Polyurethane-79 ●
TL;DR. This ingredient functions primarily as a synthetic film-former, helping products create a flexible, water-resistant layer on skin, hair, or lashes. It can support hold, wear time, transfer resistance, and texture in color cosmetics, sunscreens, hair styling, and similar formats.
What does Polyurethane-79 do in a cosmetic formula?
This ingredient functions primarily as a synthetic film-former, helping products create a flexible, water-resistant layer on skin, hair, or lashes. It can support hold, wear time, transfer resistance, and texture in color cosmetics, sunscreens, hair styling, and similar formats.
Is Polyurethane-79 clean?
From a clean-beauty perspective, this ingredient has friction because it is a synthetic polymer with limited skin-benefit rationale beyond performance. It is generally not a classic irritation concern, but it may be restricted by standards that screen out persistent synthetic film-formers or microplastic-type materials.
Is Polyurethane-79 sustainable?
This material is typically petrochemical-derived and is not expected to be readily biodegradable. Its main sustainability concern is environmental persistence after rinse-off or disposal, especially when used in formats that enter wastewater.
Is Polyurethane-79 COSMOS-approved?
It is not aligned with COSMOS-natural or COSMOS-organic standards because it is a synthetic polymer outside the usual permitted natural and naturally derived ingredient categories. Its Green Chemistry profile is weak due to fossil-derived feedstocks and limited biodegradability, despite the common use of water-based dispersions in formulation.
How does Polyurethane-79 work chemically?
The molecule is a high-molecular-weight segmented polymer built from carbamate linkages, with hard and soft segments that control flexibility, adhesion, and water resistance. It is often supplied as an aqueous dispersion and used at low single-digit active levels, where film formation depends on particle coalescence, pH, plasticizers or co-solvents, and compatibility with salts and surfactants.
Last updated 2026-05-13