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(press release from Degussa)
Dusseldorf (ots) - Millions of women swooned, dabbed away a tear or two with their handkerchiefs and dreamed they were Scarlett O'Hara. The kissing scene with Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable is as fresh as today as it was then - the melodrama "Gone with the Wind" has entered the annals of movie history. There is no record of the lipstick the cool diva used during her affair with the lady-killer Rhett Butler in 1939. But since then red lipstick has evolved into a truly high-chem product, with specialty chemicals from Degussa AG (Dusseldorf) playing a major part in its development. The company supplies a complete range of substances for this field of the highest purity and quality. Today the "sensual" lipsticks bear names like Méphisto and Magnétic, Fatal Orange and Mystic Brown, and are available in so many different colors and shapes, prices and packaging - it would be hard to imagine makeup cases or a handbag anywhere in the world that does not have a lipstick or two tucked away inside them. Fashion sets the color of the season at three-month intervals - and in the end buyers still mostly opt for some shade of red. Yet there are more of these nuances of red than you could probably imagine. The Douglas retail chain, for example, carries 4,000 lipsticks in its range, and with lip gloss and lip care products included the figure approaches as many as 10,000 articles or thereabouts. Sales of accessories for the well-groomed woman reached 1.26 billion euros in Germany in 2004,according to the German Cosmetic,Toiletry,Perfumery and Detergent Association (IKW,Frankfurt a.M.). And lipsticks remain a best-seller - Douglas alone sold 2.6 million last year. A lot of chemical substances go into making these products, and it is the careful composition of these that produces the properties manufacturers and users want. Lipsticks basically consist of oils, waxes and pigments that add the color. The formulation contains around 50 percent organic hard waxes such as carnauba and 20 percent pigments. "Which, to put it simply, means that Degussa supplies the rest", explains Dr.Klaus Jenni, Head of Engineering Personal Care at Degussa's Care at Degussa's Care Specialties Business Unit (Essen). This unit spends around 4 percent of its sales of approx. 550 million euros in research and development. Ist product range includes organosilicones, which are compounds of hydrocarbons with silicon oils. They add shine and luster, and help to distribute the pigments. But they mainly act as softeners because without additives carnauba could not be "spread on" easily, certainly not on sensitive lips. Yet during the hot months of the year the opposite effect may occur, with the lipstick becoming too soft. The fumed silica AEROSIL(r), an extremely versatile raw ingredient used in Degussa's cosmetics and body care products, can be relied on to stop this happening. At the same time the very fine-particle product makes sure that the color pigments are well and evenly distributed. An invisible network of fumed silica balances the pigments evenly To see why AEROSIL(R) is so important, we need to examine how lipsticks are manufactured: The main components, meaning oils, waxes and pigments, are melted together, and while still hot poured into the mold where the whole mixture cools to produce the typical shape of lipstick. In the process the colorants that are used tend to coalesce once again. An invisible "network" of Aerosil particles in the melt increases their toughness (viscosity), prevents settling and as a result produces an even distribution. The manufacturing process for Aerosil was developed over 60 years ago and "since then we've managed to continually improve its properties, increasing the number of the applications it can be used for", explains Ann Gray of Aerosil Application Engineering. With a silicon dioxide content of over 99.8 percentage by weight, the Degussa product is a very special kind of "sand", and is one of the purest fumed silicas commercially available. As a purely mineral substance they answer the consumer's demand for reliable, absolutely safe raw materials to an exceptional degree. One synthetic holds together all the many components of the lipstick Apart from pigments, lipsticks contain a large number of additives, such as vitamins, colorants and aromatic essences. The synthetic Vestosint BC (the letters stand for Beauty & Care) is used to ensure these ingredients bond with the oils and fats. The Degussa High Performance Polymers Business Unit uses a unique process to manufacture this polyamide 12 powder: "It involves a complex and intricate process where the powder is first precipitated and then intensively processed", explains Dr. Joachim Mügge, head of the production facility that manufactures the synthetic. This is the only way that a microporous structure can form on the surface of the powder. The tiny pores then absorb the ingredients on the surface and release them evenly again when applied, and also stop the fats and oils exuding. Thanks to its fine-particle structure, the powders feel good on the skin, smooth out uneveness and so enhance the gloss effect. They also help give strength and stability to the lipsticks. One aspect that tends to cause annoyance is residue - traces of lipstick that cling to surfaces where it does not belong, such as the collars of blouses and shirts, cups and glasses. Adding Aerosil and silicones can help here as well. The organic oils, for instance, are used to make the lipstick "kissproof" because they are water-repellent (hydrophobic). Lip gloss is becoming increasingly popular - to achieve this gloss effect special waxes are added to the lipstick mixture. These waxes are marketed by Degussa under the brand name Abil. One positive side-effect is that the process enhances the luminosity of the lipstick at the same time, since the waxes cause the pigments to be distributed more evenly and finer. In lip gloss products that are used over the lipstick or on their own the gloss is achieved through polymer polyisobutenes, one more of Degussa's product range. Gloss contains up to 70 percent of this product.
Brilliant colors and a glossy appearance are all well and good - but manufacturers of cosmetics want more, namely additional uses for their products. UV protection is just about standard now, and on top of this come for example, active ingredients against dry, chapped lips and aging of the skin. Which is why ceramides, already used in creams and lotions, are now used in lipsticks too. These compounds are indispensable when it comes to protecting the skin, because they prevent moisture loss and impurities penetrating the skin. Every year Degussa manufactures around 110,000 metric tons of raw materials for use in cosmetics. Most of these are specialties that are particularly effective, even in small amounts. Hardly any surprise, therefore, that the company is investing a good deal of energy in cultivating this field of application. Market data shows this effort is worthwhile - worldwide decorative cosmetics account for around 24 billion dollars in sales, which in turn is a great incentive for innovation, and generates short product cycles. Women who want to be "cool" need to change lipsticks every couple of months or so - the selection is certainly large enough. And Degussa specialties will help keep it that way. Degussa is the global market leader in specialty chemicals. Our
innovative products and system solutions make an indispensable contribution to our
customers' success, which we sum up by our claim "creating essentials". In fiscal
2004 Degussa's 45,000 employees worldwide generated sales of 11.2 billion euros
and operating profits (EBIT) of 965 million euros.
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