Cooling Active Ingredients

22. July 2024

The so-called cooling effect through cooling active ingredients has always played a major role in cosmetics. Whether in summer heat, as a revitalizing effect after a strenuous day, to relax or to reduce swelling in various parts of the body, cooling the skin is in any case pure refreshment and a wonderful benefit for all the senses. And it definitely makes you beautiful: for example, if you’re struggling with puffy eyelids and dark circles under your eyes after a sleepless night or dancing the night away, cooling eye contour pads can provide relief in no time at all. The cooling effect of cooling active ingredients then serves as a quick freshness kick in the morning and gives a radiant open look in the evening.

Today, manufacturers have numerous cooling active ingredients at their disposal that work in different ways. However, the result is always the same: we feel fresher, more alert and more alive, while irritated skin is soothed at the same time.

What cooling active ingredients do

The pleasant cooling effect on the skin can be achieved either by physical action or by the binding of the respective active ingredient to a so-called cold receptor. The physical effect is evaporative cooling (caused by alcohol, for example): After-sun lotions are particularly worth mentioning here, as they usually contain alcohol in addition to gentler components such as aloe vera. Thanks to their rapid evaporation after sunburn, cooling agents such as alcohol ensure that the irritated skin feels cool and the burning pain subsides. In technical jargon, evaporative cooling is explained as follows: It occurs when cooling active ingredients (in this case alcohol) change from the previously liquid to a gaseous state of aggregation by falling below their own saturation vapor pressure. The increase in entropy (a measure of the disorder in a system) in the gaseous phase then extracts heat energy from the remaining liquid.

In addition, as mentioned above, the cooling effect can also be based on another principle: namely, the targeted activation of cold-sensitive thermoreceptors. The best-known example in this context is menthol. Menthol docks onto thermoreceptors and as a result indirectly triggers a strong nerve stimulus so that the body immediately feels cold. This also works the other way around with heat-sensitive thermoreceptors: capsaicin, which docks onto heat-sensitive thermoreceptors, leads to true sweating, among other things. Surprisingly, however, the cooling effect of menthol is not accompanied by a constriction of the vessels, but rather by a dilation. This effect is often exploited in medicine in conjunction with other substances (such as camphor for colds), because it results in better blood circulation to organs such as the nose or lungs. Externally, menthol is mainly used for insect bites and eczema. Menthol has not only a cooling effect in such indications, but also a soothing and itch-relieving effect at the same time.

Cooling effect in cosmetics

Cooling by means of an applicator with a metal ball is now widely used in cosmetics. It usually guarantees a strong instant cooling effect. This immediate cooling effect is achieved exclusively by the cool metal ball, but after application the cooling is hardly noticeable. Aerosol products in application form cool by evaporation. The evaporation of propellant gas is responsible for this. Aerosol products are mixtures of a gaseous substance and liquid or solid components.

Cosmacon offers the cosmetic service of a development with cooling actives, so that you too can soon offer such a product under your brand.

The most important cooling agents in cosmetics

But menthol and alcohol are not the only cooling active ingredients. Peppermint essential oil, for example, has a very refreshing and cleansing effect and is a boon, especially in the hot summer months. It also has pronounced antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties, but is still very mild and gentle on the skin. Eucalyptus oil is no less effective. It is mainly used as a mild antiseptic, reliable insect repellent and as a natural remedy for wounds, burns or even ulcers. Isopropanol is a highly water-soluble alcohol that evaporates very quickly and also has a cooling effect. It is used as a disinfectant, but is also frequently found in nail polish removers. Cooling active ingredients such as Frescolat are similar to menthol and give lotions, for example, a pleasant cooling effect, but are also found in antiperspirant products and in shower gels. Questice Plus can also be classified in this group. Questice Plus is a well-cooling active ingredient that has not only an immediate but also a very long-lasting cooling effect. Thus, it gives the skin a particularly pleasant and refreshing feeling. In contrast to pure menthol, Questice is much milder. Menthyl Lactate is a white crystalline substance and is not water soluble. The cooling effect is extremely mild and therefore also very gentle on the skin. The substance gives a pleasant freshness to the skin and is used, among other things, for shower gels. Anyone thinking of cooling active ingredients will also find camphor indispensable. Camphor stimulates the skin’s circulation and has a very invigorating effect, especially after sports activities. The substance is often used in massage products.

There are various cooling agents that are used in cosmetic products. In summary, some of the common cooling active ingredients are:

menthol: menthol is an organic compound extracted from the peppermint plant. It has a strong cooling effect on the skin and is used in many skin care products, lip care products, pain creams and cough medicines.
camphor: camphor is a white crystalline substance extracted from the wood of camphor trees. It has a cooling effect on the skin and is used in many pain relief products.
eucalyptus oil: eucalyptus oil is extracted from the leaves of the eucalyptus tree and has a refreshing, cooling effect on the skin. It is often used in massage oils, bath additives and inhalation products.
aloe vera: aloe vera is a plant that has a cooling and soothing effect on the skin. It is often used in moisturizers, after-sun products, and other skin care products.
peppermint oil: peppermint oil is extracted from the peppermint plant and has a refreshing, cooling effect on the skin. It is often used in toothpaste, lip balm and other cosmetic products.

We like to work with these cooling active ingredients:

Trade Name	Company	INCI
Menthyl Lactate	Hangzhou Rebtech Novel Material Co., Ltd.	Menthyl Lactate
AakoCool ML (Menthyl Lactate)	Aako BV	Menthyl Lactate
Cosroma ML	COSROMA	Menthyl Lactate
Corum 9230	Corum Inc.	Menthol, Menthyl Lactate
Frescolat Plus	Symrise	Menthol, Menthyl Lactate
Frigydil	Laboratoires Prod'Hyg	Menthyl Lactate
iCool ML	KimiKa, LLC (Formerly Cosphatech)	Menthyl Lactate
Frescolat ML Cryst. new quality	Symrise	Menthyl Lactate
SunCool ML50	SUNFINE GLOBAL Co., Ltd.	Menthol, Menthyl Lactate
AC-ML	SOHO ANECO Chemicals Co., Limited	Menthyl Lactate
AE CHEMIEKOOL ML	AE Chemie	Menthyl Lactate
Frescolat ML	Symrise	Menthyl Lactate
FRIOGEL	AQiA Química Inovativa	Menthyl Lactate
Frescolat ML nat.	Symrise	Menthyl Lactate
AE CHEMIEKOOL PLUS	AE Chemie	Menthyl Lactate, Mentha Haplocalix Extract
Frescolat X-cool	Symrise	Menthyl Ethylamido Oxalate
Questice Liquid	Givaudan Active Beauty	Menthyl PCA
Questice Plus	Givaudan Active Beauty	Menthyl PCA, Menthol, Dipropylene Glycol