Enhance body wash performance with Primient's plant-based TEXTURLUX® thickeners
Last update on Sep 24, 2025
An interview with Meggan Hostetler-Schrock, Director, Technology Commercialization & Innovation at Primient
In today's personal care market, sustainability and performance are intertwined expectations. The ingredients are required to be natural, biodegradable, and sustainable without sacrificing on luxury. This creates a challenge for the formulators to balance clean labels with texture stability and sensory appeal.
Traditional thickeners, such as xanthan gum, struggle to meet these evolving needs in terms of lather quality and post-wash feel. To overcome these hurdles, Primient introduces TEXTURLUX® personal care range. This offers a plant-based, biodegradable solution that features:
- TEXTURLUX® RHEO
- TEXTURLUX® FEEL
These thickeners improve foam density, stability, and skin feel while minimizing stickiness and tackiness after rinsing. They are highly compatible with a wide range of surfactants and pH levels. Thus, they support the development of both conventional and eco-friendly body washes.
We interviewed Meggan Hostetler-Schrock, Director, Technology Commercialization & Innovation at Primient. She shares how TEXTURLUX® products enable brands to create high-performing, sustainable formulations that deliver a premium cleansing experience aligned with today’s market expectations.
#1. How does the TEXTURLUX® personal care range support formulators in meeting today’s demand for sustainable and biodegradable body wash ingredients?
At Primient, we know that today's consumers are more informed, knowledgeable, and environmentally conscious than ever before. They demand transparency and are looking for ingredients that are:
- natural,
- high-performing, and
- biodegradable
Meeting this demand requires careful consideration across the entire value chain — from ingredient suppliers to product formulators, and ultimately to the end customer. This alignment must address challenges such as regulatory constraints, diverse consumer preferences, product performance expectations for aesthetic appeal, and ingredient benchmarks for stability and effectiveness.
Primient’s TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL product lines are biodegradable, naturally derived thickeners that enhance body wash performance by improving lather and skin feel while reducing post-wash stickiness.
These product lines are compatible with various surfactants and pH ranges. They help simplify formulation, meet sustainability and regulatory needs, and outperform traditional formulary options like xanthan gum.
 |  |
#2. Can you explain how TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL enhance the sensory profile of body washes compared to traditional thickeners like xanthan gum?
TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL offer a plant-based alternative to traditional ingredients used to thicken body wash products.
Consumer sensory panels rated formulations containing TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL as superior in skin smoothness, softness, and hydration, delivering a premium feel comparable to or better than leading commercial formulations that contain traditional thickeners like xanthan gum.
These TEXTURLUX® ingredients enhance the sensory experience, from lathering to post-wash feel, making them ideal for premium and eco-conscious body wash formulations.
#3. One of the key industry challenges is reducing post-wash stickiness. How do TEXTURLUX® additives address this issue?
TEXTURLUX® ingredients were developed with a special structure to reduce starch-polymer interactions and cohesion. Body washes formulated with TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL additives demonstrate significantly reduced stickiness and tackiness, offering a smoother and more pleasant feel during and after use.
Texture analysis confirms that TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL ingredients offer optimal adhesion, low stringiness, and superior cohesion, creating a smooth, easy-to-use texture in body wash products. Read more about the sustainable and sensory benefits of TEXTURLUX® here.
Comparing post-wash stickiness of TEXTURLUX® plant-based thickeners vs. xanthan gum
#4. How does Primient ensure compatibility of its starch-based additives with diverse surfactants and pH ranges during formulation?
TEXTURLUX® ingredients demonstrate exceptional compatibility with various additives, including surfactants, salts, minerals, and other ingredients. Its ability to synergize with cationic, anionic, and non-ionic surfactants provides formulators with flexibility in creating diverse formulations.
Additionally, TEXTURLUX® ingredients effectively thicken plant-based surfactants, which is ideal for use in sustainable and eco-friendly body wash products. This compatibility extends to wide pH systems of 3-9, with stable emulsions, making these ingredients a reliable choice for challenging formulations.
By combining these properties, TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL additives simplify the formulation process while maintaining premium product performance.
#5. What are some technical advantages of the TEXTURLUX® product line in terms of foamability and foam stability, and how do these benefits translate to consumer experience?
TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL ingredients assist in foam performance, helping produce denser, more stable foam compared to traditional thickeners like xanthan gum. Internal testing confirms slower foam destabilization rates, ensuring consistent and longer-lasting lather throughout use.
This dense, stable foam not only enhances the sensory experience but also adds a luxurious feel to the product. TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL additives enhance foaming formulations by preserving foam volume and structure, empowering formulators to meet consumer expectations for lathering performance.
#6. Could you share a specific example of how Primient collaborated with a brand or formulator to overcome a formulation challenge using TEXTURLUX®?
Primient is working with a major body wash producer using TEXTURLUX® RHEO as a thickener for its new naturally derived body wash. This ingredient is easy to process and helps stabilize foam structure with a luxurious feeling for consumers.
#7. How do TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL ingredients contribute to natural product claims and eco-label certification goals for cosmetic brands?
Primient’s TEXTURLUX® ingredients are plant-based polymers. As per ISO 16128 guidelines, the natural origin index of the TEXTURLUX® RHEO and TEXTURLUX® FEEL ingredients is 0.96. The natural, biodegradable composition of the TEXTURLUX® product family meets OECD 301B standards, aligning with growing consumer demand for eco-friendly and sustainable products.
#8. In what ways does Primient’s innovation approach help formulators stay ahead in the evolving personal care market?
Primient uses the structure-properties-performance framework to ensure consumers’ needs for plant-based product applications and sensory attributes are at the forefront of product design.
The Primient team will continue to develop innovative ingredients that are plant-based and biodegradable. These products help formulators to keep up with regulatory requirements, while also meeting consumer demands for more sustainable products.
Primient — View supplier offerings here
DISCLAIMER: All images and graphs used in this article are copyright of Primient.