Sun exposure can affect the skin in various ways leading to short- and long-term\nconsequences. Waxes are often used to optimize the rheological behavior of products and provide\nan even sunscreen film on the skin, which can boost the sun protection factor (SPF) of ultraviolet\n(UV) filters. In this study, a biobased wax, alkenones, sourced from commercially available and\nsustainable microalgae was evaluated as an SPF booster in sunscreens. Thirty-five sunscreens were\nformulated using three waxes and four organic liquid UV filters. Products were tested for pH,\nviscosity, spreadability, stability, as well as in vitro SPF and water resistance. Alkenonesâ?? in vitro SPF\nboosting capacity was similar to beeswax and cetyl alcohol with three â??reef-safeâ? UV filters. None of\nthe waxes used provided significant water resistance, however, using film-former water resistance\ncould be built into the products. A key finding is that alkenones increased the in vitro SPF without\nincreasing apparent viscosity. All products had a skin-compatible pH and they all remained stable at\n25 Degree C for 10 weeks. Overall, the alkenonesâ?? performance was comparable to those of the comparator\nwaxes. Our in vitro results indicate that alkenones offer a sustainable, biobased, non-animal derived\nchoice as an SPF booster for organic sunscreens.
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