High Purity and Odourless Solvent for active ingredients

Highly soluble Skin Penetration Enhancers

Safe with no skin irritation Preservative boosters

Antimicrobial agent Hair Conditioning

Moisturizing agent Skin Conditioning

Good Emollient & Humectant Antistatic agent

Mode of action

1,2-hexanediol, 1,2-octanediol are used topically and not taken internally. They act as emollients, humectants and preservatives.

Emollients: These are substances that soften and moisturize the skin and decrease itching and flaking. Emollients/moisturizers work by forming an oily layer on the top of the skin that traps water in the skin. 1,2-alkanediols like, 1,2-hexanediol, 1,2-octanediol soften the horny substance (keratin) that holds the top layer of skin cells together. This helps the dead skin cells fall off, helps the skin keep in more water, and leaves the skin feeling smoother and softer.

Humectants: These are incorporated into cosmetics to improve the look and feel of skin and hair as they attract and retain water. Since 1,2-alkanediols like, 1,2-hexanediol, 1,2-octanediol have hydroxyl group (-OH), they can interact through hydrogen bonding with water molecules. The way humectants work is that they attract water from either the atmosphere or from the body and bind it to itself via hydrogen bonding. The ability to attract and retain water makes humectants excellent for applications where you need to draw moisture to the surface. This means they work great for things like skin moisturizers and hair conditioners. Advantage is that these 1,2-alkanediols are soluble both in water and cosmetic esters and hence have a wide area of usage.

Preservative as antimicrobial potentiator: Antimicrobial potentiators are cosmetic ingredients that have weak activity on their own but work synergistically with known preservatives. They can be very useful in reducing the preservative level in formulations. The 1,2-alkanediols like 1,2-hexanediol, 1,2-octanediol work by promoting the penetration of preservatives into bacterial cell walls.

Solvent: 1,2-alkanediols are also useful as solvents for various cosmetic actives and viscosity modifiers.

Key benefits when compared to other competitive products

1) Demand for effective and safe preservative ingredients is high. The positive list of preservatives under EU Cosmetic Products Regulation EC No.1223/2009 is closed and animal testing bans etc are making new preservatives registration very difficult. Formulators are running out of allowed preservatives.

2) Cosmetic formulas need some kind of preservative system that will work on a specific microbes that affect cosmetic products only and not a general antimicrobial agent. The cosmetic formulation needs to pass the industry challenge test (ISO 1193:2012) and kill those specific microbes rapidly. Without preservatives, many personal care products would be hospitable breeding grounds for bacteria, fungi, and mold.

3) However, many of the preservatives that prevent the growth of harmful microorganisms in personal care products are themselves accused of irritating skin, causing allergic reactions, and disrupting the human endocrine system. European regulators also put restrictions on paraben preservatives such as propylparaben, fearing they might be endocrine disruptors.  

Large personal care product makers for example, Johnson & Johnson has removed formaldehyde donors and parabens from its baby products. Preservative blends of 1,2-alkanediols (1,2-hexanediol, 1,2-octanediol) have proved to be better and help to boost the effectiveness of both traditional and newer preservatives. 

Dosage

Used topically in concentrations ranging from 0.2% to 2%.

Storage: Store at room temperature in the original container, protect from frost, heat and direct sunlight. The ingredients may crystallise at temperatures below 15 °C. This process is reversible at room temperature without any changes in the quality.

Shelf life: 36 months at recommended storage conditions.