plastic barrier laminated pbl tube

PBL Tubes – Plastic Barrier Laminate Tubes for Modern Cosmetic & Personal Care Packaging

PBL (Plastic Barrier Laminate) tubes are aluminum-free laminated tubes that offer a good balance of barrier performance, aesthetics, and recyclability. They are widely used for cosmetics, personal care, food, and household products. At Xinfly Packaging, we provide custom PBL tubes that support brand storytelling while meeting the performance needs of your formulas.

What Are PBL Tubes?

PBL tubes are a type of laminated tube made entirely from plastic layers, without an internal aluminum layer. A specially engineered plastic barrier layer provides protection against oxygen and moisture, while the outer layer enables high-quality decoration and a premium look.

PBL tubes are commonly used for:

  • Facial cleansers, scrubs, and masks
  • Body lotions, hand creams, and foot creams
  • Hair care products such as conditioners and treatment masks
  • Food products like sauces, condiments, and dessert toppings
  • Household and daily chemical products

With their fully plastic construction, PBL tubes are more compatible with recycling streams in many markets and often preferred for modern cosmetic and personal care brands.

Advantages of PBL Tubes

1. Aluminum-Free, More Sustainable Structure

PBL tubes do not contain an aluminum layer, making them easier to recycle in many regions compared with traditional ABL tubes. This aluminum-free construction aligns with the sustainability goals of brands and retailers focusing on eco-friendlier packaging.

2. Good Barrier Performance for Daily Use Products

The plastic barrier layer in PBL tubes provides effective protection against oxygen and moisture for many cosmetic, personal care, and food formulas. This helps maintain product texture, fragrance, and color over its intended shelf life.

3. Soft, Pleasant Hand Feel

PBL tubes feel closer to traditional plastic tubes, with a soft and flexible body that is easy to squeeze. This provides a comfortable user experience, especially for products used daily such as face wash, body lotion, and hand cream.

4. Premium Printing & Decoration

PBL tubes support high-quality printing with rich colors and fine details. Combined with special finishes such as matte, gloss, or soft-touch, they allow brands to achieve a refined, modern look on the shelf and online.

5. Versatile for Many Product Categories

Thanks to their combination of performance and appearance, PBL tubes are suitable for mass-market, masstige, and premium lines in skincare, hair care, body care, and selected food and household products.

Typical Applications of PBL Tubes

PBL tubes are especially popular in segments where a balance of appearance, barrier protection, and sustainability is required:

  • Skincare: Facial cleansers, exfoliating gels, BB/CC creams, sun-care products, masks.
  • Body & Hand Care: Body lotions, hand creams, foot creams, body scrubs.
  • Hair Care: Conditioners, hair masks, leave-in treatments.
  • Food & Condiments: Sauces, sweet toppings, and other semi-liquid food products.
  • Household & Daily Chemical: Cleaning gels, polishing creams, and other daily-use products.

For brands seeking a modern look with improved sustainability, PBL tubes are often chosen over aluminum-based structures.

Custom PBL Tube Options

Xinfly Packaging offers a complete range of customization options for PBL tubes to match your formula type, brand position, and target market.

Barrier Structures & Thickness

  • Different plastic barrier layer structures according to product sensitivity
  • Customized laminate thickness to balance flexibility and mechanical strength
  • Options optimized for cosmetics, food, or household chemicals

Diameters & Filling Capacities

Common diameters for PBL tubes range from Ø16 mm to Ø50 mm, with filling capacities from approximately 10 ml to 250 ml. We can recommend suitable sizes based on viscosity, application area, and retail positioning.

Caps & Applicators

  • Flip-top caps (round, oval, or flat)
  • Screw caps and stand-up caps
  • Long nozzles, slant tips, and other applicator designs
  • Custom-colored caps to differentiate product lines or fragrances

Printing & Surface Finishes

  • High-resolution flexo or offset printing
  • Silk screen printing for bold, opaque design elements
  • Hot stamping in gold, silver, or other metallic tones
  • Matte, glossy, metallic, or soft-touch surfaces
  • Registered varnish and spot effects for premium visual impact

Why Choose Xinfly Packaging for PBL Tubes?

Experience in Plastic Barrier Laminate Technology

We have rich experience in PBL tube development and production, serving cosmetic, personal care, food, and daily chemical brands with reliable plastic barrier solutions.

Stable Quality & Consistent Appearance

Our PBL tubes are produced under strict quality control to ensure stable laminate quality, strong sealing, and smooth, uniform appearance, even after multiple squeezes by end users.

Support for Brand Image & Sustainability Goals

We help brands balance design, performance, and environmental considerations, offering guidance on material selection, wall thickness, and decoration to support both visual identity and sustainability messaging.

Flexible MOQ & Global Service

From new product launches to mature high-volume lines, we provide flexible minimum order quantities and responsive service to customers around the world.

Frequently Asked Questions

Key points about PBL (Plastic Barrier Laminate) tubes: structure, barrier performance, sustainability, applications, printing options, MOQ, lead time and how they compare with ABL and mono-PE tubes.

Q1What is a PBL tube?
A PBL (Plastic Barrier Laminate) tube is made from multiple plastic layers, typically PE and an EVOH barrier layer, laminated together. It offers strong oxygen and aroma barrier with an all-plastic structure that is more recycling-friendly than traditional aluminum barrier laminate (ABL) tubes.
Q2How is a PBL tube different from an ABL tube?
ABL tubes use a thin aluminum foil layer for very high light and gas barrier, but the mix of foil + plastic makes recycling more complex. PBL tubes replace the foil with plastic barrier layers (such as EVOH), improving recyclability messaging while still providing strong protection for most cosmetic formulas.
Q3What products are PBL tubes best suited for?
PBL tubes are ideal for toothpaste, whitening and sensitivity pastes, active skincare formulas, sunscreen, hair colour creams and derma/clinic lines that need good oxygen and aroma barrier without using aluminium.
Q4Are PBL tubes recyclable or eco-friendly?
Modern PBL tubes can be designed as all-plastic structures, which helps align with PE/PP recycling streams in some markets. Combined with PCR content or wheat straw / bio-based layers, they support strong sustainability stories compared with traditional foil laminate tubes.
Q5What barrier performance can I expect from PBL tubes?
Thanks to the EVOH or similar barrier layer, PBL tubes provide excellent oxygen, flavour and aroma protection, along with good moisture resistance. For formulas that are extremely light-sensitive, ABL may still be preferred, but PBL covers most mainstream cosmetic and personal care needs.
Q6What printing and decoration options work on PBL tubes?
PBL tubes support a wide range of decoration: offset printing for multi-colour graphics, silk-screen printing for opaque, raised ink, hot-stamping for metallic logos, and spot-UV, matte / gloss varnish or soft-touch finishes for premium branding.
Q7What sizes and diameters are available for PBL tubes?
Xinfly Packaging can produce PBL tubes in common diameters from around D16–D40 mm, covering capacities from small 5–10 ml travel sizes up to around 150 ml. Exact ranges depend on your formula, closure type and positioning.
Q8What is the typical MOQ and lead time for PBL tubes?
Standard MOQ is usually around 5,000–10,000 pcs per size and design. Pre-production samples typically take about 7–10 days after artwork approval, and mass production takes approximately 25–30 days, depending on structure and decoration.
Q9Can PBL tubes be combined with PCR or bio-based materials?
Yes. You can specify PCR content in the PE layers, or combine PBL structures with sugarcane-based PE or wheat straw plastic components. This allows you to balance barrier performance with sustainability claims such as “Contains 30% PCR” or “Bio-based plastic tube”.
Q10How do I decide between PBL, ABL and mono-PE tubes?
Consider your formula sensitivity, shelf-life, regulatory market, design & finish level, and sustainability goals. For many modern cosmetic and oral-care products, PBL gives an excellent balance of barrier, design freedom and recyclability messaging. Xinfly Packaging can compare options and recommend the best structure.

Not sure if PBL tubes are right for your formula?

Share your product type, active ingredients, target markets and sustainability goals—Xinfly Packaging will help you compare PBL, ABL and mono-PE tubes and send tailored structure and printing suggestions.

Get PBL Tube Recommendation & Quote

Logistics Services

We maintain long-term partnerships with trusted global carriers including DHL, UPS, SF Express, and Debon.

Our logistics team — all with over 5 years of experience — ensures fast, safe, and reliable worldwide delivery for every shipment.

Professional Service

Our experienced sales and technical support team provides one-on-one guidance throughout your project.

From packaging customization to after-sales service, we guarantee clear communication and efficient solutions for your brand.

Online Support 24/7

Manufacturing Team: Skilled technicians with 3–5 years of experience ensure stable production quality.

Sales & Marketing Team: Fluent English-speaking professionals with 5+ years of international trade expertise, always ready to assist you around the clock.

Quality Assurance

Every product follows EIA and STD standards and undergoes five stages of automated testing to ensure 100% consistency.

Our factory is ISO 9001:2015 certified, compliant with RoHS, REACH, and UL standards, and regularly inspected by SGS and Intertek for quality and safety.

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