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* biodegradability.
*Ready biodegradability for select grades based on OECD Guideline 301 B tests conducted
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.
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 Sulfate*
Hair Care
Reduction in split ends – healthier, smoother hair with fewer split ends
Reduced hair breakage –strengthens hair, reduces breakage^
Cosmetics
Excellent smoothness and silkiness
Body Care
Non sticky
Lip Care
Great gloss that fades quickly
*Double blinded randomized controlled clinical study performed to evaluate the effect of this cosmetic product on the protection of skin barrier. More data available in the Shell Silk Alkane Brochure.
^Ex vivo test performed on similar formula, but without bisabolol. More data available in the Shell Silk Alkane Brochure.
Elegance & Performance
The purity of Shell Silk Alkane delivers strong hydration, smooth texture, and a soft and silky feel for skin and hair applications. With a broad viscosity range for tailored personal care applications, Shell Silk Alkane is a versatile, innovative solution for personal care and cosmetic products.
Ready biodegradability
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
Virtually free from manufacturing impurities, high stability against UV
Ready biodegradability
Biodegradable due to its lightly branched molecules and the lack of naphthenic content
Virtually odourless
Due to the production process design
Synthetic
GTL technology ensures synthetic consistency, stable chemistry, predictable properties
Shell Silk Alkane products were tested using a widely recognized method for assessing sensory characteristics of materials (following the ASTM E1490-19 standard).
Shell Silk Alkane delivered a smooth, silky sensation without leaving sticky residue. The results affirm its sensory elegance, making it an ideal ingredient for premium personal care and cosmetic formulations.
Foundation of Future-Forward Formulating
Effectiveness across diverse personal care applications
Tests demonstrated that Shell 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 verified*
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 biodegradability. 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.
Discover The Silk Spot
Elegance | Performance | Versatility | Biodegradability
Made for Performance; Designed for Possibility
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
*subject to application suitability confirmation and availability.