Shell Silk Alkane:
Discover The Silk Spot
To meet the growing demand for high-performing beauty and personal care products, you want your formulations to have it all: sensory elegance, functional performance, application versatility and ready biodegrability*.
Finding ingredients for your beauty and personal care formulations requires a balance between consumer expectations, regulatory standards, and practical formulation considerations.
Discover Shell Silk Alkane—an excellent mineral-oil free and silicone-oil free option for emollience and conditioning effect for a wide range of skin and hair care formulations.
This innovative range of pharmaceutical-quality synthetic fluids is derived from our proprietary Gas-to-Liquid (GTL) technology. It’s highly pure, safe by design, readily biodegradable and low in ecotoxicity. The exceptional purity and chemistry of the product range ensures compatibility with sensitive skin, delivers strong hydration, smooth texture, and a soft and silky feel for skin and hair applications.
*Shell Silk Alkane G 3, Shell Silk Alkane G 6, Shell Silk Alkane G 10 are readily biodegradable; Shell Silk Alkane G 18 is inherently biodegradable, based on OECD Guideline 301 B tests conducted.
Versatile across Applications
Enhancing the beauty & personal care industry through innovation and value:
Shell Silk Alkane products offer exceptional application versatility, making them ideal for a diverse range of beauty and personal care product formulation.
Skin Care
Increased moisturizing effect
– hydrates for soft, smooth skin
Sun Care
Enhanced skin barrier protection containing Sodium Lauryl Sulfate1
Hair Care
Reduction in split ends – healthier, smoother hair with fewer split ends
Reduced hair breakage –strengthens hair, reduces breakage 2
Cosmetics
Excellent smoothness and silkiness
Body Care
No sticky residue, skin-luminating, excellent slipperiness immediately after application
Lip Care
Glossiness without greasiness
Based on a study conducted by a Contract Research Organization with quality management system as certified by ISO 9001:2015 and Information Security Management System certified by ISO 27001:2013, both audited by SGS.
Following ISO 8586:2012 guidelines, fifteen trained panellists with proven sensory expertise were recruited to evaluate the Shell Silk Alkane range against other commonly used cosmetic emollients based on the ASTM E1490-19 standard for sensory analysis of skin creams and lotions.
1 Double blinded randomized controlled clinical study performed to evaluate the effect of this cosmetic product on the skin barrier. More data available in the Shell Silk Alkane Brochure.
2 Ex vivo test performed on similar formula, but without bisabolol. More data available in the Shell Silk Alkane Brochure.
Elegance & Performance
The high purity1 of Shell Silk Alkane enhances product stability and compatibility with other ingredients including actives, while its odour-neutral profile supports fragrance-free2 product formulations. With excellent spreadability, the readily biodegradable3 Shell Silk Alkane provides a versatile, innovative solution for a wide range of personal care and cosmetics products.
Ready biodegradability³
Shell Silk Alkanes G 3, G 6 and G 10 are readily biodegradable, are not persistent nor bio accumulative, and therefore align with the ambitions of the EU Green Deal which aims to reduce the burdens of chemicals on the environment.
Innovation that Matters
High purity
Pharmacopeia quality, low impurities, high stability against UV
Ready biodegradability³
Biodegradable due to its lightly branched molecules and the lack of naphthenic content
Virtually odourless
Supports fragrance-free product formulations
Synthetic
GTL technology ensures synthetic consistency, stable chemistry, predictable properties
1 High-purity paraffins with very low impurities, e.g., sulphur, olefins and polycyclic aromatics. Virtually no PAH and no MOSH & MOAH.
2 Supports fragrance-free product formulations. Can formulate without fragrance as our product is virtually odorless.
3 Shell Silk Alkane G 3, Shell Silk Alkane G 6, Shell Silk Alkane G 10 are readily biodegradable; Shell Silk Alkane G 18 is inherently biodegradable, based on OECD Guideline 301 B tests conducted.
The Shell Silk Alkane Sensory Profile
Following ISO 8586:2012 guidelines, fifteen trained panellists with proven sensory expertise were recruited to evaluate the Shell Silk Alkane range against other commonly used cosmetic emollients based on the ASTM E1490-19 standard for sensory analysis of skin creams and lotions. The Shell Silk Alkane range leaves no sticky residue immediately after application, reflects a high amount of light from the skin, and provides excellent slipperiness. Five minutes after application, it delivers a smooth, silky after-feel.
Foundation of Future-Forward Formulating
Effectiveness across diverse personal care applications
Silk Alkanes deliver high performance from smoothing, hydrating, and protecting the skin barrier to taming hair frizz and reducing static, breakage and split ends.
From skin, sun, lip and hair care products to cosmetics and cleansers, Shell Silk Alkane’s broad viscosity range supports various product types while maintaining high performance.
Discover Shell Silk Alkane, a new generation of innovative ingredients that provide mineral-oil free and silicone-oil free options, along with emollience and conditioning effects, for a wide range of beauty and personal care products. Shell Silk Alkanes are dermatologically and clinically tested and are vegan verified1
World-class Gas-to-Liquids Technology
Shell Silk Alkanes are pharmaceutical quality ingredients which represent the premium choice for personal care and cosmetic product formulations.
They offer sensory elegance, functional performance, application versatility and biodegradability2. Derived from Shell’s Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) technology, these synthetic alkanes offer purity, are highly stable and are safe by design, making them ideal for a wide range of formulations. Shell’s commitment to innovation and excellence ensures that Shell Silk Alkanes provide a reliable, superior quality, innovative option for beauty and personal care products.
Elegance | Performance | Versatility | Ready Biodegradability2
Discover The Silk Spot
Shell Silk Alkanes represent the premium choice for cosmetic products due to its superior quality and consistency.
We have incorporated Shell Silk Alkanes into a wide range of cosmetic formulations - Experience it for yourself.
Made for Performance; Designed for Possibility
1 Vegan verification: Chem-MAP, this product is free from animal DNA (mammals, birds, fish, insects, crustaceans, and molluscs), and produced in a facility that handles no animal-origin products to prevent cross-contamination
2 Shell Silk Alkane G 3, Shell Silk Alkane G 6, Shell Silk Alkane G 10 are readily biodegradable; Shell Silk Alkane G 18 is inherently biodegradable, based on OECD Guideline 301 B tests conducted.
* Subject to application suitability confirmation and availability.
Read full cautionary note at https://www.shell.com/investors/disclaimer-and-cautionary-note.html