L’Oreal Develops Waterless Sunscreen Using Carnauba Wax

International beauty giant L’Oréal has developed a waterless sunscreen using liquid carnauba wax, according to a Cosmetics Design-Europe report last month.  Carnauba, also called Brazil wax and palm wax, is a wax of the leaves of the palm Copernicia prunifera, a plant native to and grown only in the northeastern Brazilian states of Piauí, Ceará, Maranhão, Bahia, and Rio Grande do Norte.  

The waterless formulation comprised an oil-in-water carnauba wax, a silica aerogel and a UV filter system to overcome ‘current drawbacks’ associated with anhydrous sunscreens, the company was reported to have written in its international patent.  Designed to be used to make sunscreen products in a variety of forms, including lotions, milks, creams and foams, L’Oréal said it was particularly suitable for a stick variant.

Current waterless sunscreen formulations, in any form, were susceptible to oxidation when exposed to high temperatures due to the high fatty compound content, according to L’Oréal. This resulted in sensory changes to the product, including smell and color, it said. Initially, L’Oréal had tested a carnauba wax in solid form, but it had moved on to a liquid emulsion as the solid ingredient had affected the color of the final formulation. Incubation tests had shown the formula had ‘superior stability’ when exposed to temperatures as high as 45°C.