Anhydrous powder products are gaining traction in the beauty sector, following in the footsteps of solid cosmetics. New brands have emerged with a diverse range of products, developed in close partnership with manufacturers who have adapted existing industrial tools to meet this new need. 

The need for a “zero waste” bathroom free of liquid hygiene items in cumbersome packaging, the majority of which is made of plastic, is now being met with a growing powder offering.

Various solutions have emerged, including loose or compact powders that can be rehydrated in a bottle (900.care, Juliette) to rehydrate a liquid product and keep it fresh, or loose powders that can be used directly with water, such as the Perlucine range, Yodi shampoos and cleansers, or Laboté face care masks in single-dose plant-derived capsules. 

All of these solutions are accompanied by a novel, simple, and practical gesture aimed at customers who want to lower their carbon footprints while maintaining the quality and sensitivities of the items they use on a daily basis.

All options are acceptable. 

In this context, the most recent releases appear to emphasize a preference for powders in their loose form. “When compared to compact forms, loose powder has the benefit of skipping a shaping step and dissolving more easily and rapidly in water a priori when the product is reconstituted.” However, preservatives are required since it is meant to be diluted into a liquid hygiene solution that can be stored,” explains Stéphanie Reymond, founder and director of Squarexpert, a technical and commercial consulting firm specializing in cosmetics. This limitation can be circumvented by using the loose version, which will be diluted each time it is used.

The fresh new JU shower gels are among the most recent additions. They arrive in the toilet as powder packs to be diluted, scented with cotton flower, orange blossom, vanilla, or almond. The initial order includes a safe glass-based pump container as well as three 25-gram powder packets containing various scents that, when diluted in tap water, are used to reconstitute a liquid shower gel that may be preserved. The highly fluid powder may be blended simply to create a solution that is suitable for the entire family.

The dosages are supplied in a simple envelope and may be preserved for up to three years because they are partially wrapped in a light recyclable plastic film. “We decided to get things started by producing a shower gel, which typically includes 90% water,” says the company. “JU only preserves the remaining 10% of actives in the form of powder, which is made up of 99 percent natural chemicals,” adds Karline Hamain, Juliette’s creator. 

The firm plans to produce a full hygiene collection for adults and children in the future, including toothpaste built with the same principle and provided in the shape of an 8-gram powder pack to hydrate in an adapted pump-bottle, starting in February.

“On the market, there are still a few niche players.” “Both formulation and packaging are highly complex,” the brand’s creator admits.

Increasing the industrial phase’s effectiveness 

Powder product production, as Stéphanie Reymond points out, still has some limitations. 

“The range of solid surfactants in terms of formulation is still fairly restricted,” she explains, “particularly when you want to fulfill naturalness, Cosmos, and skin tolerance criteria.” “Packaging is a challenge in terms of productivity. Due to the volatile nature of powder, there are hazards associated with handling this type of ingredient: some mixes are explosive, and there is a risk of inhalation and skin contact… “It’s best to avoid all of this,” she continues.

Step One, a brand created in 2019 in Aurillac, central France, sprang out of their technological abilities: in 2017, they filed their first patent for their production technique. Shower gels/cleansing gels for body and hair, face and hands, and shampoos, all in the form of powders to dilute in a container, and refills in biodegradable PLA paper packets are now available. The firm exports a lot, especially to Nordic countries, and in January 2022, they released the first powder deodorant that could be reconstituted (6 g) in a 50-ml roll-on bottle with a reusable glass ball.

“We were the first to identify a formulation + manufacturing complicated. “Tailor-made items based on our technology are in high demand right now,” says Hélose Fontaine, the company’s creator. 

To meet this demand, the laboratory is considering a more significant industrialization phase, with the help of ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition (the company won the EETE request for proposals as part of the France Relance state recovery program, demonstrating their commitment to sustainability). “The objective is to be able to provide significant accounts,” the entrepreneur explains, “since they are increasingly interested in our strategy.”

Lessonia, a maker of ingredients and cosmetics who has specialized in powders from the company’s inception, decided to enhance their industrial tool by obtaining a powder cosmetics packaging machine. 

“Powder products need industrial equipment and expertise, which not all cosmetics enterprises possess. The concerns are different; there are issues with mixes, grain size, density, and extensive wear… In terms of packaging, a powder injector is not the same as a liquid injector, according to Innovation Director Charles-Henri Morice.

In addition, the Director mentions legislative limits that are now unsuitable for this emerging market and its unique peculiarities. “Can the powder or the reconstituted product be called the final product?” he wonders. “Because the product has been altered, it has become more complicated, and we are dealing with a regulatory vacuum.” Take preservatives, for example: they must be present in appropriate quantities in the completed reconstituted product, but there is a limit in the dry product that must not be exceeded under the European Cosmetics Regulation. So we need to figure out what fraction of powder to use in the reconstituted product,” Charles-Henri Morice says.