FEATURE ARTICLES

James J. Ramirez, Larry S. Moroni – BioChemica International, USA

Contrary to what their name might otherwise imply, exotic butters being used in cosmetic formulations are not sourced from milk and contain no dairy by-products.

Paul Lee – Reed Sinopharm Exhibitions

China’s increasingly sophisticated and fashion-savvy middle class has catalysed the rapid growth of a RMB 70 billion (US $9.5 billion) cosmetics market1 – an increasingly meaningful market for multinationals in the industry.

Laetitia Marlier – Interpolymer Sàrl, France; Wim Van Drunen – Interpolymer GmbH, Germany; Eugen-Carsten Rothermel – Interpolymer Shanghai, China

The appearance of a product is often as important as the product itself. Being in competition with plenty of innovative toiletries or cleaners that are presented next to each other on the shelves of beauty salons, drug stores, and supermarkets, formulators of personal care products and detergents need to find new ways that give an appealing appearance to their own products.

R.S. Patrick and D. Cooper – CollTech Australia

Traditionally, collagen has been produced from bovine and porcine sources such as skin and tendon.

More recently collagen has also been produced from marine sources and protein substitutes derived from plants that are provided as collagen. Bovine collagen in particular has become less desirable due to safety issues surrounding transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Giancarlo Guglielmini – Sinerga, Italy

Azelaic acid is produced by the microorganism Pityrosporum ovale (and other species), which is responsible for the cutaneous disease known as “pityriasis versicolor”. This microorganism causes leucodermic spots on which melanin is not present. Its mechanism of action has been proved as a competitive inhibition of tyrosinase, the main enzyme involved in the formation of melanin.1-3

Anthony C. Dweck FLS FRSC FRSH – Technical Editor

Last year there seemed to be an obsession with litigation – with more companies targeted for compensation than ever before. Offered here are some ideas for fights ahead. Patience and a sense of humour are essential in order to retain sanity when a claim arises.

Bethany K. Johnson, Kim M. Quackenbush, Brian J. Swanton – Dow Corning Corp. Fiona Schuller – Dow Corning Australia Pornsak Raopattananon – Dow Corning Asia

Despite their widespread role in hair grooming, excessive use of chemical processes or heat styling can lead to damaged hair. Add the stress of daily combing and environmental factors such as UV radiation and low humidity, and the result can be dull, lifeless hair with split ends or broken strands.

Terri Germain – McIntyre Group, USA

Although people have been cleansing their hair and bodies for thousands of years, the personal care market continues to be dynamic and everchanging.

We originally used soap, a simple cleansing product. We then moved on to cleansing products that also soften the skin, condition the hair, and strengthen our nails. More recently we have personal care products that promote healing and reduce the signs of ageing.

19. Dumont, C. Garcia, M. Puginier, C. Stoltz, R. Roso, H. Geoffroy,
20. Trouve, Y. Duccini, B. Brancq – Seppic, France
21. Khaiat – Seers Consulting, USA

Melanocytes, located in the suprabasal layer of epidermis, produce two types of melanin; i.e. brown-black eumelanin and red-yellow phaeomelanin, responsible for skin colouration. Melanin is also known to confer photoprotection on the skin. Each melanocyte is surrounded by 36 keratinocytes, forming a so-called epidermal-melanin unit. Melanin is produced in specialised intracellular melanocyte membrane-coated organelles that originate from the endoplasmic reticulum, i.e. the melanosomes. These organelles contain tyrosinase, which is the rate-limiting enzyme for melanogenesis. Indeed tyrosinase catalyses the conversion of L-tyrosine to dopaquinone, which is required for the synthesis of both melanin types. Melanosomes are further transferred to neighbouring keratinocytes which can then bring melanin to the different epidermal cell layers while differentiating and migrating to the epidermal surface.

Julie Towle – Phoenix Fragrances, UK

Natural perfumery materials are currently enjoying a revival, partly due to the renewed interest in aromatherapy, with many products containing essential oils for their therapeutic benefits.

In recent years the demand for natural fragrances has never been greater, although historically, of course, all perfumes were made using naturals. It was not until the end of the 19th Century that synthetics first began to be produced.

Karin Cucumel and Riad Domloge – ISP Global Skin Research Center, France

It has become evident that stress is one of the major characteristics of our modern life, and shown in much data is that stress has a direct effect on skin health and ageing.

Stress can come from pollution, weather conditions, cigarette smoke, radiation, heavy metals, and ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Reflecting the vibrancy and growth in the market for personal care and home care products in China will be a major event to be staged in Shanghai, pictured below, in March.

Personal Care & Homecare Ingredients (PCHi) will be held at the Shanghai Everbright Convention and Exhibition Center from 17 to 19 March.

Trevor Barker – Cornelius Group PLC, UK Mike Padgham – REACH Facilitation Company Ltd (ReFaC), UK

REACH stands for Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals. It is the most onerous single piece of legislation to hit the European chemicals industry ever. Furthermore, this legislation’s far-reaching effect will have a major impact on the global chemical industry.

Anthony C. Dweck FLS FRSC FRSH – Technical Editor

The outlook for 2008 is not particularly promising as increasing legislation and marketing demands are faced by technical teams. Personal care sector formulators and manufacturers certainly need to be vigilant – on a number of fronts.

2. Auffray, C. Bernard, P. Racine and T. Roger – Robertet

Environmental protection is becoming a major preoccupation in most developed societies. A different lifestyle is gradually developing, based on a new understanding and more intelligent use of our natural resources. Sheltering under the umbrella terms of aromatherapy and aromachology, titles between which it is often difficult to differentiate, these sciences are destined for a positive future. The public is growing ever more demanding about efficiency and innocuousness in care products.

Michael Harmsworth – ESPA

Within our industry, it is often difficult to actually quantify what the consumer really thinks and understands about “naturals”. But before discussing their expectation of naturals, there is a need to discuss the consumer’s understanding of what a natural product actually is.

Pierre-Yves Morvan and Romuald Vallee – Codif International, France

The ageing process starts from the age of 20 when our cells produce fewer proteins.

Skin ageing is characterised in three ways:

• By a decrease in the thickness, firmness and elasticity of skin promoting wrinkles.

• By the unsightly effect of skin microcirculation in the form of spider veins on the legs or dark circles on the face around the eyes.

• By a reduction in the antioxidant capacities with, in particular, lower protection against UV.

Maria Theresa Luna-Lumain – DSM Nutritional Products, Singapore

Milk has been part of women’s beauty regimen since ancient times. Bathing in milk helped them keep their skin beautiful and young-looking. However, skin ages with time and with it comes the obvious effects such as dry skin and the appearance of wrinkles. Traditional methods to combat skin ageing include sound sleep, balanced diet and the application of moisturising and cosmetic products. However, modern approaches involve the regenerative biological stimulation of the tissue underneath the wrinkled skin. Peptides have gained popularity as anti-ageing actives in the personal care market today. This article discusses how a unique natural peptide mixture was developed and how it delivers the anti-ageing efficacy that it promises.

Facial contouring, firming of double chins, body firming and anti-wrinkle techniques have become strong claims of the antiageing care market. Now, a new solution derived from my own research targets the dermal network and its physiological plasticity. The plant extract spilanthes acmella offers key benefits for the next generation of anti-age applications. In particular, it exhibits powerful activity in stimulating, reorganising and strengthening the collagen network.

Ute Griesbach – Cognis, Germany

Consumer environmentalism is here to stay, but people’s concerns and their effect on purchasing behaviour vary enormously. The environment first became an issue of public concern in Northern Europe in the 1970s, when the realisation dawned that the world’s oil reserves would not last forever. People also started to worry about pollution, as the media covered stories such as smog, hormones in meat, glycol in wine, and the effects of pesticides and fertilisers. This resulted in the start of the organic farming movement, and a return to less intensive methods of rearing livestock. For the first time, people started to take an interest in how their food was produced, although there was little change in the purchasing habits of the average consumer.