Description of Emollients & Moisturizing: water plays a key role in helping your skin stay healthy and smooth. Moisturizers seal in or trap moisture and help the skin’s protective barrier to minimize evaporation of water. These moisturizing ingredients give the skin a smooth and soft feel and therefore are often referred to as emollients (emollient means softener). Another effect could be preventing friction by applying an oily film, which lubricates the skin or hair. These 3 product functions use the same occlusive mechanism to ensure that water can’t escape easily, however where emollients mainly aim to soften skin, the main function of moisturizers is to prevent loss of water by trapping and sealing in moisture, and the main function of lubricants is to minimize friction between surfaces. Another type of emollient & moisturizer is humectants, they absorb moisture from the air and from the dermis (deeper skin layer) to the epidermis (superficial skin layers). Emollients & Moisturizing Ingredients are widely applied in the personal care industry and especially in skin care products, such as ointments, emollient cream, lotions, and oils.

What is emollient?

Emollient definition is substances that soften and smoothen itchy, dry skin, and make it feel and look better. Most people experience irritated, dry skin from time to time due to weather conditions, excessive use of hand sanitizers and many other reasons including atopic eczema, diaper rash or atopic dermatitis. Cracked dry skin will cause open spaces between skin cells and emollients will fill these spaces with fatty substances called lipids. Emollients containing a high quantity of oil ensure water can’t easily escape from the skin and are called occlusives. Moisturizing Ingredients often have emollient properties, but where the main function of moisturizers is about trapping and sealing in moisture to build the skin’s protective barrier and prevent water loss, emollients mainly aim to soften the skin.

Emollient applications

They come in emollient cream, ointments, lotions, and sprays primarily for skin care. Ointments are most greasy and mainly oil, for example Petrolatum, and form an outstanding thick occlusive layer for thick skin and very dry skin conditions. Skin absorbs this slowly so not often to be reapplied, however not easy to apply on hairy areas and can stain clothes. Lotions and sprays are mostly water and can be spread much easier, the downside is the lower level of moisturizing compared to ointments. Emollient cream is in between ointments and lotions/sprays regarding the level of oil in the aqueous cream. Aqueous cream has a good level of moisturization for dry skin conditions and is still easy to spread. Emollient soap substitute instead of regular soap for handwashing and showering is another application, which can help in case of dry skin conditions. Emollients containing antibacterial agents can be used against folliculitis. This is irritation and inflammation of hair follicles, mainly occurring in the beard skin area. These emollients will fight the infection of hair follicles and smoothen and soften the irritated skin.  

Emollients for hair

Emollients for hair are essential ingredients of many hair care products. Although the word emollient is more common in skin care, more and more people are using the term emollients for hair care as well. They are supposed to improve the hydration levels of hair by attracting water or providing a protective barrier that help to soften, smoothen, and moisturize hair, and make it feel and look better. Optimal levels of moisture will give hair better curl retention, more volume and bounce. These functions are very similar to emollients for skin and similarly important for hair to form an even film on the surface and to avoid a greasy or sticky texture.

Emollient Ingredients

Common emollient ingredients include silicones (e.g., IngreSil BADM-965), fatty alcohols, fruit and vegetable oils (for example Pomegranate Seed Oil or Raspberry Seed Oil Organic or Rapeseed Oil), mineral oils, polyquaterniums, butters and petrolatum.

Description of Moisturizing

Water plays a key role to help your skin to stay healthy, smooth and provide the required nourishment. Moisturizers help to seal in or trap moisture and help the to form the skin’s protective barrier to avoid water evaporate from the skin. These moisturizing ingredients give the skin a smooth and soft feel and therefore are often referred to as emollients (emollient means to soften). Both product functions are similar in using the same occlusive mechanism to ensure that water can’t escape easily, however where emollients mainly aim to soften the skin is the main function of moisturizers to prevent loss of water by trapping and sealing in moisture. Moisturizing ingredients come in many categories, most of them combining moisturizing with other benefits, and are primarily used in skin, body, and hair care products. Hyaluronic acid and Polyglutamic acid are seen as super moisturizers, especially hyaluronic acid is very well known among consumers. Other examples of moisturizers are Polyquaternium 11, Broccoli Seed Oil and Sodium Isostearoyl lactylate.