In make-up: 

A quarter of all cosmetics products claim to be “longwear”. What these products all have in common is isododecane. It is proportionately the biggest ingredient in longwear cosmetics, comprising 25-50% by volume of these formulations.

Cosmeticians across the world use the unique properties of this ingredient, previously only derivable from petro-chemicals, to achieve longwear performance, water resistance and “kiss-proofing”, without compromising comfort.

Longwear make-up sells around a billion units annually, a market worth some €10 billion. Isonaturane^®12 means brands can now claim their products are over 90% natural origin.

In skincare: 

The skincare market includes dermo-cosmetics (foundation, face, body and hand creams, suncreams), and haircare products.

Isododecane is used in the cosmetics industry as an emollient – to make skin softer – or as a solvent – to dissolve other substances or the main active ingredients. This means it is present in a broad range of face creams and hair products, including shampoo.

In these applications, it does the same job as silicon. However, in 2018, the European Commission decided to massively restrict the silicon content of wash-off products because of the risks they posed to the environment, particularly the aquatic environment. The restriction on volatile silicons, which took effect in 2020 for wash-off products and should eventually be extended to other product categories, is driving substantial growth in the isododecane market.