Our Hero Ingredient for Natural Deodorants
A key way in which our bodies regulate our body temperature is through sweating. Sweat uses our body heat to evaporate from the surface of the skin.
There are two types of sweat glands in the body:
- Eccrine sweat glands are found all over the body, including hands and feet. This type of sweat gland is responsible for temperature control so will produce more sweat on hot days and during exercise. Sweat from the eccrine glands consists of around 99% water, sodium chloride (salt) and traces of organic acids and urea.
- Apocrine sweat glands are concentrated in the underarms and perianal areas. These glands are activated by hormonal changes during puberty. Sweat from the apocrine glands is made up of 96% water, and a mixture of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids.
Both eccrine and apocrine sweat are odourless. Body odour associated with sweat occurs when bacteria starts breaking down nutrients in the sweat. Due to the little to no air circulation of the apocrine sweat glands, bacteria thrives in this environment resulting in a strong smelling body odour. Deodorants can be used to mask, reduce or prevent the development of body odour.
POLYFIX ZRC Odour Absorbers from Schill & Seilacher are biodegradeable, 100% Naturally Derived, COSMOS approved odour absorber. They are concentrates of zinc ricinoleate (the zinc salt of ricinoleic acid, a major fatty acid found in castor oil) complexes activated by special agents in a ready-to-use solution.
POLYFIX ZRC are capable of binding odour forming nucleophilic molecules. The molecules will be chemically fixed and cannot be released back into the atmosphere even when heated. They are water soluble, cold processable and won’t affect most fragrances within your formulation.
As well as deodorants, they can be used in other personal care applications to fight against body odour such as hand sanitisers, foot creams and intimate hygiene products.