Palmless™ by C16 Biosciences Unveils Groundbreaking Efficacy Data for Torula Oil

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--C16 Biosciences, the makers of Palmless™, has released a comprehensive new data package detailing the efficacy of Torula Oil, revealing performance capabilities that redefine what a single cosmetic ingredient can do.

Torula Oil, the company’s first ingredient made from biotechnology, is already commercially available and formulated into prestige products on retail shelves today, including Tower 28's ShineOn Plumping Lip Jelly, iota's Diamond Truffle Contour Body Oil, KraveBeauty’s 24 Carrot Retinal, and the Hydro-Ester Cleaning System (HECS) from NIOD, an Estée Lauder Companies brand. The new 2026 data underlines why these brands at the forefront of performance beauty choose to formulate with Torula Oil.

New Data Validates Torula Oil's Superior Multi-Functional Performance

Bridging the gap between high-performance actives and multifunctional emollients, new data reveals that Torula Oil offers significant functional advantages across skincare, color cosmetics, and hair care simultaneously, from a single ingredient.

“When we launched Torula Oil, we knew it was a luxurious emollient with a compelling biotech provenance story,” said Shara Ticku, founder and CEO of C16 Biosciences. “The data demonstrates this is much more than a beautiful oil. Torula Oil represents something the industry hasn't seen before: a single, fermentation-derived ingredient that functions as an emollient, antioxidant active, barrier reinforcer, and sensory enhancer, all at once, all with data behind it.”

Key findings include:

• Unmatched Antioxidant Capacity: In standardized in vitro DPPH testing conducted by Oxford Biosciences in May 2026, Torula Oil outperformed benchmark antioxidants including Vitamin C, lycopene, beta-carotene, and astaxanthin in free radical scavenging.
• Biomimetic Sebum Compatibility: Torula Oil features a fatty acid profile highly comparable to human sebum, comprising 31.4% palmitic acid and 10.2% oleic acid, imparting essential lipids that help counteract loss with aging. It also contains squalene and biobased sterols that mimic the function of natural epidermal sterols, directly reinforcing the skin barrier and preventing transepidermal water loss.
• Enhanced Makeup Formulations: Demonstrating better oil absorption than castor oil, Torula Oil allows formulators to use less oil to fully absorb pigments — delivering high pigment loading capacity, less greasy textures, and long-lasting moisturization.
• Premium Hair Care Sensorials: With a refractive index of 1.47, matching industry benchmarks like argan and jojoba oils, Torula Oil delivers the glossy shine of healthy hair while its bioactives defend against sun and environmental damage.

“We ran free radical scavenging tests expecting Torula Oil to be competitive with Vitamin C and astaxanthin, widely marketed as the most potent antioxidants available to beauty formulators,” said David Heller, co-founder and COO of C16 Biosciences. “Torula Oil outperformed both best-in-class antioxidants.”

The findings from these studies point to something larger than a single efficacy benchmark: a new class of ingredient that only biotechnology can produce.

“This is what the next generation of consumers demands: workhorse ingredients that are clean, natural, and perform on many dimensions simultaneously,” Ticku said. “Biotechnology isn’t just a better way to make things – it’s the best way to make ingredients that do more work for your skin and less work on the planet.”

About C16 Biosciences

C16 Biosciences is a New York City-based biotechnology company producing a portfolio of next-generation ingredients for consumer products and industrial markets under the Palmless™ brand. C16's platform produces multiple high-performance ingredients from a single organism - each backed by independent efficacy data, available at commercial scale. For more information, please visit http://www.c16bio.com.

About Palmless™

Palmless™ is C16 Biosciences' ingredient brand, offering a growing portfolio of fermentation-derived ingredients that no crop makes and no chemistry replicates across beauty, food, and energy. Learn more at www.gopalmless.com.