Advanced Technologies for Cosmetic Testing and Personal Care Product Development

Weighing, counting, analysis, and process control technologies are used in checkweighing systems. A checkweigher weighs and counts products in motion and rejects products that do not meet pre-determined specifications. As a package moves onto the checkweigher infeed, it is weighed using a weigh cell in the weigh table. The package then moves onto the outfeed of the checkweigher to be accepted or rejected according to the checkweigher settings.  If a problem is indicated, a product is rejected and removed from the conveyor via an air blast, bopper, or pusher. The rejected products can also be diverted or dropped into a separate area for further inspection.

 Advances in these systems deliver reliable accuracy in weighing variable package sizes, without stopping or recalibrating the checkweigher conveyor. 

Compounding blends a polymer matrix with additives to achieve specific properties, while extrusion shapes cosmetics and personal care products from development through manufacturing. Reliable extrusion and compounding tools help ensure that powders, films, and coatings meet desired physical and performance attributes.

Twin-screw extruders mix, compound, and process materials with controlled temperatures and shear rates to study thermal stability, degradation, and mechanical properties.

Lab-scale extruders support efficient trials, essential for optimizing polymer materials. Continuous processing tools accelerate formulation development while helping to ensure consistency and regulatory compliance.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is the preferred method of infrared spectroscopy. When IR radiation is passed through a sample, some radiation is absorbed by the sample and some passes through (is transmitted). The resulting signal at the detector is a spectrum representing a molecular ‘fingerprint’ of the sample. The usefulness of infrared spectroscopy arises because different chemical structures (molecules) produce different spectral fingerprints.

FTIR spectroscopy is a powerful analytical technique used to analyze materials across a broad range of industries, including cosmetics and personal care products. One specific use is to detect Phthalates, which are chemical compounds commonly found in cosmetics, particularly in products like nail polish, hairspray, perfumes, and lotions, where they act as plasticizers to add flexibility and help fragrances last longer; however, concerns exist regarding their potential health effects, especially related to endocrine disruption, making "phthalate-free" cosmetics a growing trend. 

Our FTIR microscopes extend analysis capabilities down to minute particles for contaminant analysis or microplastic applications.

Metal detectors used in the personal care and cosmetics industry can find small particles of ferrous, non-ferrous, and stainless steel by passing the product through a detector containing coils wound on a non-metallic frame and connected to a high-frequency radio transmitter. When a particle of metal passes through the coils, the high frequency field is disturbed under one coil, changing the voltage by a few microvolts.

To improve sensitivity and enable the detection of many metal types and smaller sizes, we offer multiscan technology. Metal detectors with multiscan technology utilize up to five completely adjustable frequencies to find metal types and sizes previously undetectable. Using a true broad-spectrum approach reduces the probability of an escape by many orders of magnitude. This technology is analogous to having up to five metal detectors sequentially in a production line.

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR) is a non-destructive spectroscopic method that uses the near-infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, NIR is based on overtones and combinations of bond vibrations in molecules. NIR can typically penetrate much further into a sample than FTIR, and unlike Raman, is not affected by fluorescence. Thus, although NIR spectroscopy is not as chemically specific as Raman or FTIR, it can be very useful in probing bulk material with little or no sample preparation. It is a widely used rapid alternative to time-consuming, solvent intensive, wet-chemistry methods and chromatographic techniques. 

Our instruments help you to quickly verify incoming raw materials, monitor reaction progress, and quantify final products at reduced cost and increased sample throughput. 

Process mass spectrometers analyze the composition of gases in real-time for industrial processes. They operate by ionizing gas molecules using an electron beam. These ions are then accelerated and passed through a magnetic or electric field, which separates them based on their mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio.

The separated ions hit a detector, generating a signal proportional to their abundance. By analyzing these signals, the mass spectrometer provides a detailed composition of the gas mixture. This data helps in monitoring and optimizing processes, ensuring product quality and safety in industries such as petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, and environmental monitoring.

Raman spectroscopy is an analytical technique used to observe vibrational, rotational, and other low-frequency modes in a system. It relies on the inelastic scattering of monochromatic light, usually from a laser. When light interacts with molecular vibrations or other excitations in the material, the energy of the laser photons is shifted up or down, providing information about the vibrational modes of the molecules.

This technique is valuable for characterizing molecular structures, identifying substances, and studying molecular interactions. Raman spectroscopy is particularly useful for its ability to provide detailed information about molecular vibrations and the chemical composition of a sample without requiring extensive sample preparation.

With the Thermo Scientific DXR3 family of Raman instruments, you can quickly create research-grade chemical images—giving you instant information on the chemical, structural, and elemental characteristics of your sample.

In cosmetics and skincare, precise rheological measurements help ensure product performance and compliance with standards. Our rotational rheometer platforms facilitate comprehensive analysis, from R&D to quality control, aiding the development of innovative and high-quality products. 

Rheology is essential for understanding the mechanical properties of cosmetics. It examines how complex fluids and soft solids respond to stress, strain, and deformation. This insight helps control and predict the flow behavior and stability of products like polymers, gels, and emulsions. 

Polymers exhibit intricate flow behavior due to their chemical structure and high molecular weight. Determining their viscoelastic properties is crucial for optimizing formulations and production processes in cosmetic applications.

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is a key analytical method in cosmetics development and quality control. It examines product formulations at the atomic level without damaging samples, making it ideal for analysing nanoparticles in skincare products and sunscreens. XRD helps manufacturers understand the crystalline structures that affect product performance and stability. By measuring particle size, phase composition, and lattice arrangement, XRD ensures product consistency, identifies counterfeits, and verifies ingredient quality. This technique ultimately supports both product effectiveness and consumer safety in the cosmetics industry.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy is a non-destructive analytical technique used to determine the elemental composition of materials. XRF analyzers work by measuring the fluorescent (or secondary) X-rays emitted from a sample getting irradiated by a primary X-ray source. Each of the elements present in a sample produces a set of characteristic fluorescent X-rays lines like a fingerprint.  These fingerprints are distinct for each element, making XRF spectroscopy an excellent tool not only for qualitative analysis but also for quantitative measurements when processing the intensity of the emitted lines. Lipsticks and other cosmetics have been found to contain lead, and with handheld XRF testing, users can help ensure their manufacturing programs are fully compliant while realizing significant improvements in the production process.

A convenient front-end analysis tool, EDXRF (energy-dispersive XRF) enables quick and easy analysis of even irregular samples with little-to-no sample preparation. WDXRF (wavelength-dispersive XRF), meanwhile, is the standard test method for a wide range of applications due to its outstanding sensitivity and high resolution.

X-ray scanning offers the personal care products processing industry excellent versatility and functionality in product inspection.  X-ray inspection systems can detect a wide variety of metallic and non-metallic contaminants, but also deliver additional quality control capabilities, including the detection of missing product pieces and components, under- and over-fills, and other quality problems. 

Scanning systems using X-ray technology pass high energy, short wavelength light waves through the entire process stream.  As an X-ray penetrates the materials, it loses energy depending on the density of the materials it passes through.  Detectors capture the changes in the X-ray's energy and convert these signals into a grayscale image showing variations in material density. Analysis of this image can detect contaminants, inconsistencies within the product itself, packaging problems, and more. 

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), also known as electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA), is a highly surface-sensitive, quantitative, chemical analysis technique that can be used to solve a wide range of materials problems. XPS is the measurement of photoelectrons ejected from the surface of a material that has been irradiated with X-rays. The kinetic energy of the emitted photoelectrons is measured. This energy is directly related to the photoelectrons’ binding energy within the parent atom and is characteristic of the element and its chemical state.

Only electrons generated near the surface can escape without losing too much energy for detection. This means that XPS data is collected from the top few nanometers of the surface. It is this surface selectivity, coupled with quantitative chemical state identification, that makes XPS so valuable in a vast array of application areas.

Our XPS instruments help you understand the distribution of chemistries across a surface, for finding the limits of contamination, or even examining the thickness variation of an ultra-thin coating.