The effects of sunlight exposure to cosmetic and toiletry packaging have been known for years. Sometimes leaving a product out in sunlight for just a few minutes can inhibit its efficacy or trigger an equally harmful effect on the formulation's volatility.
UV protection for polymers has been around for a number of years to try and combat this problem, but constant improvements to the technology are being made to make it even more effective.
Polyone launched its UV protection solution on the market around 18 months ago, but has just launched an updated blend to give improved protection for any type of SAN, ABS, PET or polyethylene packaging.
Considering the costs associated with packaging, Polyone's Peter Prusak told CosmeticsDesign that providing this type of protection is minimal - usually just 5 cents per piece of packaging.
"Although UV protection for packaging has been around for some time, we have been able to improve on the blend in order to provide a higher level of protection," said Prusak. "This blend helps to isolate different wave lengths of light, providing protection that is good for up to 390 nanometers."
Currently Polyone says it is the only company providing this sort of technology, which it says has proved to be particularly popular within the health and beauty industry. But given that cosmetic and healthcare formulations are now increasingly complex, such protection has become a necessity.
"The technology provides protection of any pigments or ingredients, such as vitamins or special cosmetic additives, inside the bottle itself," Prusak said.
