Cosmetic Pigments: Various Quality Parameters

May 26, 2017Leave a commentCosmetics

Cosmetics are a huge market today, with millions of women who willingly fork out large amounts of money in order to get their desired cosmetic products. For many of these women, finding the right brand of cosmetics is a matter of trial and error, and they also end up damaging their skin because of too much experimenting. This is why there is a need for consistency as well as colour matching, so that a particular brand can cater to more people, without compromising on the quality of pigments used in cosmetic colours.

1. The measurement of cosmetic colour pigments is absolutely imperative in order to create formulations that are dependable, and also keep customers happy. The best way of doing this is through spectrophotometric technology, which simplifies the formulation while ensuring reliability and replicable pigments each and every time.

2. In order to ensure repeat sales as well as attracting new buyers, the colour and consistency of the cosmetic in question should go hand in hand. Pigment colours should go hand in hand with pigments for cosmetics.

3. Cosmetic colour pigments are water soluble, and hence pigment manufacturers in India use these extensively for manufacturing decorative cosmetics. Colorants are of two types; organic and inorganic, and these are available in a wide range of textures and appearances which lend themselves to be combined in an assortment of different combinations, giving flexibility to the buyer.

1. The colour perception of pigments will vary based on personal observation, and repeatable formulations of these colours have to depend on instrumental analysis in order to quantify the colour data.
2. Natural and artificial light sources, the reflective value, as well as the opacity will have an effect upon the visual appearance of the cosmetics. Thus colour standards are quite essential to maintain a hold on the basic parameters.
3. There are also needs to monitor the stability of colour, and it is a very crucial process, because the slightest changes in the chemical or the heat formulation will affect the finished product and not produce the desired result. This is why spectrophotometers play such an important role in the process of parameter checking of pigments used in cosmetics. Throughout the entire process of formulation of the pigment, spectrophotometers give a constant feedback on even the minute changes in colour, and this helps save a lot of money in the long run.
4. Once a standardised colour and gradient has been achieved, this information recorded by the spectrophotometer is used in order to attain the same results time and again.
5. Both organic and inorganic colorants are nowadays available in powdered as well as liquid forms. Because the quantification of pigments depends on the appearance and the texture of the colorant, experts need to choose the right method of colour evaluation.
6. The spectrophotometers will give you very accurate colour information by measuring the spectral reflectance at exactly the precise illumination as well as detection angles. The collected data can be used for various uses like design, research, manufacturing as well as quality control.

Koel is the author of this article on cosmetic dyes in india here.