Stephenson launches first ever solid conditioning base

The new solid conditioner base is the latest addition to Stephenson’s established melt and pour range, and is a product innovation designed to help consumers reduce the use of plastic containers and use less water during hair washing.

Solid Conditioner base is an easy to use melt and pour product and requires a few steps to create your own personalised Solid Conditioner bars. The formulation can be tailored using additives of the customer’s own choice. The natural ingredients include behentrimonium chloride, a cationic surfactant which helps condition the hair, shea butter and coconut oil which provide hydration and hydrogenated Ethylhexyl olivate, a natural emollient within the base.

Each individual bar can last between 1-3 months, depending on hair type, thickness and length compared to a bottle, the bars lighter, slimmer and easier to transport, thus adding to its appeal.

In 2013, Stephenson became the first manufacturer in the world to launch a melt and pour soap base made using 100% RSPO certified sustainable palm and palm kernel oils. Named CRYSTAL SP SG, this pioneering melt and pour soap sat alongside Stephenson’s other RSPO product bases.

Stephenson personal care products, which are exported worldwide, are used in the creation of a wide range of finished soap bars and products by the simple addition of fragrances, colours and other additives. For the past seven years, the CRYSTAL SP SG soap has been assisting brands and large global manufacturers meet their sustainability ambitions and criteria. This is now the case for the entire melt and pour range which through ongoing innovation has been expanded to include over 30 products ranging from Crystal Donkey Milk and Crystal Hemp to Crystal Honey and the best-selling crystal clear soap base Crystal ST. All of Stephenson’s crystal melt and pour products are paraben, preservative and PEG free.

The solid bar hair care market is estimated to be worth around $10milion globally and shows signs of huge growth potential. This is due to increasing consumer awareness of personal health and hygiene combined with the harmful side effects associated with the long term use of chemical cosmetics and personal care products. Consumers are also consciously adopting packaging free personal care products in a bid to reduce their own plastic waste as evidenced by the popularity and growth of refill outlets.

Changing consumer preferences for natural ingredient-based product formulations due to benefits such as dandruff protection and hair fall control are also expected to further boost the growth of the shampoo bar industry over the next few years.

Commented Richard Musgrave, Marketing manager at Stephenson: “The growth of the solid bar market has been steadily increasing in recent years and is expected to continue as consumers look to limit their plastic use and conserve water in a bid to be as environmentally responsible as possible. Consumers really are calling the shots in terms of what ingredients they want to see in their cosmetic and personal care products and also how they are presented and what they are contained in.

“Our melt and pour range of personal care products has been constantly evolving for the past seven years in line with the explosion of eco demands and changing consumer trends. Sustainability is a key driver at Stephenson as this is a primary concern of the many global formulators we partner with. The development of our first-ever conditioning bar as part of this range is in direct response to these trends and presents a solid bar conditioner that is not only great for hair but the environment too.”

Find out more about Solid Conditioner Melt and Pour Base here or contact us here for more information.