Inolex’s Hurdle Technology is a layered, synergistic preservation strategy using multiple mild mechanisms to create a well-protected environment for cosmetics and personal care products.

By Bryan Taylor • Inolex

An effective preservation system protects more than product; it protects brand integrity. In the short-term, product recalls, due to contamination, impact sales. Long-term, these issues impact brand and company reputation, too.

Maintaining efficacy and legacy depends on an effective preservative system. According to Research and Markets estimates, the global preservation market is growing 10.1% a year and will reach $1.3 billion by 2032.

Several factors fuel the growth of the personal care product preservative market. Increased consumer demand for personal care products, particularly in emerging economies, is a major driver. In China, the FMCG market grew 3.4% in Q2 2025 driven, in part, by the “experience economy” and instant retail, with personal care, beverages, and alcohol categories showing particularly strong performance, according to NielsenIQ. India’s FMCG sector surged 13.9% in Q2 2025, according to ET Edge Insights. In Latin America, FMCG sales rose 4.6% last year, according to Euromonitor International.

The growing awareness of hygiene and personal grooming, coupled with rising disposable incomes, is leading to increased consumption. At the same time, the stringent regulations regarding microbial contamination in personal care products necessitate the use of effective preservatives. The ongoing innovation in preservative technology, focusing on safer, more sustainable alternatives, is further driving market growth.

Lastly, the expansion of e-commerce and the growing online retail presence of personal care products provide increased market access and sales opportunities. Global e-commerce beauty and personal care sales are accelerating, projected to exceed $350 billion by 2026, with online channels growing more than three times faster than in-store, according to WARC and Women’s Wear Daily. Some projections show 30.6% of total global beauty & personal care revenue coming from online channels in 2026. In the US, health and personal care e-commerce is expected to exceed $200 billion this year.

Intelligent Preservation

Whether sold in-store or online, protecting formulations efficiently and effectively is no easy task. Inolex uses a multi-pronged approach, Hurdle Technology, to ensure product integrity. Hurdle Technology was popularized as a preservation system in the food industry. It is an intelligent combination of different preservation factors or techniques ("hurdles") to achieve broad spectrum, mild, and reliable preservation effects rather than relying on one intense intervention. Hurdle Technology experts Lothar Leistner and Grahame W. Gould defined it in 2002 as an “intelligent combination of key hurdles (pH, water activity, temperature, electron activity).” 

The authors expanded their work in 2012, adding modern advancements focused on non‑thermal methods, AI‑driven predictive microbiology, natural antimicrobial systems, microbiome‑friendly approaches, and application beyond food into cosmetics and clean‑label preservation. Today, Hurdle Technology enables formulators to create safer, cleaner, 100% natural broad-spectrum preservation systems. In short, Hurdle Technology delivers many of the benefits sought by formulators, and ultimately, consumers.

A PE-Free Solution

Consumers and brands are moving away from phenoxyethanol (PE) due to rising safety concerns, regulatory scrutiny, clean‑beauty influence, and sensitization issues. Phenoxyethanol has increasingly become a “controversial” ingredient within the clean beauty movement. (INSERT IMAGE 1)

Consumers, especially those influenced by clean‑beauty media, avoid ingredients perceived as synthetic, harsh, or unsafe. Clean Beauty advocates categorize phenoxyethanol among ingredients suspected of irritation, hormone disruption, or environmental impact. Rising reports of sensitization and irritation, especially in leave‑on products, have been reported in dermatology literature. FDA warnings about PE in baby care products, further elevated consumer anxiety. No wonder then, that Clean at Sephora, Credo and other retailers restrict preservation options, including limiting phenoxyethanol, banning EDTA and banning formaldehyde donors.

Inolex’s modern preservative systems take center stage because they offer:

• Non‑biocidal, multifunctional, hurdle‑based protection
• 100% natural and biodegradable options
• Broad‑spectrum efficacy without PE
• Low irritation (ideal for sensitive skin formulas)
• Clean‑label alignment with modern consumer expectations
• Patented, globally validated technology

Phenoxyethanol is yesterday’s “acceptable compromise.” Inolex’s CHA-driven systems are today’s clean‑science solution.

Advantages of CHA vs. Other Organic Acids

Unlike traditional organic acids that require pH‑dependent protonation to work, Caprylhydroxamic Acid (CHA) works regardless of pH‑dependent dissociation, making it far more predictable and robust across diverse formula types. CHA is 100% natural, microbiome-friendly, multi-functional, biodegradable, and cold processable.

CHA supports mild, skin‑friendly pH formulations (pH 4.0–8.0), which are now standard in facial care and sensitive‑skin products. In contrast, benzoic/sorbic systems force the entire formulation into acidic pH zones (<4.0). That often makes them incompatible with skin‑barrier science and modern sensory expectations.

CHA provides core preservation power, while Hydroxyacetophenone (HAP) merely serves as an enhancer. Furthermore, HAP has been reported to cause photo-aggravated allergic contact dermatitis due to its presence in a sunscreen.*1

Specifically, CHA provides strong yeast and mold control, which are essential for achieving broad‑spectrum protection. CHA functions as a chelating agent, disrupting microbial metal‑dependent systems and strengthening overall efficacy. CHA serves as the foundational hurdle in Inolex’s preservation architecture (e.g., Spectrastat™). It enables mild, natural, preservative‑free systems aligned with clean beauty expectations. Spectrastat is a complete preservative system.

Many formulators understand the benefits of CHA. According to Mintel, more than 15,000 products globally contain CHA, with approximately 45% launched in Asia‑Pacific and around 50% across the U.S. and EU. Notably, over 85% of these CHA‑containing products carry Natural, Ethical, Eco‑friendly, or Clean‑Label “free‑from” claims. CHA is accepted by regulators around the world, including China, Canada, and Australia. CHA, unlike HAP, is supported by extensive human data.

Inhospitable to Microbial Growth

In beauty and personal care formulations, Inolex combines multiple techniques to create an environment that is inhospitable to microbial growth. The multiple techniques include various benefits from ingredients, as well as processing procedures such as common ingredient functions that create hurdles including membrane disruption and iron chelation.

“Hurdle Technology is more effective and milder than single‑preservative systems. Traditional preservation often relies on one strong biocide at high levels—an approach that can increase irritation, limit safety margins, and reduce formulation flexibility,” explained Miao Wang, VP-Research, Development and Commercialization, Inolex. “Hurdle Technology replaces this with a layered, synergistic preservation strategy in which multiple mild mechanisms work together to create a reliably protected environment. By adjusting pH, lowering water activity, chelating essential metals, and gently disrupting microbial membranes, these complementary hurdles reinforce one another, delivering broad-spectrum defense without relying on harsh, high dose preservatives.”

This integrated design is scientifically robust, technically versatile, and strategically aligned with regulatory and consumer expectations for safer, cleaner formulas. It offers stronger, more resilient preservation performance while supporting gentler user experiences and cleaner labels.

Key advantages of Hurdle Technology include:

• Synergistic multimode of actions—acidification, chelation, and membrane disruption collectively create conditions that inhibit bacteria, yeast, and mold more effectively than any single active alone.
• Improved skin compatibility—lowering individual use levels while maintaining strong efficacy and reducing regulatory pressure associated with aggressive preservative classes.
• Broad formulation flexibility, allowing preservation systems to be tailored to emulsions, cleansers, wipes, sunscreens, and a wide pH range.
• Support for modern “self-preserving” and clean label designs, meeting consumer expectations for gentle, safe, and transparent ingredient choices.

How It Works
Inolex Hurdle Technology contributes to product efficacy in several ways, including pH control, membrane disruption, and chelation.

Lowering the pH creates an environment where most microbes cannot thrive. Organic acids, such as CHA, remain active across a broader pH range and disrupt microbial metabolic processes, reinforcing overall preservation strength.

In membrane disruption (MCTDs, Glyceryl Esters/Ethers), amphiphilic molecules embed into microbial lipid membranes, increasing permeability and triggering leakage or cell collapse. This mechanism is particularly effective against bacteria and pairs synergistically with acidification and chelation.

In chelation, also known as metal sequestration, chelators like Capryl Hydroxamic Acid (CHA) bind essential metal ions (that is, Fe³⁺) required for microbial enzyme systems and replication. By depriving microbes of these cofactors, chelation slows microbial growth and amplifies the effects of other hurdles, particularly acids and membrane disruptors.

Polyols and other humectants lower the amount of free water available for microbial proliferation. Reduced water activity complements low-pH environments and multifunctional boosters to further limit microbial survival.

Finally, CHA is cold-processable. Cold‑process manufacturing protects sensitive multifunctional ingredients from thermal degradation, preserves their activity, and simplifies handling—supporting consistent performance of mild, synergistic preservation systems.

Regulatory Outlook

Regulations in China, EU, and US are rapidly converging toward safer, more transparent, and more sustainable preservation approaches. The European Union (EU) is tightening ingredient safety through new bans and restrictions under the 2024/996 amendment, while advancing environmental priorities. The EU direction is clear: movement toward biodegradable, low persistence systems and away from legacy chemistries with safety or environmental burdens.

US states and Canada are accelerating ingredient restrictions related to irritation, sensitization, toxicity, and environmental persistence. State level bans and Canada’s evolving Hotlist are pushing brands toward “clean listed,” low irritation preservation systems supported by stronger documentation, supplier transparency, and clearer labeling. The Hotlist can directly influence formulation decisions, ingredient sourcing, product classification, and regulatory compliance under the Food and Drugs Act and the Cosmetics Regulations.

CHA is fully permitted for cosmetic use in Canada. It is supported by Ministerial Conditions that affirm its responsible, compliant use in formulations.

China’s Cosmetics Supervision and Administration Regulation (CSAR) continues to elevate expectations for safety assessments, robust challenge testing, lifecycle substantiation, and electronic labeling. Ingredient oversight is expanding, reinforcing the need for defensible, science-backed preservation strategies.

Overall, global markets are aligning toward stricter safety, greater transparency, environmental accountability, and stronger documentation rigor. This raises the bar for how preservatives are selected, validated, justified, and disclosed—favoring integrated preservation strategies to build multi-mode actions, minimal irritation, and sustainability-driven principles.

The Impact of Social Media

Consumers demand transparency in ingredient sourcing and formulation. There is growing awareness about potentially harmful ingredients. Social platforms instantly amplify all concerns. These concerns create reformulation pressure, supply disruptions, and heighten scrutiny. Yet, “preservative free” claims often backfire by signaling reduced safety, so brands are better served by emphasizing science backed, integrated preservation, transparent microbial testing (USP 51 / EP A/B / PCPC), and microbiome minded design.

Consumer expectations now drive brand standards. As a result, formulations are clean, transparent, and evidence based. They include full allergen disclosure and stronger supply chain visibility. Formulas are microbiome friendly and formulated for skin. Therefore, brands prefer gentle, low irritation systems designed for long-term skin tolerance. Sensitive skin is a high growth product claim. Biodegradable product claims have become more important than all-natural claims in recent years. Sustainability plays an integral role in performance. Biodegradability, environmental compatibility, and cold process compatibility are often core requirements for sustainability.

Inolex offers preservation systems to meet these requirements. Finally, “trust through science” is preferred. Brands that clearly demonstrate safety substantiation, strong challenge test results, and intentional formulation design earn greater credibility and loyalty from regulators, retailers and consumers. •

Refererence:
1. Photo-Aggravated Allergic Contact Dermatitis due to Hydroxyacetophenone Present in a Sunscreen: A Case Report.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12503981/

About the Author

Bryan Taylor is an Application Scientist III with Inolex in Research & Development. He graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a minor in Chemistry, bringing more than seven years of experience in the chemical and cosmetics industry. He has held roles in production, formulation development, and customer care. Taylor has a publication on One-step Conversion of Agro-wastes to Nanoporous Carbons and a patent on Low Impact Manufacturing Techniques for the Formulation of Ceramide Oil in Water Skin Health Applications.

At Inolex, Taylor is responsible for the development and evaluation of skin care, hair care and sun care ingredients. In his prior employment, he was a Principal Scientist who guided brands throughout the process from start-up ideas to commercial products with an emphasis on technology transfer and scale-up. He can be reached at btaylor@inolex.com.