Brochures Archive - Koster Keunen

The Development of Skincare

The
DEVELOPMENT
OF SKINCARE

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MARKET INSIGHTS & TREND-DRIVEN
FORMULAS FOR THE FUTURE

MARKET INSIGHTS & TREND-DRIVEN FORMULAS FOR THE FUTURE

The future of skincare is not reactive; just like skin, it is resilient

As consumers move away from overcomplicated routines and algorithm-driven claims, formulation is returning to its physical foundation: structure, barrier integrity, and sensory intelligence.

Resilient skin begins with intelligent formulation architecture.

Koster Keunen’s expertise in wax engineering, lipid structuring, and multifunctional material design supports the development of high-performance systems that deliver:

Long-term moisturization

Barrier reinforcement

Climate-stable formats Sensory refinement

No matter if the system is an emulsion, balm or stick, material science becomes the silent force behind elevated skincare performance.

Market Evolution: From Correction to Resilience

The skincare market is shifting from aggressive correction toward long-term resilience. Consumers are increasingly aware of inflammation, environmental stress, over-exfoliation, and barrier compromise. Rather than pursuing rapid transformation, they are seeking recovery-focused systems that reinforce the skin’s structural integrity over time. This shift places renewed emphasis on skin lipid support, balance, and sustained moisturization without over processing the skin.

Barrier-supportive systems such as anhydrous recovery balms and structured emulsions are gaining relevance because they deliver measurable comfort, skin barrier support and lasting hydration. Multifunctional materials that create breathable films, reinforce the lipid matrix, and maintain elegant sensory profiles are now included into all future formulations going to market.

Texture as Performance

Sensory expectations have elevated significantly. Today’s consumer equates texture with efficacy. A formula’s melt profile, cushion, slip, and absorption speed are interpreted as proof of performance. Rich no longer means greasy; protective no longer means heavy. The demand is for controlled payoff, refined glide, and non-whitening protection—even in traditionally dense formats such as sticks and balms.

Wax technologies, solid esters and modern plasticizers are enabling this new generation of textures. By fine-tuning crystallinity, melt curves, and film formation, formulators can design anhydrous sticks that glide effortlessly, emulsions that feel substantial yet absorb cleanly, and serum systems that layer seamlessly within routines. Sensory engineering has become inseparable from functional delivery.

Craftsmanship in Formulation

Amid rapid technological advancement, there is a renewed appreciation for formulation craftsmanship. Rather than chasing algorithm-driven novelty, brands are investing in material intelligence—understanding how ingredients work together to create durable performance and refined aesthetics.

In this environment, engineered lipid systems and wax-based architectures are not background components; they are the foundation of resilient, elegant skincare. Regardless of the system format, material science is shaping the next generation of barrier-centric beauty

Recovery Balm

Recovery Balm is a pharma-inspired, anhydrous barrier system designed to reinforce compromised skin with lasting hydration. Formulated without petrochemicals and avoiding BHT and PAHs, it delivers elegant occlusion through engineered wax architecture rather than heavy mineral films. Creamy yet structured, this high-performance balm soothes dry, cracked, and rough skin while maintaining refined glide and long-wear comfort.

Recovery Cream

Recovery […]

Wax Excipients For Tablets

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About Koster Keunen

For over 170 years, Koster Keunen has been a global leader in wax manufacturing and innovation. Founded in 1852, Koster Keunen has pioneered advancements in wax technology, earning a reputation for unmatched quality, consistency, and technical expertise.

With multiple manufacturing facilities worldwide and the unique capability to support internal Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP), Koster Keunen remains the trusted partner for pharmaceutical applications, delivering solutions that meet the most stringent industry standards. All products are manufactured under GMP guidelines and produced in an SQF-certified facility.

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The Role of Wax Excipients in Tablet Formulation

Wax excipients are essential ingredients in modern tablet manufacturing. They serve multiple critical functions across the formulation: acting as binders and release-rate modulators within the tablet matrix, providing protective coatings, improving mechanical strength, and ensuring consistent drug delivery over time.

Key functions of wax excipients in tablets include:

Controlled & Sustained Release: Wax matrices slow the diffusion of active ingredients, enabling extended therapeutic windows and improved patient compliance.

Encapsulation: Surrounds the active ingredient to protect it from the gastrointestinal environment until the desired release point.

Functional Form: Granulated wax forms are required for tablet applications, delivering consistent processing performance and reliable release results.

Higher Active Ingredient Efficiency: Wax excipients enable significantly higher active ingredient concentration with less filler, maximizing potency per tablet.

Melt Granulation: Improves flowability, compressibility, and stability of the formulation during processing.

Overcome Compression Challenges: Wax excipients support binding of difficult-to-compress actives, improving tablet integrity without negatively impacting dissolution.

Precision Dissolution Control: Wax excipients direct active ingredient release to the optimal point during ingestion, controlling where and when the active works.

Protective Coating & Polishing: Creates moisture-resistant barriers, improves swallowability, and delivers a professional tablet finish.

Reduce Tablet Size: Higher active loading enabled by wax excipients results in a significantly smaller tablet delivering the same therapeutic dose.

Tablet Binding: Wax enhances cohesion and mechanical strength, reducing chipping and friability throughout the tablet’s shelf life.

Regulatory Compliance & Quality

All Koster Keunen wax excipients for tablet applications are manufactured to the highest pharmaceutical standards:

Manufactured under current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) guidelines

SQF-Certified Facility

Compliant with National Formulary (NF) monograph specifications

Kosher Certified

Halal Certified

Regulatory documentation available upon request

Independent third-party testing available on applicable products, including pesticides, heavy metals, microbiological, residual solvents, hydroxyl value, and fatty acid composition

Research Study: Wax-Encapsulated Folic Acid Dissolution

In a dissolution study conducted by CellMark Ingredients in May 2026, Koster Keunen wax excipients demonstrated powerful controlled-release performance in folic acid tablet formulations. The study was performed using Gouming RC-1 apparatus in synthetic stomach fluid (0.1N HCl at 37°C), with UHPLC analysis to track active ingredient release over 6 hours.

Study Design**

Five tablet formulations were evaluated, each containing 75% Folic Acid, with the […]

What Is Bayberry Wax?

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WHAT IS BAYBERRY WAX?

Bayberry Wax is an ethically sourced vegetable wax obtained from the fruit of native Myrica species grown in Colombia. It is traditionally valued for its protective and conditioning properties. Its distinctive sensory profile makes it a multifunctional structuring and emollient for next-generation cosmetic formulations.

KEY FEATURES & BENEFITS

The Best Buttery Texture

Creates butter texture emulsions and creams

Smooth glide, elegant texture and skin feel

Improves sensory richness without heavy drag

Medium melting point for elegant sensory profiles (40-55 °C)

Supports clean beauty positioning

Thickening & Structure

Ideal for balms, sticks, emulsions, and pomades

Provides structure and texture in anhydrous systems

Excellent compatibility in emulsified systems

Functional in soap and surfactant-adjacent systems

Offers solid format innovation

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To request a wax sample please click HERE.

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To obtain further details on this program, use information in your marketing story, or ask other questions, email us HERE.

APPLICATIONS & FORMULATION BENEFITS

FORMULATION GUIDELINES

Anhydrous: Enhances structure with improved skin fee

Emulsions: Contributes body and consistency

Creates breathable occlusive film

FORMULATION GUIDELINES

Flexible structuring in pomades and styling systems

Neutralizes shine and aids in formulating natural matte style systems

Supports viscosity building and cushion

REGULATORY

Improves stick integrity and glide

Supports payoff consistency

Compatible with pigments, powders and dispersions

Biodiversity-Driven Innovation

Bayberry Wax is sourced from a plant native to Colombia, unlocking the country’s extraordinary biodiversity potential. Traditional knowledge is combined with modern scientific innovation to create a material that performs in cosmetic systems while supporting environmental restoration. There is active work toward UEBT certification, reinforcing responsible sourcing and biodiversity conservation standards.

The fruit is harvested by Colombian farming communities, with a focus on:

Fair trade income generation

Replacing illicit agricultural activities

Forest preservation and environmental restoration

Supporting long-term socio-economic development

Sustainable wild harvesting and emerging plantation management

Alignment with Nagoya Protocol principles

Protects native trees from deforestation pressures

Builds long-term traceable supply chains

Active Hydration Lotion

Formula: #1/26-414/188/10098-6

FEATURES

Pumpable, moisturizing everyday lotion

Stays put with a non- greasy feel

All-natural formula

Skin Care

Emulsion

Natural/Clean

Vegan

Ingredient Trade Name	INCI Name	%
Phase A
Deionized Water	Aqua	70.0
Glycerin	Glycerin	4.0
Siligel	Xanthan Gum (and) Lecithin (and) Sclerotium Gum (and) Pullulan	0.4
Lincoserve WpH-LO	[…]

The Role of Plasticizers in Enhancing Stability and Texture

INTRODUCTION

Historical Context and the Birth of Modern Plasticization

Plasticizers in Personal Care Products: From 19th-Century Billiard Balls to Enhanced Tactile Performance and Skin Penetration

The concept of plasticization traces its origins to the 1860s, during a period of acute global ivory shortage caused by the booming popularity of billiards in Europe and North America. Traditional billiard balls were carved from elephant ivory, and besides its obvious and unnecessary brutality, supply could no longer meet demand. In 1863, the American inventor John Wesley Hyatt began experimenting with nitrocellulose, a rigid and brittle polymer. Pure nitrocellulose, however, was far too stiff and explosive for practical molding.

Hyatt’s breakthrough, patented in 1869–1870, was the addition of camphor as a plasticizer.[1] The resulting material, trademarked Celluloid, could be softened with heat and solvent, molded under pressure into perfect spheres, and cooled, and hardened into a tough, glossy product. Celluloid became the first commercially successful thermoplastic and ushered in the plastics/plasticizer era.

The principle discovered by Hyatt, that certain additives can dramatically enhance polymer chain mobility without chemically altering the base polymer, rapidly found applications far beyond billiards. By the early 20th century, a number of chemistries emerged for different matrices and applications, the most demonstrative among them being PVC where a rigid construction material (e.g. window frames) can be made into a soft and stretchy film (e.g. pool liners). Eventually, these plasticizers made their way into personal care products.

Today: Basic Necessities in Skincare

Modern personal care products are expected to deliver exceptionally high sensory and performance standards: uniform texture, lasting physical stability, a non-tacky finish, and a luxurious, smooth, creamy skin feel that consumers immediately associate with premium quality. Achieving these characteristics is far from trivial when one considers the complex, multicomponent nature of typical formulations. These systems routinely combine high-molecular-weight waxes (film-formers, thickeners), inorganic pigments and fillers, volatile and non-volatile oils, surfactants, fragrances, preservatives, active ingredients, and water, each contributing with different and sometimes conflicting physical properties.

Without careful rheological and interfacial control, the final product can become (excessively) brittle, prone to phase separation, or exhibit cracking upon drying. Films may lack flexibility, resulting in flaking, or become uneven, emulsions may feel greasy or sticky. All or any of these defects can directly translate into reduced consumer acceptance.

In the specific realm of skincare, particularly moisturizing products, efficacy historically revolves around three well-established categories:

Emollients: lipophilic substances that “repair” the skin surface by filling intercellular spaces and micro fissures in the stratum corneum, restoring smoothness and flexibility.[2]
Occlusives: materials that form a continuous hydrophobic film on the skin surface, dramatically reducing trans epidermal water loss (TEWL), basically a physical barrier.[3]
Humectants: molecules with some hygroscopicity, capable of binding water from the environment (or deeper skin layers, i.e. Epidermis/Dermis) and delivering it to the Stratum Corneum.[4]

For true emollient performance, the material must exhibit sufficiently low viscosity and favorable wetting properties to flow rapidly into microscopic skin crevices via capillary action. This process is governed by Young–Laplace capillary pressure, surface tension (interfacial) tension, contact angle, […]

Kester K-45

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Kester K-45

NATURAL LUXURY FROM JOJOBA

Kester K-45 is a soft, creamy paste of jojoba esters created by transesterification of jojoba oil and wax. This natural ester provides a smooth, luxurious feel while delivering emolliency, stability, and moisture retention. It is an excellent emollient making it ideal for a wide range of formulations. It offers non-greasy emolliency, oxidative stability, and a luxurious skin feel. It can be used in both wash off and leave on applications.

MULTIFUNCTIONAL BENEFITS

Moisturizes & Protects: Reduces dryness, roughness, and flakiness Strengthens Skin: Supports heathy skin barrier Luxurious Feel: Non-greasy, smooth sensory profile Color Cosmetic Performance: Enhances coverage, payout, and oxidative stability Hair Care: Reduces wet and dry comb friction, enhances shine

Request A Sample

To request a wax sample please click HERE.

Request Information

To obtain further details on this program, use information in your marketing story, or ask other questions, email us HERE.

APPLICATIONS Skin Care: Creams, lotions, serums, masks, balms Color Cosmetics: Lipsticks, foundations, primers Hair Care: Conditioners, treatments, styling products Sun & Baby Care: Sunscreens, after-sun, diaper creams FORMULATION GUIDELINES Use Level: 1–10% depending on system and desired effect Form: Soft white paste Melting Point: 42-48°C Processing: Add to the oil phase; process between 58- 85°C

AT A GLANCE

Skin Care Studies Coming

Sensorial Tests Moisture Barrier Skin Moisturization RIPT

Hair Care Studies Coming

Wet Combing Dry Coming Shine Sensorial Tests

The Hair Playbook

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The
Hair
Playbook

Hair care is having its moment; not quietly, but boldly, and with serious staying power. What was once a routine category is now an open space for innovation, storytelling, and sensorial luxury. Across the globe, the market is projected to climb from $96.9 billion in 2025 to $132.8 billion by 2035, with the real acceleration happening in the premium segment. Brands are raising the bar with sophisticated packaging, elevated textures, and formulas tailored to every hair type and routine. Hair fragrance is emerging as a new category, with sometimes purely perfumed, other times blended with shine enhancers or conditioning to offer consumers a final, luxurious step in their regimen. Scalp care is expanding fast, with treatments that borrow from skincare and focus on barrier repair, detox, and overall scalp wellness. Meanwhile, silicone-free systems are one of the fastest-growing movements, as consumers shift toward cleaner, lighter, and more natural-looking results without sacrificing performance. Youth and teen-focused lines are on the rise too, with

MARKET INSIGHTS & TREND-DRIVEN
FORMULAS FOR THE FUTURE

MARKET INSIGHTS & TREND-DRIVEN FORMULAS FOR THE FUTURE

By Jessica Dynda

vibrant packaging and intuitive products designed to evolve with age and build early brand loyalty. There’s also a noticeable rise in rice and jojoba-based formulations. These natural ingredients are used to boost strength, shine, and the overall look of healthy but now reimagined in modern formats. The message is clear: hair care is no longer background, it’s the headline. Clean, premium, multifunctional, and beautiful, this category is redefining itself with purpose and polish.

To meet this evolving market with intention and imagination, Koster Keunen is introducing six new hair care formulations that align directly with these global trends. Each formula has been developed as a flexible chassis: high-performance, on-trend, and thoughtfully designed to support further customization or go straight to market. Whether you’re inspired by the strengthening and shineboosting power of natural waxes, the luxurious touch of hair fragrance, or the clean performance of silicone-free systems, these bases give you a starting point. With the right developmental eye, each one becomes a launchpad for brand-owned innovation and exciting formulas that only you could bring to life. We’re here to provide the tools; the vision is yours. These are your blank slates.

Feather Hold Styling Cream

For soft structure without stiffness, Feather Hold Styling Cream delivers a natural, flexible hold with just the right touch of control. Built on Kostol ApiFree (our PEG-free alternative to PEG-8 Beeswax) this formula offers a clean-label fixative with low shine and a movable, lived-in texture. Universally adaptable across hair types, it’s the perfect chassis for everything from sleek sophistication to effortless, undone styles. A true “any look, any day” base for brands ready to own their styling space

Deluxe Cream Pomade

Sustainable Bayberry Wax and […]