Cosmetics packaging, aromatics, moisture, quality and shelf-life

 

Healthcare and cosmetic packaging must not only show great shelf appeal but, just as important, it needs to keep its contents in perfect condition, possibly for a long time.  The key is packaging that can reduce oxygen and fragrance loss at the same time as increasing shelf life.  Fragrance loss is Important for cosmetics as, without these critical top-notes the product looses its appeal. All of these separate factors are controlled by one thing - the vapour permeability of the packaging.

Additionally, conserving the perfume of cosmetics is difficult, particularly in non-glass pots, packs, bottles and other cosmetic containers - as the aromatics tend to escape quickly and can permeate through their container and be lost. Designers, manufacturers and contract companies need to extend product shelf-life, preferably without changing the formulation or ingredients.

Again, vapour permeability is the key.

Our latest permeability measurement equipment allow you to test the vapour permeability of a sample of the packaging material as well as the overall finished permeability of the container. This allows you to chose, or custom-design, the very best materials for your specific product and both prolonging product shelf-life, freshness and moisture content. It also allows users to measure the vapour tightness of resealing the cosmetic's packaging after multiple uses.

The equipment meter can measure this permeability rate for any vapour or aromatic. This, naturally includes both water vapour and Oxygen which helps to prevent the growth of micro-organisms and to protect a cosmetics delicate unsaturated lipid bonds which can spoil and become rancid. This unpleasant smell associated result from the oxidative cleavage of the double bonds in unsaturated fatty acids to produce aldehyde and carboxylic acids of shorter chain length and therefore higher volatility which can easily turn rancid and produce strong, unpleasant odours.

Accurately measuring the vapour permeability leads to the correct choice of materials and manufacturing processes to be chosen and quality checked.  The system can be either configured for water vapour, as well as oxygen, solvents, aromatic volatiles and most other gases. 

Accuracy is easy to achieve and is typically in the parts per million range, (parts per billion for some gases and materials).  The permeability is critical not just in preserving the cosmetics, but can also affect marketing factors such as the shape, design and print-ability of the container.

The meter can be used on an exceptionally diverse range of materials and containers including bottles, tubs, tubes, sachets, foils and laminates.  It can be used for product development and quality control.  Versaperm also offers a consultancy and a permeability laboratory service fo r companies that only need to test samples on an irregular basis.

Click here for a press release on Cosmetics and Vapour permeability measurement.

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