Meet the Newest Personal Care Ingredient: Ferma

On August 4, 2020, startup company Locus Performance Ingredients (Locus PI) launched Ferma (INCI: Glycolipids), a sophorolipid series of biosurfactants to replace toxic surfactants and eliminate health and palm oil concerns in personal care products. 

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“For decades, personal care formulation innovators had to make a choice: performance or sustainability,” says Tim Staub, CEO of Locus Performance Ingredients in Solon, Ohio. “At Locus Performance Ingredients, we believe in the power of having both. That’s why we developed biosurfactants that are palm-free, ethylene oxide-free, non-toxic, and have no 1,4-dioxane—making them some of the purest and safest ingredient options available—that also offer 5 to 25 times better performance than chemical surfactants. For the first time, it’s possible for companies to eliminate the use of these petrochemical-based ingredients without sacrificing performance or cost.”

Being palm oil-free, the ingredients reduce the environmental burdens caused by deforestation. The series provides more sustainable ingredient options, thus enabling lower usage rates and less carbon footprint by a minimum of 37%. With the new Ferma line providing accessibility to 100% bio-based and GMO-free versatile ingredients, personal care formulators will not run into regulatory challenges, cost issues, or consumer concerns.

Personal care has seen a rise in ingredients with sustainability and Locus PI applied that knowledge to the Ferma biosurfactants, enabling companies to simplify product labels. The Ferma line is multifunctional, readily biodegradable, and delivers the possibility of mild ingredients to outperform traditional petrochemicals in the industry.

This series is anticipated to appear on ingredient labels fairly soon as it has caught the attention of the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) market and fast-growing indie brands. The Locus PI experts are now looking into formulations to include Ferma in applications such as: 

·      Body wash

·      Moisturizers

·      Shampoos

·      Conditioners

·      Skin creams

·      Sunscreens and OTC lotions

·      Cosmetic emulsions

·      Hair color

·      Anti-aging face cream

For more information, visit Locus Performance Ingredients’ website.

[Images courtesy of Locus Performance Ingredients]

Jennifer Novoseletsky is a proud Illinois State University alumna with a journalism degree. She has been writing and editing for more than seven years—three in the skin care industry. While her heart lies in the city of Chicago, she currently resides in the suburbs, but is drawn to mountains and the outdoors.