respectively, 30 min and 240 min of lotion application on the skin

Conclusion:

When it comes to reducing or replacing the amount of cocoa butter in cosmetic formulations, Cosmosil 922M I.S. and Cosmosil 923M I.S. have proven to be the best-suited alternatives to cocoa butter. As such, customers will be able to secure guaranteed supply at a competitive price without affecting their formulations’ attributes and avoiding complicated documentation.

Disclaimer:

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