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Choosing the Right Adhesive for Beauty Applications

Posted 02 Dez 2024 by Erin Pavlacky, North America Business Development Manager, Beauty

Consumers may be surprised at how widely adhesives are used in beauty products. From lash extensions to no-chip gel nail polish to lipstick packaging and beyond, adhesives are built into the form and function of everyday products.

Beauty manufacturers already familiar with this world, however, know all too well the challenges of manufacturing beauty products for consumers. Meeting strict regulatory requirements for safety and increasingly high consumer expectations drive the need for innovative adhesive solutions.

This blog provides an overview of beauty and cosmetic applications for adhesives, including how adhesives can help companies meet industry challenges and the range of uses for adhesives.

How Adhesives Benefit Beauty Applications

High-quality beauty products must be effective at creating a look and maintaining it over time. For example, eyelash extensions promising extended wear cannot come off after just one night. Adhesives are a critical ingredient for durable, long-lasting cosmetic products. Specialized bonding agents can keep artificial eyelashes and nails, wigs, and more affixed in a natural way. Without adhesives formulated to maintain bond strength, many beauty products would not meet consumer expectations.

Also, most cosmetic and beauty products are not intended for permanent use. This means that the adhesives used in products must be designed for detachment without harming scalps, nail beds, skin, or eyelids. Specially formulated beauty adhesives can alleviate damage during removal.

What Beauty Manufacturers Need in Adhesives

Many iconic cosmetic products from the past have not been safe for human use. For example, kohl, a black powder used to create heavy eyeliner for ancient Egyptians, contained lead-based components, a known harmful substance. Similarly, Queen Elizabeth I used lead-based makeup to whiten her face, which, over time, may have seriously affected her health.

Modern beauty products, in contrast, are highly regulated for safe use. Manufacturers must prioritize consumer safety in every product component—from formulas to applicators to cases to the adhesives used to hold everything together. Adhesives should have little to no scent and bond quickly without inflaming the skin.

Cosmetics adhesives must not cause exothermic reactions after longer-term wear or irritate the skin when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays, sweat, excessive moisture, and other contaminants. Since beauty products may be used for long periods of time under environmental stressors, adhesives must resist temperature and moisture to ensure effective bond strength for the entire duration of use.

Types and Examples of Beauty Adhesives

Commonly used cosmetics adhesives include synthetic rubber, acrylate, silicon, and UV- and light-cure adhesives. Examples of adhesives used in cosmetic applications include:

  • Lash adhesives for bonding natural lashes with artificial eyelash bands
  • Lash extension adhesives for bonding single or volume extensions to natural lashes
  • Depilatory wax and wax strips
  • Nail adhesives that use UV light for rapid curing of nail extensions
  • Hot melt, pressure-sensitive adhesives for press-on nails
  • Wig adhesives to fix wigs to the scalp

Partnering with H.B. Fuller for Beauty Adhesives

H.B. Fuller is a global market leader in providing a complete range of adhesives for the cosmetics industry. Our water-based, light-cure, and UV adhesives, including UV cyanoacrylates, are used extensively in cosmetic and beauty applications. H.B. Fuller has a full regulatory team to ensure products meet global and regional guidelines for consumer safety and uphold standards for product testing.

The team at H.B. Fuller Beauty also offers contracted services for tailored solutions. Our experts can help with formulation development, bulk formats, packaging developments, carton and master pack kitting, bottle and tube filling, and quality and regulatory services. We aim to help clients set beauty trends with innovative adhesive solutions for high-performing, safe products.

If you want to know more about how adhesives are used in everyday products, subscribe to our blog. Or contact an expert to discuss adhesive solutions for your next project.

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