November 2018 Spray 29
Being uniquely positioned at the crossroads of pressurized
package innovation and consumer health care trends, I can tell
you that innovations in non-spray aerosols are on a meteoric rise
and in some very meaningful and important ways. Not only are
more products taking advantage of the benefits of pressurized
packaging, new and existing benefits are now available that simply
weren’t before. These can help with convenience, compliance and
overall consumer desirability—all leading to high levels of product
differentiation.
Innovations in health care
and prestige personal care
Given my current focus on Health Care and Prestige Personal
Care, I am in the position of observing numerous examples of
leading-edge innovation.
One example comes from the consumer health care space. The
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) considers sunscreen
products over-the-counter (OTC) monograph drugs, but regular
use, or compliance, is clearly not at high as it should be. According
to the American Cancer Society, one person dies of melanoma
every hour1. A UK study found that about 86% of melanomas
can be attributed to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from
the sun2. Further, up to 90% of the visible skin changes commonly
attributed to aging are caused by the sun3. With proper
protection from UV radiation, most premature aging of the skin
can be avoided.
Being classified as a drug, the FDA allows brand owners to
make claims related to protecting against the risks of skin cancer
and premature signs of aging, but often sunscreens can be heavy,
greasy or tacky, making them inconvenient or undesirable for users
to use on a regular basis. For consumer
health care products, products not used as
often as intended means a consumer is not
being compliant with usage instructions. After
all, what good is a sunscreen that people
are hesitant to use?
The Coppertone Whipped Lotion
Sunscreen product, launched by Bayer, has
addressed that issue head-on by leveraging a
unique patent-pending process that “whips”
inert pressurized gases into a traditional
sunscreen formula to create a rich, easyto
spread cream that goes on effortlessly
and finishes feather light and powdery on
skin. The resulting product is not a foam,
but rather a rich, creamy, reduced-density
cream that collapses and rubs in easily but
still has substantial body and “push.” The
approach allows for the transformation of
high SPF lotions, often seen as heavy and
difficult to spread, into something far easier
for the consumer to handle leaving a highly
desirable “huggable” skin feel. We’ve seen this type of technology
before in other consumer goods such as traditional aerosol
whipped cream, shelf stable marshmallow fluff and even tubs
of peanut butter, but never in a Bag-on-Valve (BOV) system and
never for sunscreen. This type of form innovation helps to drive
both ease of use and lowers the boundaries to everyday product
compliance.
Another potential use for this technology would be in the development
of products designed for direct application to irritated
and wounded skin. Some products intended to heal damaged
skin can be heavy and pasty, which results in increased drag during
application that can further irritate the user. This technology
helps to significantly reduce the viscosity of very
thick products, thus allowing not only an easy
push-button dispensing mechanism but a much
easier-to-spread product that more effortlessly collapses
and prevents the need to move a heavy slug
of product back and forth on delicate skin. As
an added benefit, the product is dispensed from
a closed system and can help significantly reduce
the potential for cross contamination between
applications as compared to the open jars and tub
products commonly leveraged for high viscosity
skincare products.
Another significant innovation is found in
the recently launched Kate Sommerville Tight’N
Cryogenic skin tightening gel. This product creates
a super-chilled foam that instills a deep sense
of cooling into the skin while helping to reduce
the appearance of fine lines. Perhaps even more
remarkable is the fact that it accomplishes this feat
while leveraging a high pressure liquid propellantinfused
formula captured within a spray-any-direction
BOV system, not commonly associated with
high pressure liquid propellant foams. It’s this exclusive approach
to design that helps to eliminate the need for shaking and also
helps to create an incredibly consistent product experience.
Aside from skin care, where else could this technology be used?
The opportunities are vast. Products intended to rapidly cool
the skin and constrict blood vessels during hot flashes, for quick
cooldowns after vigorous exercise and even tightening of pores for
enhanced cosmetic benefits are all fairly obvious. If we consider
the technology from a health care perspective, application to
hemorrhoids, itch relief and sunburn treatment could all be seen
as high value.
Future possibilities
Moving forward, what’s next? Non-spray aerosols continue to
grow and innovate in unexpected ways. Dual BOV innovations
will help to create a level of convenience and unique application
experiences never before possible for multi-chamber formulas.
Metered dose BOV will allow for single-dose foams, whips and
gels that will help to further drive applicability within the health
care segment and plastic aerosols will potentially drive a whole
new perspective on how aerosols are viewed. Spray
1Cancer Facts and Figures 2018. American Cancer Society. https://www.cancer.org/
content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-cancer-factsand
figures/2018/cancer-facts-and-figures-2018.pdf. Accessed May 3, 2018.
2Parkin DM, Mesher D, Sasieni P. Cancers attributable to solar (ultraviolet) radiation
exposure in the UK in 2010. Br J Cancer 2011; 105:S66-S69.
3https://www.epa.gov/sunsafety/health-effects-uv-radiation