Bioactivated oils: how enzymatic hydrolysis upgrades almond oil
Plant oils are a staple in skin care, but in their natural form they consist mainly of large triglyceride molecules. These give nourishment, but also a heavy, oily feel, and the skin cannot use them directly. Bioactivation changes that.
Learning from germination
In nature, seeds store energy as oil. When a seed germinates, enzymes called lipases break the triglycerides down into fatty acids and glycerides, the building blocks that the new plant can use. Bioactivation reproduces this process under controlled conditions.
How HydrActive™ Almond Oil is made
Selected lipases hydrolyse sweet almond oil in controlled bioreactors. The result is a balanced pool of free fatty acids and glycerides, a composition that is hard to obtain by chemical routes. No harsh chemistry is involved, so HydrActive™ Almond Oil keeps a natural origin index of 1 under ISO 16128.
What bioactivation brings
- Light texture: the simpler molecules absorb quickly, with a light touch and very low oiliness.
- Soothing: after induced irritation, erythema and water loss decreased by 19% after 30 minutes and 24% after 60 minutes.
- Hydration and elasticity: +10% hydration and +9% elasticity after 10 hours in 20 volunteers.
- Formulation power: better emulsion stability than regular almond oil, co-emulsifying properties, and solubilisation of difficult ingredients such as 1% caffeine and 3% azelaic acid.
Where to use it
HydrActive™ Almond Oil can be used at 2 to 100%: as the entire oil phase of a face oil, as a functional emollient in creams, or as the base of a make-up remover. It is a natural partner for Azepur99® in oil-based products, because it helps dissolve azelaic acid.
Want to evaluate HydrActive™ Almond Oil in your own formulation? Visit the HydrActive™ Almond Oil ingredient page, request a sample kit or contact our technical team.
