Comparatively Speaking: Natural vs. Hydrogenated Butters

By: Anthony J. O'Lenick Jr., Siltech LLC; and Thomas O'Lenick, PhD, SurfaTech Corp.

Posted: August 2, 2011

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In the cosmetic field, formulation chemists have a tricky task ahead of them. The overall goal is to find a product that has the correct physical characteristics but is green. Natural oils like olive and soybean are used as solvents and natural additives in cosmetic products. The major advantage in using natural oils is that they are renewable and generally mild. Conversely, their rheological properties are typically weak, and the product has to be refined to improve its rheological properties. When these oils are added into a chemical formulation, they will weaken the structural integrity of the product. This is not a major problem when formulating a cream or liquid product, but it becomes a problem in lipstick, where the lack of structural integrity will lead to the product failing. There are a couple of ways to fix this problem. The first is to refine the hydrocarbons from the liquid oil. Refining or concentrating oils will produce a solid and does not chemically alter the chemical structure of the material. The second solution is to hydrogenate or chemically modify the chemical structure of the oil.

References
1.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shea_butter 
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenation
3. I Karabulut, M Kayahan and S Yaprak, Determination of changes in some physical and chemical properties of soybean oil during hydrogenation, Food Chemistry, 81(3) 453–456 (2003)