Comparison of Pro Polymer and Reshape Gel: Impact on Skin Penetration and Efficacy
Asked by: malawadee
On: March 28, 2015
Product Type:
Cosmetics
Question
What are the differences between Pro Polymer and Reshape Gel, particularly regarding their mixing process (heat requirement, shearing), resulting gel structure uniformity, and how these factors influence skin penetration and the overall efficacy of active ingredients in a formulation? Which one is considered better for delivering actives into the skin?
Answer
Based on the information provided by cosmeceutical7 (C7), here is a comparison between Pro Polymer and Reshape Gel:
- Key Differences: The main difference lies in the mixing process.
- Pro Polymer: Creates a gel easily by simply dissolving the powder, no heat required.
- Reshape Gel: According to website information (C7 hasn't tried it personally), requires heat and sufficient shearing/mixing.
- Skin Penetration / Active Ingredient Efficacy:
- C7 suggests that the degree of oil emulsification doesn't significantly impact penetration, as long as the ingredient can emulsify some oil, which both likely can.
- The critical factor affecting active ingredient efficacy and skin penetration is the completeness and uniformity of the gel structure.
- Reshape Gel: Due to the required heat and sufficient mixing/shearing process, the resulting gel is highly complete and uniform. The polymer crystals are uniformly structured and hold active ingredients well, preventing precipitation. C7 believes this leads to better skin penetration.
- Pro Polymer: While easy to mix and requiring no heat, it doesn't necessitate the same intense shearing/mixing, meaning the gel uniformity might not be as high as Reshape Gel, which can affect skin penetration.
- Advantage of Pro Polymer: It does not require heat, which is a significant benefit for many heat-sensitive active ingredients (often expensive and key actives).
- Advantage of Reshape Gel (in terms of efficacy): The mixing process ensures a complete and uniform gel, leading to more effective delivery of active ingredients into the skin (as believed by C7).
- Additional Notes from C7: C7 personally likes the texture of Reshape Gel (from a LANEIGE product) which spreads easily and isn't sticky, despite the mixing process being quite complex and requiring careful heat control, which is challenging even for large factories.
In summary, although Pro Polymer can emulsify more oil, C7 emphasizes the uniformity of the gel structure achieved through Reshape Gel's mixing process as being more important for active ingredient delivery and skin penetration.