Options Grow for Protecting Sensitive Products from UV

UV light can cause dyes in health and beauty products to fade, sometimes in a matter of hours. There are now clear UV-protected PET resins, such as Vitiva PET from Eastman Chemical, that can avert this problem.

Today's health and beauty aide marketers understand that great packaging helps maximize brand appeal and build consumer loyalty. Designers and brand owners like to show off their products in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers that create an appealing clear impact for health and beauty products.

However, research shows that ultraviolet (UV) light can have an adverse affect on common ingredients in many popular personal care products including colors. Brand owners are discovering that using materials with UV barriers can help protect their products from the harmful effects of UV light. In a Q&A session, Susan Sims, research associate, Eastman Chemical Company, helps us understand the damaging effects of UV light on cosmetics and personal care products.

Q: What is UV light?

A: Ultraviolet A (UVA) light refers to wavelengths of light in the range of 320 to 400 nanometers (nm) that are invisible to the human eye. Ultraviolet A is the ultraviolet light that can be transmitted through typical packaging materials, such as PET and olefins (HDPE and PP).

Q: How much UV light are consumer products exposed to?

A: Because factors in the supply chain are variable, it is difficult to say with certainty the precise amount of UV exposure a package receives. However, knowing how susceptible certain ingredients are to UV light can help brand owners make informed decisions about protecting their products from the potential damaging effects of UV light.

Q: How does UV light affect cosmetics and personal care products?

A: Colors in cosmetic and personal care products can be degraded by UV light, for example. At Eastman, we recently tested some of the most widely used dyes in common personal care products such as facial astringents, body washes and shampoos. Their sensitivity to UV light was measured by putting the products in PET bottles with UV light barrier and PET bottles without UV protection, exposing them to sunlight, and then measuring how the products faded over time.

We found that dyes such as external D&C Violet #2 and FD&C Blue #1 are especially susceptible to light. On the other hand, we found FD&C Yellow # 10 and FD&C Green #3 to be less susceptible.

Q: Do the same dyes behave similarly in different formulations?

A: An excellent question, and the answer is no. Our study found that the same dye can behave differently depending on the ingredients in the product. For example, the same FD&C Blue #1 dye that faded so quickly in a facial astringent lasted much longer in a body wash. This could be because of the interaction of different ingredients, or even the fact that the consistency of the body wash is much different.

Q: How can brand owners and cosmetic and personal care packagers protect their consumer goods from UV light?

A: There are various packaging materials available with properties that are specifically designed for cosmetic and health and beauty aid containers. However, only advanced packaging materials such as PET resins that contain essential UV light absorbers can help protect a product from damaging UVA exposure and ultimately preserve colors. For example, resins like Vitiva™ PET (see sidebar) is formulated with UV inhibitors that absorb damaging wavelengths of light and do not allow them to penetrate the container.

Vitiva's UV protection is chemically bonded to the polymer resin itself. It is, therefore, a drop-in replacement for traditional PET. In addition, Vitiva's UV guard is not an additive, so manufacturers don't have to worry about it leaching into the product itself.

Q: How can cosmetic and personal care packagers ensure that PET bottles with UV inhibitors meet their specific performance requirements?

A: It is important to choose a PET solution with the proper balance between UV protection and superior manufacturing characteristics. Packagers and converters should select polymers that are engineered to enable high-speed production of bottles, exhibit excellent moldability and have good optical characteristics. The UV absorbing resin should offer excellent clarity and blend well with colors and tinters to produce a package with the look and feel that supports the brand.

Another important consideration is how much UV protection is actually needed, and there are three important variables: 1) the inherent sensitivity of the dyes in their product to UV light; 2) the average amount of UV light the product will likely be exposed to in its lifecycle; and 3) the interaction of ingredients in the specific formulation. In addition, dyes aren't the only ingredients that are adversely affected in personal care formulations. Our study focused on dyes, but we believe that many commonly used vitamins such as vitamin A, C, and E may be susceptible to UV light and will lose potency with exposure.

Q: How will using UV light-protected PET packaging affect the bottom line?

A: Brand owners retain customer loyalty by delivering consistent, high quality products that deliver the brand promise. Consumer purchasing decisions can be influenced by changes in product appearance caused by UV light. Even minor differences in color can compromise brand integrity and affect sales. PET with UV protection can offer brand owners a safe, convenient, and durable health and beauty aid material while maintaining a competitive cost position by eliminating the need for expensive additives.

Unique PET with UV Guard Protects Personal Care Products

To protect against harmful UV rays, Eastman Chemical Company, the world's largest supplier of PET resins for packaging, offers Vitiva PET for clear packaging of cosmetic and personal care products.

Vitiva's FDA-approved UV absorber protects some of the most popular ingredients used today, including external D&C Violet #2, D&C Red #33, and FD&C Blue #1 as well as vitamins A, C, and E. Vitiva PET has the UV absorber bound directly to the polymer chain, offering significant production benefits that deliver consistent, quality packaging. Vitiva's UV guard is not an additive, so manufacturers do not have to worry about leaching.

"We're offering brand owners and managers peace of mind," says Lavonna Buehrig, North American marketing manager of Eastman's Voridian Division. A drop-in replacement for standard PET, Vitiva PET requires no extra capital investment in machinery or tooling. The resin is capable of efficient blow-molding output rates and can accommodate 1-, 1.5-, and 2-stage bottle production.