In order to attract consumers, in recent years, businesses have been putting more and more effort into cosmetic packaging, and all kinds of novel and sophisticated packaging have emerged, and excellent outer packaging and bottle design have indeed become a factor in selling products. In fact, the role of cosmetics packaging is not only to attract consumers, for the material body, the packaging also provides essential storage space and protection function.
The packaging of cosmetics is divided into two types of internal and external packaging materials, with the internal packaging materials directly contacting the material body, and the form chosen is closely related to the product composition.
Common cosmetic packaging materials
Common cosmetic packaging materials are plastic bottles, glass bottles, tubes, etc. Different materials have different characteristics, suitable for different textures and ingredients of cosmetics.
Plastic bottles Plastic bottles are made of a variety of materials, including ABS (acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene), PP (polypropylene), PE (polyethylene), PET (polyethylene terephthalate), AS (styrene-acrylonitrile copolymer), acrylic and others. Among them, PP, PE and PET are environmentally friendly materials, which can be in direct contact with the contents; PP and PE are translucent, white in color, and can be made into a variety of hardness; PET is transparent, light in weight and soft in material.
Glass bottles glass bottles are mainly used in cosmetics for creams, pastes, lotions, essences, essential oils and other products with small volume. According to the type of bottle mouth, glass bottles can be divided into wide mouth bottles and narrow mouth bottles. Wide-mouth bottles are mostly used for solid cream cosmetics such as creams and applicator masks, while narrow-mouth bottles are generally used for water-based and lotion-based cosmetics.
Glass bottles are generally used with caps and pump heads, or with droppers to better ensure the cleanliness and hygiene of the products. The body of glass bottles can be frosted, painted or silk-screened.
The advantage of glass bottles is the low cost, the disadvantage is the weight, easy to break. Perfume products often use glass bottles to better prevent liquid evaporation and maintain the smell of perfume.
Plastic hose hose according to the number of layers there are single, double, five layers; according to the material can be divided into plastic and metal tubes, etc., the most common is the plastic hose, that is, the packaging used in ordinary facial cleansers, generally using PE plastic.
Hose packaging has a good airtightness, can isolate the outside air, while preventing the contents from leaking out. There are differences in the impermeability of different layers of tubes. Hose is generally paired with a rotating cap or flip-top, and the body of the tube can be screen printed and other technological treatments.
Special ingredients require special packaging
Some cosmetics require special packaging due to the special nature of the ingredients to ensure ingredient activity. Dark glass bottles, vacuum pumps, metal hoses and ampoules are commonly used special packaging.
Photosensitive ingredients in dark glass bottles of cosmetics may not only lose their activity and efficacy after oxidation by UV radiation, but may even become allergenic and toxic. For example, ascorbic acid and ferulic acid are susceptible to photolytic oxidation, and vitamin A alcohols and their derivatives, furanocoumarins are photosensitive and phototoxic. In order to avoid the oxidation of such ingredients by ultraviolet light photolysis, the packaging must be done to avoid light treatment, generally dark opaque glass bottles as packaging materials, dark brown glass bottles are the most common. To ensure ease of use and product hygiene, dark-colored glass bottles are often used in conjunction with droppers.
Cosmetic brands that focus on efficacious ingredients often use dark glass bottles to ensure that the ingredients work.
It is important to note that while dark glass bottles are used to protect from light, the use of dark glass bottles for purely traditional or cosmetic reasons cannot be ruled out. Some cosmetic ingredients do not contain photosensitive ingredients, but brands use the above packaging to attract consumers, considering the tradition of using dark glass bottles and droppers in pharmaceuticals.
Although vacuum pump dark glass bottles have good light-shielding properties, they can only be completely insulated from air prior to use and are not suitable for ingredients that require higher air insulation (e.g. ubiquinone and ascorbic acid for antioxidants), as well as oil and grease ingredients that are prone to oxidation (e.g. shea butter).
