FEATURE ARTICLES

Dr R.J.W. Hefford – Consultant, Independent Cosmetic Advice Ltd, UK

This is the second in a series of articles which gives an introduction into the science and technology of cosmetic products intended to colour the hair. This part deals with the basic structure of hair, how it is damaged and some basic aspects of how hair interacts with the molecules that can colour the hair. The first article in the series, reviewing the history of hair colouring, was published in the July 2008 edition of Personal Care Asia Pacific.

Anjan Ray Ph.D. – Honeywell International (India) Pvt Ltd, India

Less than two decades ago, the cosmetics industry in India was relatively local – with simple, largely undifferentiated formulations and, barring a couple of entrenched multinational corporations, just a few global brands representing a miniscule share at the premium end of the market through imports of fullypackaged stock keeping units (SKUs).

A wide range of topics will be examined during Innovations Seminars lined up for in-cosmetics India, which is being held in Mumbai on 17 and 18 September 2008.

Those attending the seminars will be able to interact with experts who are directly responsible for conducting new scientific research and who will be sharing their specialist knowledge. The development of concepts, and ensuing commercial opportunities, will be explored.

A free-to-attend Beauty Innovation Seminar will be staged on 17 September (14.00 – 14.45) with the title ‘How Eastern traditions are inspiring today’s beauty’. The presenter will be Ian Wilson of Mintel.

Grant Gibson Ph.D. – Emergent Technologies, USA Damon Borich M.D. – Reveal Sciences, USA

The personal care industry represents a more than US$300 billion worldwide market. As the global consumer becomes savvier through exposure to electronic media and advertising, the burden of proof for product claims is raised for new entrants to the market or for new formulations of existing products.

Aline Hueber, Christine Saecker – DSM Nutritional Products, Switzerland

If skin aged counter-clockwise when people turned 35 years, not only would consumers select their cosmetic products differently but also the whole cosmetic industry would have to offer completely different product categories. Of course this is just an attractive idea. Ageing proceeds in one direction and the skin unfortunately often shows the most obvious signs of ageing. The major telltale signs are reduced elasticity, poorer structure and appearance of wrinkles. Reduced turnover of skin cells and exposure to environmental factors (such as UV light), speeding up the process of skin ageing, are essential causes.

16. Reeve and Y. Vandenberghe – Rohm and Haas, France

Personal care formulations can vary enormously in complexity from relatively simple mixtures of a few components in a single phase, to multiple component systems based on mixtures of hydrophilic and hydrophobic ingredients in emulsions or suspensions.

Harald van der Hoeven, Sabrina John – CLR Chemisches Laboratorium Dr. Kurt Richter GmbH, Germany

For any living organism, presence of water at the sites where it is essential for normal functioning is crucial for survival. The outer layer of the skin provides a typical example of the human body preserving water at an essential site (in close proximity to a dry environment). It is therefore understandable that control of the presence of water is one of the fundamental properties of the skin.

Grant Gibson Ph.D. – Emergent Technologies, USA Damon Borich M.D. – Reveal Sciences, USA

The personal care industry represents a more than US$300 billion worldwide market. As the global consumer becomes savvier through exposure to electronic media and advertising, the burden of proof for product claims is raised for new entrants to the market or for new formulations of existing products. Unsubstantiated product claims and consumer suspicion influence buying decisions and drive the need for demonstrable proof of proper product selection and performance. At the same time, with advancements in cellular and molecular biology, an exciting new generation of products with novel anti-ageing, anti-wrinkle, clarifying, and beautifying elements are emerging. Unfortunately, many of these formulations are coming under scrutiny from skeptical consumers who are eager to see scientific data to support whether the product will work for them personally.

Dr Fernando Ibarra – Dr Straetmans GmbH, Germany

Alternative preservation is becoming more and more popular, and many products that claim to be “preservative free” or “free of synthetic preservatives”, “paraben free” etc are on the market.

Isabelle Imbert Ph.D., Anne-Francoise Clay, Joel Mantelin, Karine Cucumel Ph.D. – Vincience, ISP Global Skin Research Center, France

Mitochondria play a central role in metabolism and bioenergetics, and their main macromolecular structures have been determined down to the atomic level. However, the study of mitochondria is far from exhausted. Recent understanding of the essential role of mitochondria in the ageing process has raised considerable interest in a new anti-ageing approach that involves the development of new target molecules to protect against mitochondrial ageing and dysfunction.

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. By definition, exotic butters are naturally occurring, plant-derived lipids that are generally solid at room temperature, but melt readily on contact with the skin. The definition has been extended to include man-made butters produced via blending of natural (plant derived) oils with fractionated or hydrogenated oils to simulate the properties of a “butter”.

Sabine Hitzel – Merck, Germany

Within the past three years the cosmetic day care sector has been extended by a new cosmetic product class which brings the summer onto our skin – even in winter time. The labels of products of this new segment often include words such as “summer”, “holiday” and “sun” in connection with “natural tan”, “light hue” and especially with “glow”. All these products provide “A touch of summer for all seasons”, and the active ingredient which is providing the light coloration is dihydroxyacetone (DHA). DHA Rapid is a new composition based on DHA, and it is especially designed for the day care market.

Ulrike Marx, Torsten Krohn – Zschimmer & Schwarz, Germany

The development of personal wash formulations made a dramatic step forward during recent years. In the last century personal wash was just a step of cleaning the skin and not really seen as being a part of body care. Mildness has been an issue but more or less just under the aspect of skin irritation via protein denaturation. Moreover in focus are moisturising properties and influence on trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL). The main point is that beside mildness of cleaning the after treatment was the one seen as the “real” skin care, the repair and care function against influences of the environment and age, and damage via cleansing processes. The latter may not have been considered as such, because of the point that detailed information about structures of the skin and influences on the skin and its functions were not known that much in detail. Today we know that one of the very important points is to respect the skin’s own protective function. We know that water loss of the skin does not only mean dry skin, but may also influence skin metabolism, which may be slower in a less moisturised tissue. This can lead to increased ageing of the skin.1

Dr Michel De Poortere – Secretary General, Centre Européen des Silicones

Silicones are a great source of inspiration for innovation and their qualities are appreciated in thousands of products from wind turbines to fireproof clothing, prosthetic limbs and green tyres. Derived from sand, silicones are a wide family of products available as fluids, emulsions, resins, elastomers, waxes and blends.

Yoshihito Kawashima, Akinori Kiso, Naoko Kishida, Yoko Ito, Nobuaki Ohto and Toshimitsu Kambara – Maruzen Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd, Japan

Conspicuous pores, which can be caused by excess of sebum secretion, sagging of the skin and parakeratosis, constitute one of the major skin problems faced by women.1,2 The size of facial pores, which is indicated by total area etc, is increased with age.3 Facial pore deformation is also induced by decreased elasticity with ageing. Young women are aware of conspicuous pores on the nose, which can be caused by excess of sebum secretion. On the other hand, middle-aged women are aware of conspicuous pores on the cheek, which can be caused by decreased skin elasticity.3

Sophie Viala, Sebastian Dörr, Steffen Hofacker – Bayer MaterialScience AG, Germany

Polymeric film formers are widely used in cosmetics for various purposes. Film formers are the main active ingredients commonly used in hair fixative and styling products to hold individual hairs by creating a transparent substantive film on the hair fibres.

DIPL. ING. Katrin Steinbach, Dr Ulrich Schmidt – Eckart, Germany

Metal effect pigments have thin plateletlike particles composed of pure metals, e.g. aluminium and copper or metal alloys like bronze (copper/zinc). Unique beauty of the metallic colours derives from the play of light on the metal pigment surface caused by reflection and scattering of incident light. In the interplay with other colorants, metallic pigments are a versatile tool to adjust the shade of a colour as well as tinting strength and colour play.1 Aluminium pigments especially – as being additive to effects with many other colorants – can greatly increase the colour palette available to formulators if combined with organic absorption pigments and/or pearlescent pigments.

Mickey McDonnell – Honeywell Specialty Materials, US

What is a gel? Lots of products today are sold as gels, and many actually are correctly classified, although not all. Many people associate gels with thickness, and gels often do have that property, but not always. A gel has a distinct definition. If we know that definition and understand the basic physical principles governing gels, we will have good intuition to create and use gels to formulate better functioning and more innovative personal care products.

J.M. Carey, B. Moran, F. Shuster and B. Vondruska – Lubrizol Advanced Materials, Noveon Consumer Specialties, USA

Careful design of sensory properties can transform a skin care routine into a pleasant, memorable experience. Imagine being able to efficiently tailor sensory profiles to individual preferences. The Noveon Consumer Specialties group of Lubrizol Advanced Materials has developed visual tools that will enable formulators to easily select the appropriate products to meet desired formulation aesthetics and skin feel. These tools centre on proper selection of Carbopol polymer and Schercemol ester combinations to influence sensory properties, which is the essence of the SensiMap concept.

Marion Leschke, Wolfgang Siegert – Schülke & Mayr, Germany

The topic of preservation is always of importance to formulators and finished goods marketers. Formulators are aware of the necessity to adequately preserve their products in order to ensure product safety and be in compliance with legislation. This task is made much more difficult when marketing requirements are added to the factors influencing the preservative choice. Demands such as global approval, soft preservation, “free of…”, etc have limited the number of acceptable actives.