Plastic Cosmetic Plastic

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In today’s world of beauty, synthetic polymers are routinely used in many personal care and cosmetic products. Women and men want to use products that contain polymers because these products help them to reach a desired look. The use of polymers to create specific hair, face and body products it becoming more and more inevitable as time continues. These products, whilst not being the best for the environment, do an excellent job at creating products that improve hair texture, malleability and growth as well as applications in many makeup items. Without the use of synthetic polymers in the cosmetic and personal care industry, companies would not be able to make the claims that they do about the efficacy of their products.

Synthetic polymers are derived from petroleum oil and are made by scientists and engineers. There are two main types of synthetic polymers commonly used in cosmetics. Organic polymers based on alpha olefins and inorganic materials which are based on silicones. “Alpha-olefins are a family of organic compounds which are alkenes with a chemical formula CxH2x, distinguished by having a double bond at the primary or alpha position.” (Burdick and Leffler, n.d.)

The majority of polymers in the cosmetic industry are products that are comprised of carbon-carbon bonds formed from addition reactions. These usually …show more content…

These polymers are often water-based and include silk, wool, DNA, cellulose and proteins. Naturally derived thickeners are an example of polymers that absorb water which causes the product “to swell up and increase the viscosity of a product.” (Jones and Selinger, 2016) They are often used in cosmetics if the product’s consistency is too thick. Solvents such as water or alcohol can be added to thin out the product. The polymers that fall in this category are hydroxyethyl cellulose, guar gum, xanthan gum and

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