MiyoHAZE White wins award at « Allé Awards » ceremony

For this new edition, the event honored innovations concerning the entire product development process. This includes raw materials and ingredients, testing methods and tools, digital technologies, and formulations/finished products.

As part of this program, Miyoshi America presented MiyoHAZE White as a result of several years of co-development. This innovative material won the category for « Most Significant Color Cosmetics Base Ingredient »

What is MiyoHAZE White?

INCI Name: Magnesium Potassium Titanate

MiyoHAZE White is an innovative and multifunctional opacifying powder that can be used in a wide range of cosmetic products.

The unique properties of MiyoHAZE White allow for color fidelity in both dry and wet processing, high opacity, and smoothness in the final formulation.

Although titanium dioxide is an excellent choice in formulations for its many optical performances, current regulations in the food and cosmetic industries limit its applications. titanium dioxide has recently come under scrutiny by the European Union (E171) and the United States (Proposition 65), which have decided to consider it a possible human health carcinogen. The European Union has banned its use in the food industry as a coloring agent.

Although titanium dioxide has been used for centuries and its danger is not really established in cosmetic applications, formulators are trying hard to replace it in current formulas. Finding an alternative with equivalent properties to titanium dioxide is not easy. White powders combining purity, high coverage, stability, and offering the same performance are rare.

To meet these expectations, Miyoshi America has developed MiyoHAZE White. The platelet form of MiyoHAZE White, as well as its composition and crystal structure, offer optical properties similar to titanium dioxide.

What is the refractive index of light?

The index of refraction (IR) is the change in direction and speed of light as it passes from one medium to another. This is the case when a ray of light passes from air to water, or through a prism.

The color of a powder, for example, is the ability of an object not to absorb a specific wavelength but on the contrary to reflect it: the cherry appears red because it absorbs all colors except red.
A white powder like MiyoHAZE White appears white to us because it reflects the entire visible spectrum, which is precisely what we call white light.

The opacity of a powder on the skin results from the combination of:

1) The particle size of the powder

2) The refractive indices of the skin and the powder and

3) Their respective ability to reflect light

If the refractive index of a powder is close to that of the skin (the skin has an average refractive index of 1.56) then the light behaves as if there were no “obstacles” in its path = the powder does not have much coverage (like a Talc for example).

On the contrary, if there is a strong difference between the refractive index of the skin and the powder, the light is strongly deflected and the powder covers more, which is the case with MiyoHAZE White.

Refractive index of powders :

As this table illustrates, Titanium Dioxide has the highest refractive index when considering all the solutions for bringing whiteness to cosmetic formulas. By developing MiyoHAZE White, the Miyoshi Group is offering an effective alternative to the use of Titanium Dioxide with a high refractive index, even higher than that of Zinc Oxide. Furthermore, as illustrated in the table below, MiyoHAZE White is very effective in blocking infrared light, which is invisible to the human eye but is responsible for the significant production of free radicals in the dermis, degrading the antioxidant capacity of the skin and accelerating its aging.

White color in cosmetic formulation:

Finding an ingredient that remains white in both “dry” and “wet” conditions is essential in cosmetics. White is also essential for developing a wide range of different light shades.

MiyoHAZE White is able to achieve the same white intensity as titanium dioxide in both dry and wet conditions as shown in the graph below.

The L* value indicates the degree of brightness or absorption of the color.

• A value of L*=0 meaning total absorption or black,
• A value of L*=100 meaning no absorption or white.

The value can vary from 0 to 100.

In the table above, the change in L* value indicates whether the whiteness of the product is constant in wet or dry conditions.
MiyoHAZE White appears to have minimal change in L* value, which means that the whiteness remains constant whether used as a dry powder or in an oil solution.

As an expert in surface treatment, Miyoshi also offers treated versions of MiyoHAZE White to enhance performance and provide additional properties such as hydrophobicity, dispersibility, and sensoriality.