Materials Tech Pulse

Stress management has become a part of the fast-paced modern life. Intuitive and calming, stress toys have grown increasingly popular among consumers. Among these, oil-filled sensory toys, known for their visually dynamic fluid movements and soft feel, are among the most popular on the market.

Many oil-filled toys currently available on the shelves are made from thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) such as PVC or other polymers, which may degrade over time when oil-extended. Common issues include hardening, oil leakage, or discoloration, all of which negatively affect product lifespan and user experience. To address these challenges, LCY's hydrogenated styrene-butadiene copolymer (HSBC) is an ideal material for oil-filled sensory toys, offering superior durability, stability, and eco-friendly properties.

HSBC ensures long-lasting softness and stability while meeting market demands for non-toxic, phthalate-free, and recyclable materials. LCY's HSBC helps push the development of oil-filled toys toward higher quality and greater sustainability.

Applications and Advantages

HSBC is a high-performance thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), composed of hard styrene segments and soft butadiene segments, which are hydrogenated for enhanced stability. It offers the following key advantages:

• Durability & Stability: Maintains softness and elasticity over time, even in prolonged oil-filled conditions, without degrading or hardening.
• Eco-Friendly & Safe: Free from phthalate plasticizers, compliant with the European Union's REACH regulation and RoHS standards. Suitable for use in children's toys and tactile products.
• Low Glass Transition Temperature (Tg): Remains soft and flexible even in the cold without becoming brittle.

For stress toys, HSBC's excellent compatibility with white mineral oil ensures a stable and gentle user experience. It is suitable for a wide range of toys, including squeeze balls, liquid motion bubblers, and jelly squishy toys.

Areas of Application

With its outstanding properties, HSBC is widely used in oil-filled stress-relief toys and can be customized to create a wide variety of products tailored to different user needs. Below are some key application examples:

1. High-oil-content squeeze balls

Squeeze balls offer a soft and smooth texture and excellent rebound resilience, perfect for repeated squeezing, making them one of the most popular stress relievers on the market. Compared to other elastomer materials, HSBC can accommodate four to six times, or even higher, oil filling ratios, resulting in a softer, more durable tactile experience.

2. Jelly squishy toys

HSBC's ductility and malleability allow it to replicate the bouncy, jelly-like texture that consumers find soothing and comforting. These toys retain their shape even after repeated deformation and offer high tear resistance and shape retention.

3. Visual soothing toys

For visual sensory toys like sand timers and liquid motion bubblers that contain transparent fluids, HSBC’s high transparency and oil resistance help prevent yellowing, hardening, or leakage, extending the product’s lifespan and maintaining its appearance.

4. Fidget toys and stress relief products for Adult

As the market becomes more segmented, more stress-relief products are being developed for teens and adults, emphasizing unique tactile experiences and interactive design. HSBC can be customized in terms of hardness and rebound resilience to meet customization requirements and enable more advanced stress relief toys.

LCY's Technical Strength and Future Development

With its extensive expertise in elastomer technology, LCY has developed a specialized range of HSBC materials tailored for the stress relief toy market. These materials offer high transparency and excellent aging resistance, maintaining their integrity in oil-based environments without degradation or discoloration to significantly extend product life.

Through precise molecular structure control, LCY can also deliver HSBC materials with varying levels of stiffness and toughness to meet the needs of diverse toy designs. Whether for high-elasticity squeeze balls or liquid-based toys with unique tactile sensations, LCY provides optimal material solutions for each application.

Beyond performance, LCY is committed to sustainability by actively pursuing the development of low-VOC materials and recyclable elastomer formulations. Our effort is to ensure compliance with global environmental standards and supporting the industry's shift toward greater sustainability.

As consumer demand for premium stress-relief toys rises, material choice has become a key factor in defining user experience and product competitiveness. LCY’s HSBC offers the ideal solution for oil-filled stress-relief toys. Looking for high-performance, eco-friendly materials? Let’s connect. With advanced technology and tailored R&D support, we’ll help you develop premium products and unlock new market opportunities.