Take you to understand cosmetic inner packaging materials

In order to attract consumers, in recent years, businesses have put more and more effort on cosmetic packaging, and various novel and exquisite packaging have emerged one after another. Excellent outer packaging and bottle design have indeed become factors in product sales. In fact, the role of cosmetic packaging is not only to attract consumers, but also to provide essential storage space and protection for the material.

The packaging of cosmetics is divided into two types: inner and outer materials. The inner packaging material directly contacts the material body, and the choice of the form is closely related to the product composition.



Common cosmetic inner packaging materials

Common cosmetic inner packaging materials include plastic bottles, glass bottles, hoses, etc. The inner packaging materials of different materials have different characteristics and are suitable for cosmetics with different textures and compositions.

There are many kinds of materials for plastic bottles, including ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), AS (Styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer), acrylic, etc. Among them, PP, PE, and PET are environmentally friendly materials that can be directly contacted with the contents; PP and PE are semi-transparent, white in nature, and can be made into various hardnesses; PET is transparent, light in weight, and soft in material.

Glass bottles Glass bottles are mainly used in cosmetics for smaller products such as creams, creams, lotions, essences, and essential oils. According to the type of bottle mouth, glass bottles can be divided into wide-mouth bottles and narrow-mouth bottles. Wide-mouth bottles are mostly used for solid cream cosmetics such as creams and smear masks, while narrow-mouth bottles are generally used for liquid and lotion cosmetics.

Glass bottles are generally used with bottle caps, pump heads, or droppers to better ensure the cleanliness of the product. The body of the glass bottle can be processed by frosting, spraying or silk screen printing.

The advantage of the glass bottle is low cost, but the disadvantage is that it is heavy and easy to break. Perfume products often use glass bottles to better prevent the volatilization of liquids and maintain the smell of perfume.

Plastic hose hoses are divided into single layer, double layer, and five layers according to the number of layers; according to the material, they can be divided into plastic tubes and metal tubes, etc. The most common is the plastic hose, which is the packaging used in ordinary facial cleansers, and is generally used PE plastic.

The tube packaging has good airtightness, which can isolate the outside air and prevent the contents from leaking. The anti-permeability capabilities of hoses of different layers are different. The hose is generally equipped with a rotating cap or a flip cap, and the tube body can be processed by silk screen printing.



Special ingredients need special packaging

Some cosmetics require special packaging due to their special ingredients to ensure their active ingredients. Dark glass bottles, vacuum pumps, metal hoses, and ampoules are commonly used special packaging.

After being oxidized by ultraviolet radiation, the photosensitive ingredients in dark glass bottle cosmetics may not only lose activity and lose efficacy, but may even cause sensitization and toxicity. For example, ascorbic acid and ferulic acid are prone to photolysis and oxidation, vitamin A alcohols and their derivatives, furanocoumarin have photosensitivity and phototoxicity. In order to prevent such components from being oxidized by ultraviolet light, the packaging must be protected from light. Generally, dark opaque glass bottles are used as packaging materials, and dark brown glass bottles are the most common. To ensure convenient use and product hygiene, dark glass bottles are often used with droppers.

Cosmetic brands that focus on functional ingredients often use dark glass bottles to ensure that the raw materials work.

It should be noted that although dark glass bottles are used to avoid light, it is not ruled out that dark glass bottles are used purely for traditional or appearance reasons. Some cosmetic ingredients do not contain photosensitive ingredients, but the brand takes into account the traditional use of dark glass bottles and droppers in medicines, and in order to attract consumers, they will also use the above-mentioned packaging.

Although the dark glass bottle of vacuum pump has good shading properties, it can only completely isolate the air before use. It is not suitable for components that require higher air insulation (such as ubiquinone and ascorbic acid for anti-oxidation) and easy to oxidize. The oil components (such as shea butter) and so on.

If the product ingredients have higher requirements for the tightness of the packaging, a vacuum pump can be used. Vacuum pumps generally use AS materials, and its significant advantage is that it can well isolate the contents from the outside air. There is a piston at the bottom of the bottle of the vacuum pump. When the pump head is pressed, the piston at the bottom of the bottle moves upwards, the content flows out, the space of the bottle body is reduced, and air will not enter.

Because the vacuum pump is made of plastic, the metal hose has poor shading performance. If the product composition has high requirements for shading and air insulation (such as vitamin A alcohol substances), metal hoses are required. High-concentration vitamin A alcohol products are usually stored in aluminum tubes. Compared with plastic materials, aluminum tubes have stronger airtightness and can shield from light and moisture, which can better protect the activity of the contents.

Ampoules Ampoules are one of the popular inner packaging materials in the cosmetics industry in recent years, and their airtightness and safety are remarkable. The ampoules in the cosmetics industry come from ampoules in the medical industry. The ampoules can keep the active ingredients airtight and are for one-time use, which can isolate air and pollutants and ensure product hygiene. In addition, the glass ampoules can be made into a dark color, so that it has a good light-proof effect. Products with aseptic filling and disposable ampoules can be used without preservatives, which provides a new choice for consumers who have severely sensitive skin or do not want to use products containing preservatives.



Preserve cosmetics according to ingredient requirements

Although the inner packaging material can help maintain the stability of cosmetics and the activity of functional ingredients, after purchasing the product, consumers need to store it in accordance with the instructions to further extend the product's lifespan. Cosmetics with special needs will be marked on the outer packaging if they need to be protected from direct sunlight or placed in a dry place.

Many active ingredients in cosmetics are not stable, and product properties are prone to change under high or low temperature conditions. Active substances such as vitamin A, peptides, enzymes, etc., may change color and become invalid at high temperatures, and are suitable for low-temperature storage. However, the fact that the active ingredient is unstable does not mean that the product is unstable. Before the product is produced, the formulator has taken into account various situations, and ensured the stability of the product through formulas and packaging materials. Therefore, if you look at the ingredients in isolation without considering the overall formula, and refrigerate or heat the product on your own terms, it may be counterproductive.

If the room temperature is too low, some water-based or pure oil-based cosmetics may be frozen or crystallized. If the emulsifier content in the formula is very low, delamination will occur at low temperatures. In this case, the product can be heated appropriately, or the product can be stored at an appropriate temperature.