FEATURE ARTICLES

Personal Care Ingredients Asia (PCIA) is well established as a “must visit” event and consistently attracts large attendances. From the inaugural show in Malaysia in 1997, PCIA has had an ever-growing reputation for bringing together formulators, specialists in personal care product manufacturing, and suppliers of raw materials and ingredients.

Be it Asia, Europe or United States, the search for alternatives to conventional preservatives is a big concern. Personal care companies are searching for alternatives to parabens and paraben blends, formaldehyde donors and isothiazolinones, just to mention a few. They are looking for broad spectrum, cost effectiveness, safer, naturally derived, label friendly, more global acceptance alternatives while at the same time being able to say preservative free.

During the last decade there has been an increase in consumer awareness with regard to chemicals used in everyday life. To this effect the pressure from consumers, pressure groups, media institutions and governments around the world has increased significantly on the safety of certain groups of raw materials used in personal care and cosmetic formulations. Fragrances, dyes, preservatives, surfactants and even naturally derived materials such as those of the tea tree have come under scrutiny or so-called attack. The evolving technology and techniques now employed in evaluating the toxicology of existing materials means that the safety of many raw materials is being scrutinised, reassessed and in some cases banned from use by regulatory and safety authorities.

It is now clear that Personal Care & Household Ingredients China (PCHi) will provide unrivalled opportunities for information gathering and networking. The new exhibition and conference has been designed to meet the requirements of the rapidly-growing market in China for personal care and household products. The first PCHi is being held at Intex, Shanghai, on 18, 19 and 20 October 2005.

Natural preservation is one of the most popular topics in the industry and attracts the attention of even the most traditional of formulating chemists. This article looks at the theoretical development of a natural preservative system. The traditional methods of preservation, many taken from the food industry are summarised and the latest raw materials on offer within the industry are evaluated.

Regulations for preservatives incorporated into cosmetic and other personal care products vary between the USA, Europe and Japan – listed here are regulations for Japan. Japanese colour regulations were featured in the May 2005 edition of Personal Care, and details of sunscreen regulations applying in Japan, the USA and the European Union were provided in the July 2005 edition of the magazine.

Anew generation of cationic conditioning polymers (Polyquaternium-67) has been engineered. Polyquaternium-67 (PQ-67) is a family of high viscosity quaternised hydroxyethyl cellulose (HEC) polymers with cationic substitution of trimethyl ammonium and dimethyldodecyl ammonium. These novel polymers were found to provide enhanced aesthetic feel and good compatibility with surfactant systems without the complication of associative thickening.

UV radiation can be harmful to the skin. UVB radiation has an immediate effect of causing erythema, while UVA radiation is suspected of causing long-term damage (loss of elasticity of the skin) and possibly melanoma. In addition to sunscreen products, many other personal care products have been incorporating UV actives to mitigate this damage.

Anthony C. Dweck FLS FRSC FRSH – Technical Editor
This article follows on from a Personal Care series reviewing Far Eastern plants which are known for their use in traditional medicine and which have also been shown to be excellent in cosmetic and toiletry applications.

Pierre-Yves Morvan and Romuald VallTe - Life Science Research Department, Codif International, France

Marine brown algae could play an important role in the cellular metabolism thanks to specific sugars and polyols naturally produced or induced after stress.

Unlike past conferences, ASCS 2007, the 8th Conference of the Asian Societies of Cosmetic Scientists, offers delegates a unique opportunity.

Naoko Mikami and Naoya Yamato - Ajinomoto Co Inc, Japan

In recent years, there has been a growing demand for a means to suppress sebum secretion and keep skin clean in young people, and exert anti-ageing effects in adults, as well as to suppress body odour in people of all ages.

16. Krisdaphong Ph.D., Dean, School of Cosmetic Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Thailand

Plants have been used in Thai traditional medicines for the treatment of diseases. Mangosteen, Garcinia mangostana L.(Clusiaceae), is a tree fairly widespread in Southeast Asian countries, and is known for its medicinal properties.

Ashoke K. SenGupta and Kevin Cureton - AMCOL Health and Beauty Solutions Inc, USA.

Solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation poses serious threat of human skin damage which may range from a short-term hazard like erythema, i.e., sunburn, to long-term hazards such as skin cancer and/or premature ageing of the skin.

Drom Fragrances International, Germany

Drom creates top-quality perfumes, which are marketed all over the world under the brand names of famous fashion designers, as well as developing personal care products, soaps and even special fragrances for cinemas.

Anthony C. Dweck FLS FRSC FRSH - Technical Editor

The personal care market is becoming obsessed with a number of concepts which seem to have become the norm for most marketers.

Alain Thibodeau, PhD - Atrium Biotechnologies, Canada

UV irradiation has been shown to have several effects on skin: DNA lesions; cellular apoptosis; immunosuppression and inflammation/erythema. With respect to actinic skin ageing - or photo-damage - the increase in matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activation and expression is the most recognised degradation pathway induced as a result of UV exposure.

Kunio Shimada, Hiroki Fukui and Koji Awai - NOF Corporation, Japan.

In this article, the authors explain the efficacies of polymer micelles in comparison to liposomes, which are widely used in cosmetic products. The data shown are those for a synthetic copolymer [INCI: Polyquaternium-61] of 2-methacryloyloxyrthyl phophorylcholine (MPC) and stearyl methacrylate (SMA).

With over 170 local and international businesses taking part and no entrance fee, the 2007 Personal Care Ingredients Asia exhibition will provide invaluable access to technical information and expertise for visitors. The event is being staged next March (13-15) at the JinHan Exhibition Centre, Guangzhou, China.

Soh Bee Hong - Sederma, Singapore

As the hair care sector looks to develop new products in order to drive sales growth, the relatively unexploited scalp care sector is becoming a focus for innovation.