Lessonia, a leading supplier of natural exfoliators for the cosmetic industry is launching Celluloscrub, a 100% renewable and biodegradable exfoliating ingredient designed to replace polyethylene (PE) beads in cosmetic products. Celluloscrub is made of modified cellulose extracted from wood pulp.

While usual alternatives - such as shells, kernels, minerals, bamboo, rice, natural waxes, polylactic acid or microcrystaline cellulose - hardly equal their plastic counterparts in all their characteristics, Lessonia claims that Celluloscrub presents exactly the same high performance than PE beads: same white colour, same stability, same abrasiveness, same suspension capacity, etc.

Furthermore, Celluloscrub is approved worldwide, including in China.

The use of micro plastic beads as scrub material in personal care products has raised concerns among many environmental groups for its alleged impact on marine ecosystems. As a consequence, several leading cosmetics makers, such as Unilever or Lush, have announced their intention to phase out the use of these beads and are looking for environmental friendly alternatives.