Initiatives & Innovation
Continuing our report from the 2008 in-cosmetics, SPC shares more highlights from Amsterdam
Continuing our report from the year’s in-cosmetics, SPC shares more highlights from Amsterdam
Following the success of Beiersdorf’s Nivea DNAge containing folic acid, said to support healthy skin cell development, DSM is enjoying great success with its new folic acid material. Studies with cultured human fibroblasts have shown that folic acid promotes the growth of fibroblasts, stimulating the division of both young and mature fibroblasts. The fibroblasts were also more regular in shape (spindle-shaped) compared to non-folic acid treated cells. Another study showed 0.01% folic acid to increase the viability of fibroblasts after UV exposure by 58%. “It was Beiersdorf’s initiative,” said DSM’s Roland Jermann. “We realised something was going on when Beiersdorf started asking for samples and since the range has been out a lot of others have asked us about it so we’ve had to investigate how it works. Beiersdorf has a patent on its use in combination with creatine but otherwise it’s ok to use in skin care.”
Feel the difference
Sensory sophistication was another area where suppliers unveiled new technology. The demand from formulators to enhance the performance of a product through texture was cited by many suppliers as the reason for their latest launches.
Momentive Performance Materials introduced Velvesil FX gel, a gel product said to enhance the benefits of boron nitride powder by improving its processability and spreadability as well as the sensory experience for the consumer. The boron nitride is incorporated into a gel matrix and is suitable for use in colour cosmetic products such as foundations, pressed powders and products that give a soft focus effect. “Velvesil FX has given us a whole new texture – it’s neither a powder nor a gel,” explained Carla Emmons, skincare & colour cosmetics market manager, Momentive, “There has been a lot of interest for it at the show and we are currently awaiting a patent for the material.”
Lubrizol Noveon’s Carbopol polymer celebrated its 50th anniversary at this year’s show and to illustrate its versatility Noveon showcased SensiMap, a new customised formulating concept that offers several sensory solutions for skin care products. The concept features four themes that are illustrated by four prototype skin care products that use different combinations of Carbopol polymers and Schercemol esters. The prototypes have been designed to match a sensory profile and each theme aligns to a specific industry trend. “We are working as a global team on this project, with different themes for North America, Asia and Europe and the response from customers has been very positive so far,” commented Bryan Moran, R&D chemist, skin care application & NPD, US, Lubrizol.
Texture has also formed the basis of Arkema’s latest product, Orgasol Caresse, a new texture agent suitable for use in skin and sun care applications. The product is claimed to provide innovation for aqueous formulations such as oil-in-water emulsions and gels, and is easily dispersed in water continuous formulations. The ingredient imparts a very unctuous, silky texture to formulations, with no greasy after feel, according to Arkema.
A new surfactant blend developed for cleansing applications by Rhodia, Miracare Plaisant, is said to meet strong sustainable development expectations, including biodegradability, renewable ingredients, sulphate-free and VOC-free. The plant-based performance concentrate is also said to enhance sensorial benefits such as refreshing, mildness and soft after-feel, as well as providing superior performance on moisture retention, visual dryness and redness as well as good foam performance in sulphate-free body washes.
Also new from Rhodia was Mirasheen STAR, a pearlising agent said to deliver outstanding shine and opacity at low inclusion levels across a broad range of surfactant systems. Based on expertise in crystallisation, physical chemistry and surfactant formulation, Mirasheen STAR is said to have a specific crystal morphology that means it can deliver cost effective and magnified appearances, increasing shine and opacity, with a shine effect double that of a benchmark at the same concentration level based on a standard dosage. It is also said to be easy to handle. The company was also promoting its Miracare SLB as a high performance surfactant system for sensorial cleansing and Polycare Boost conditioning system. Both were initially launched last year but are now available worldwide.
In the best condition
Hair conditioning was a popular theme amongst many exhibitors with several new launches in this area. Following the green theme, Brazilian company Beraca launched Beracare BBA, an Ecocert certified organic conditioning active derived from the pracaxi fruit. The ingredient is quat-free, helps promote a greater viscosity in emulsions and is compatible with other cationic agents. “This product can be used in organic hair care products and is the only ingredient of its kind in the world for this market,” commented Cassiano Braccialli, from Beraca’s marketing department.
Dow Corning launched a new conditioning emulsion for hair care, which is said to outperform traditional silicone benchmarks. The CE 8401 emulsion is suitable for use in moisturising shampoos and conditioners and provides sensory performance in both wet and dry hair, as well as preventing the colour loss of colour treated hair, and an enhancement of body and wave even in rinse-off formulations.
BASF’s new Luviquat Sensation meanwhile is described as an innovative polymer for shampoos and hair care products with excellent conditioning properties. The polymer is a water-based solution that can be mixed directly into the shampoo formulation, helping to save time and money.
New from Laboratoires Sérobiologiques was Pilisoft LS 9760, a botanical hair growth inhibitor. It is an extract of the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre, said to prolong and enhance the effect of hair removal treatments thanks to gymnemic acids that reduce hair vitality and slow hair growth. As the rate at which hair grows and the thickness of the hair are dependent on the activity of hair follicles, using Pilisoft should make hair grow more slowly and more finely, making it easier to remove.
In rheology modifcation, Ciba presented Tinovis CD, a new anionic liquid dispersion polymer (LDP) in response to problems with residual odour. It is also said to offer superior performance, providing good focus condition and shear thinning to give a more uniform deposit, and give more natural colour with faster and longer lasting colour development. It is also said to have good wet and dry combing. “We can now compete in this area where there were two customer blocking patents and we’re getting very good feedback saying it’s better than commercial products,” said Colleen Rocafort, business head, polymer systems home and personal care. “We’re now looking at new monomers and new carriers in LDPs as a core area for Ciba.”
Body beautiful
In body care, a strong trend that emerged during the show was anti-stretch mark products. Pentapharm introduced its latest stretch mark solution, Regu-Stretch. The new compound is based on a synthetic tripeptide, panthenol and organic Marrubium vulgare extract, and is offered in a paraben-free, glycerine-based aqueous solution. The ingredient is said to provide excellent protective and repairing properties, particularly for the treatment of existing marks and the prevention of new ones.
Lipotec’s new Vanistryl product is also said to act on stretch marks, protecting connective tissue from deterioration and helping to reconstruct the Exracellular Matrix Components (EMC).
It was not so much stretch marks but love handles that were the concern at Soliance. Its new Abdoliance is described as the first slimming active designed exclusively for men and is said to significantly reduce waist size by up to 4.5cm in one month. The material is a synergy of natural actives – including a bitter orange extract rich in hesperetin and guarana extract – and is said to prevent preferential fat deposition in the abdominal area, something that is specific to men. It is also said to enhance lipolysis by modulating the key enzymes involved in this mechanism. “Basically, you can tighten your belt one notch after a month,” commented Laurent Sousselier, business director with Soliance. “It’s very much a consumer claim but we now find we need to appeal in this way.”
Soliance was also promoting Vegetan Premium as a self-tanning ingredient, a synergistic blend of DHA and an allomelanin-like compound that is said to outperform a DHA/erythrulose combination in vivo, producing a faster, more intense and more natural looking tan. “Our major customers are very excited about this material,” said Sousselier.
Actives from Sederma included O.D.A. white skin lightener to address pigmentation issues such as freckles, melasma and hyperpigmentation as well as the general darker colour of ethnic skin. Rather than mediating melanin synthesis reduction by direct inhibition of tyrosinase, this new material is said to inhibit the whole melanin synthesis pathway from the melanocyte nucleus by targeting the tyrosinase gene via the PPAR? complex. Sederma was also offering its new hydrating ingredient Aqualance containing an osmotic module to mimic estuary flora, particularly that of the microalgae Platymonas subcordiformis. In addition the company was featuring Ovaliss, designed to counteract the appearance of a double chin and reshape facial contours, and Essenskin to fortify and restructure thin and fragile skin of people aged over 60.
Natural actives supplier Sabinsa has recently extended its relationship with Evonik and was clearly enjoying the benefits of this. “Broadened distribution is the key benefit, but they also bring extra R&D which is incredible,” said Shaheen Majeed, md of Sabinsa Corp. “That helps us to develop with them but also to develop our own existing line. I’m sure there’s usually a lot of politics with a company of that size but Evonik is an excellent company to work with and there’s a great degree of openness. At in-cosmetics, Sabinsa was presenting what it termed new cosmeceutical ingredients derived from natural botanical sources. These include Glycerrhizinic Acid, Liposol Maleate, MonoAmmonium Glycerrhizinate, MonoLaurin, OxyResvenox, Red Sandalwood and Sapanwood. The last two are natural colourants.
Also presenting natural colours at the show was LCW/Sensient. Natpure Col is a range of natural dyes aimed to offer a complete palette of shades to achieve clear cosmetic products. Beta-carotene, beetroot, chlorophyllin and caramel are water soluble dyes that can be used to colour all aqueous products in orange, red, green and brown respectively. The oil soluble dyes curcumin, lycopene and chlorophyll complete the Natpure Col range in yellow, orange and green for the oily phase, but LCW/Sensient says they can also be introduced in water through the action of its Natpure Sol natural solubizer at low concentration to form completely clear solutions in water. The company was also showing its completed range of natural dye lakes, Natpure LC, plus a new line of natural coloured pearls, Covapearl Nat based on natural dyes and natural mica. The pearls are said to be bright, transparent and can be incorporated in make-up and skin care applications, but brilliance and adhesion can be enhanced by the association of a natural mica (Submica FL). The six pearl shades are yellow (curcumin), red (beetroot,) blue (anthocyanins), green (chlorophyllin), brown (caramel) and black (vegetable black).
Beauty from within
An increasing number of cosmetics companies are looking to develop drinks, supplements and beauty foods to complement their lines. As DSM has a dietary supplements arm it had devoted a corner of its stand to beauty from within. “There are existing customers we never thought would go into it who are now expressing interest; it’s something everyone would like to have,” said Jermann. “With our vitamins and carotenoids we have a good base.” Unfortunately, at the moment it is not moving so much in the other direction, ie from supplements/foods to cosmetics. To emphasise the concept DSM was offering beauty drinks on its stand.
Cognis also had beauty drinks on stand and was promoting nutricosmetics for beauty from within in the form of Xangold natural lutein esters, Tonalin conjugated linoleic acid and Omevital omega-3 fatty acids.
Indena launched Opextan, a new concept that merges ethnobotany and nutricosmetics based on standardised olive fruit extract. The product has been demonstrated to have efficacy both topically and through oral application, according to the company.
While ingredients suppliers wanting to show their new materials and share their technologies make up the vast majority of exhibitors at in-cosmetics, the show these days is attracting companies and associations with other agendas. For example, this year Boots took a stand. “We now have a global role and we’re here on a recruitment drive,” said the company. “We’re also looking for new concepts and the idea is to act as a magnet for global innovation. There’s certainly been a lot of interest in our centre for innovation.”
Another new face was the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV). “We were aware that some of the exhibitors might not know much about The Humane Cosmetics Standard, but we were made very welcome by the organisers and were very pleased to talk to interested visitors keen to find out more about the ‘Leaping Bunny’,” said BUAV’s cruelty free officer, Rebecca Ram. “Some manufacturers made time to come and find our stand which was encouraging. It’s really great for companies to embrace the cruelty-free message and give customers that reassurance before legislation on animal testing for cosmetics is introduced in 2009.”
Organic Monitor also took a stand for the first time. This business research and consulting company has carved out an important niche for itself, tracking the organic and natural sector globally. And in case anybody hadn’t noticed, cosmetics are now a hugely important part of that.
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