Vantage offers microbead alternative for skin exfoliation

As the microbead issue rumbles on, moves are made to rid beauty products of the plastic particles, Vantage Specialty Ingredients has launched its PFJ-S Beads alternative as a biodegradable and sustainable solution.

Plastic microbeads have been widely used around the globe in a variety of beauty and personal care products such as cleansers, scrubs and body washes as they increase product effectiveness.

However, awareness and concern about their damaging impact on the environment has been growing for a while with many calls for an EU-wide ban, following the US’s Microbead-Free Waters Act of 2015, and many of the industry’s biggest players committing to their removal from products in the next few years.

As such, many ingredient suppliers have been looking to find alternatives so that products maintain their efficacy, and Vantage’s PFJ-S Beads are the latest addition to its collection of Desert Whale Jojoba natural exfoliants.

Seeking an alternative

The new addition was created in response to the demand for natural exfoliants that provide similar efficacy and skin feel to that of Polyethylene (PE) beads while being cost-effective.

PFJ-S Beads is made with Jojoba Esters derived from natural wax esters that are extracted from seeds of the jojoba plant, a shrub native to the Sonoran Desert of the US and Mexico.

The key benefits are that it is a biodegradable, natural alternative which is gentle enough for daily use yet still effective, and is available in a variety of sizes.

“The Desert Whale brand has a proud heritage in helping to save the whales by offering jojoba oil as a replacement for sperm whale oil in the 1970s,” says Michael Young, Director of Desert Whale Jojoba Oil & Derivatives at Vantage.

“Today, the brand is building upon this heritage in helping to save our rivers, lakes, oceans and marine life by offering a complete line of natural jojoba exfoliants as replacements for PE beads.”

Over the course of almost 40 years Vantage has built expertise in the development, production and supply of environmentally friendly cosmetic ingredients through green, sustainable practices.