Hygroplex 50 g

Hygroplex: Your Advanced Hydration Solution for Skin and Hair

Elevate your cosmetic formulations with Hygroplex, a cutting-edge moisturizing complex proudly manufactured in Germany. This yellowish, transparent liquid is a powerhouse of humectants and amino acids, designed to deliver exceptional, long-lasting hydration for both skin and hair. With its broad solubility in water and alcohols and a versatile pH range of 3-10, Hygroplex is an ideal active ingredient for a wide array of products, ensuring superior moisture retention and enhanced cosmetic efficacy.

Description and Key Features

Hygroplex (INCI: Hexylene Glycol, Fructose, Dextrin, Alanine, Glutamic Acid, Aspartic Acid) is a meticulously crafted blend of natural moisturizing factors (NMFs), specifically designed to mimic the skin's inherent hydration system. This synergistic combination of ingredients, including sugars and amino acids, works to attract and bind moisture to the skin and hair, significantly improving hydration levels and preventing dryness.

Key features and benefits:

• Exceptional Hydration: Hygroplex deeply moisturizes by attracting and retaining water, improving skin's suppleness and preventing trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL).
• Skin Barrier Support: It helps to reinforce the skin's natural barrier function, making skin more resilient to environmental stressors and reducing dryness and flakiness.
• Smooths and Softens: Regular use leads to noticeably softer, smoother skin and more manageable hair.
• Versatile Solubility: Easily dispersible in both water and alcohol-based formulations, ensuring seamless integration into various cosmetic products.
• Wide pH Stability: Effective across a broad pH range (3-10), allowing for flexible formulation design without compromising ingredient integrity.
• Neutral Appearance: Its yellowish, transparent liquid form and neutral odor ensure it won't alter the color or fragrance of your final product.
• German Quality: Manufactured in Germany, guaranteeing high standards of quality, purity, and efficacy.

Versatile Applications and Usage Areas in Cosmetics

Hygroplex is a highly adaptable ingredient that can be incorporated into a wide variety of cosmetic formulations, offering enhanced moisturizing benefits across different product categories (not for use in candles).

Recommended Usage Levels:

• Skin Cleansers: 5%
• Deep Skin Hydration Products: 2-4%
• Shaving Products: 2%
• Moisturizing Shampoos: 1%
• Decorative & Sun Care Cosmetics: 1-5%
• Moisturizing Serums: 3-4%
• Skin Hydration Emulsions: 4-5%

Detailed Applications:

• Moisturizing Creams (Face & Body): Hygroplex is an excellent addition to day and night creams, hand creams, and body lotions. It delivers intense and prolonged hydration, making the skin soft, smooth, and supple. Ideal for dry, dehydrated, or mature skin types.
• Hydrating Serums & Balms: In lightweight serums and balms, Hygroplex provides a concentrated boost of moisture, helping to plump up the skin, reduce the appearance of fine lines caused by dehydration, and restore a healthy glow.
• Protective Face and Hand Creams: It enhances the protective qualities of creams by strengthening the skin's barrier, safeguarding it from environmental aggressors like wind, cold, and pollution.
• Hair Care Products (Shampoos, Conditioners, Masks, Leave-in Treatments):
  • Moisturizing Shampoos: A 1% inclusion in shampoos helps prevent hair from drying out during washing, leaving it soft and manageable.
  • Conditioners & Masks: Hygroplex improves hair's elasticity, reduces breakage, and enhances shine. It ensures deep hydration, especially beneficial for dry, damaged, or color-treated hair.
  • Restorative Hair Products: In treatments targeting damaged hair, it aids in recovery by restoring moisture balance and improving overall hair health and texture.
  • Leave-in Treatments: Provides continuous hydration throughout the day, protecting hair from environmental damage and maintaining its moisture content.
• Shaving Products: Incorporated into shaving creams, gels, or aftershaves, Hygroplex helps to hydrate and soothe the skin, reducing irritation and dryness often associated with shaving.
• Decorative Cosmetics (Foundations, Primers, Lip Products):
  • In liquid foundations or primers, it helps to hydrate the skin, ensuring a smoother application and a more comfortable wear for the makeup throughout the day.
  • In lip glosses or balms, it can contribute to lip hydration and a plump appearance.
• Sun & After-Sun Care Products: Its hydrating properties make it suitable for sunscreens (at 1-5%) to counteract the drying effects of sun exposure, and in after-sun lotions to soothe and rehydrate sun-kissed skin.
• Cleansing Products (Facial Cleansers, Body Washes): Even in rinse-off products, a 5% inclusion helps to prevent the stripping of natural moisture during cleansing, leaving the skin feeling soft and comfortable, not tight or dry.

Cosmetic Recipe: "Aqua-Boost" Hydrating Facial Serum

Create a lightweight, intensely hydrating facial serum perfect for daily use, featuring Hygroplex to ensure deep and lasting moisture.

Instructions for Preparation:

1. Sanitize: Thoroughly sanitize all your equipment (beakers, stirring rods, serum bottles) with isopropyl alcohol and allow them to air dry completely.
2. Prepare Phase A: In a clean beaker, disperse xanthan gum into glycerin, stirring well to form a lump-free slurry. This prevents clumping when adding water.
3. Form the Gel: Slowly add the distilled water to the glycerin/xanthan gum slurry while continuously stirring with a mini-mixer or whisk until a clear, homogeneous gel forms. This might take a few minutes.
4. Cool Down: Allow the gel to cool to below 40°C (104°F). This is crucial for adding heat-sensitive active ingredients.
5. Add Phase B: Once the gel has cooled, add Hygroplex, Panthenol, and your chosen preservative. Stir thoroughly after each addition to ensure complete dissolution and even distribution of all ingredients.
6. Check pH (Recommended): Test the pH of your finished serum. For a facial serum, an ideal pH range is typically 5.0-5.5. Adjust if necessary by adding a tiny drop of diluted lactic acid to lower the pH.
7. Bottle: Carefully transfer the finished serum into a clean, sterile serum bottle with a dropper or pump.

Recommendations for Application and Use:

• Optimal Dosing: The 4% concentration of Hygroplex in this serum provides deep and lasting hydration. You can adjust the percentage based on the specific product type and desired hydration level, following the recommended guidelines.
• Temperature Sensitivity: Always add Hygroplex to the cooled phase of your product (below 40°C) to maintain its optimal efficacy. Heating it directly may compromise its active components.
• Solubility: Hygroplex is highly water-soluble, making it easy to incorporate into aqueous formulations like serums, toners, and gels.
• Storage: Store the finished serum in a cool, dark place, away from direct sunlight, to preserve its effectiveness and extend its shelf life. The preservative ensures product stability.
• Application: Apply a few drops of the serum to clean face and neck after cleansing and toning, both morning and evening, before applying heavier creams or lotions.
• Compatibility: Hygroplex is generally compatible with a wide range of cosmetic ingredients, enhancing the hydrating properties of your formulations.
• Safety: Always adhere to recommended dosages. Perform a patch test on a small, inconspicuous area of skin (e.g., inner forearm) before widespread use, especially if you have sensitive skin or are new to an ingredient.