BASF’s Verdessence Maize: Revolutionizing Natural Hair Styling
BASF has unveiled Verdessence Maize, a groundbreaking natural hair styling polymer, at this year’s in-cosmetics Global trade show in Amsterdam. This innovative ingredient represents a significant advancement in the natural hair styling segment, potentially setting a new industry standard while expanding BASF’s portfolio of sustainable beauty solutions.
Bridging the Natural Gap in Hair Styling
While natural ingredients have become commonplace across numerous beauty and personal care categories, the hair styling segment has notably lagged behind, with few effective natural alternatives available. Verdessence Maize addresses this market gap by offering a plant-based styling ingredient that delivers performance comparable to synthetic options.
Natural Performance Without Compromise
“Verdessence Maize is a biodegradable natural ingredient derived from corn that helps create crystal clear formulations in hair styling, particularly where viscosity is a key issue,” explained BASF’s Market Development Manager Natalia Chudinova during the event.
This versatile ingredient has been specifically designed for various applications, with particular effectiveness in hair styling pump sprays and mousses, where it creates a distinctive cloud-like foam texture. Being 100% derived from renewable feedstocks, Verdessence Maize aligns perfectly with formulations for natural and organic cosmetics.
Matching Synthetic Performance
Performance assessments demonstrate Verdessence Maize’s exceptional capabilities. In pump mousse formulations, a 7% concentration showed equivalent bending stiffness and superior curl retention compared to formulations containing 2% synthetic polymers. Similarly impressive results were achieved in pump spray formulations at a 5% concentration.
“Verdessence Maize provides good curl definition without creating any weight in the hair,” Chudinova emphasized. “It’s a big step forward in the quest for more natural hair styling formulation. We have been able to reach the same performance as synthetic polymers.”
Expanding the Sustainable Portfolio
In addition to Verdessence Maize, BASF introduced other sustainable innovations at in-cosmetics Global:
Lamesoft OP Plus: Natural Whitening Power
BASF’s new wax-based and readily biodegradable opacifier dispersion, Lamesoft OP Plus, features a high natural origin content and serves as an effective alternative to synthetic, acrylate-based ingredients. This dispersion delivers exceptional opacifying efficacy while providing additional care benefits in rinse-off applications.
Lamesoft OP Plus creates a creamy white and caring appearance in formulations with various surfactant systems, avoiding undesired pearlizing effects. Performance testing indicates it significantly reduces wet/dry combing effort while enhancing anti-hair breakage performance.
Dehyton PK45 GA/RA: Sustainable Surfactant
Another notable addition to BASF’s sustainable personal care solutions is Dehyton PK45 GA/RA, a betaine derived from sustainably sourced coconut oil certified by Rainforest Alliance. This amphoteric surfactant is readily biodegradable and particularly suited for shampoos, shower and bath preparations, and skin cleansers, where it enables excellent foaming properties.
With these innovations, BASF continues to lead the industry in developing sustainable, high-performance ingredients that meet the growing consumer demand for natural beauty products without compromising on quality or effectiveness.