On November 22-23 of last year, the Polish Society of Cosmetic Chemists organized the Second International Conference, ‘All for Cosmetics’. The conference was held in conjunction with the Faculty of Chemistry at the Warsaw University of Technology, and the Warsaw Academy of Cosmetics and Health Care. It was directed by Professor Jacek Arct and Professor Slawomir Majewski.
The Conference focused on the biological activity, physico-chemical properties and safety of cosmetic raw materials, together with evaluations of their efficacy. Topics were drawn from disciplines ranging from chemistry, physics and biochemistry, through analytical, dermatological and consumer evaluations, to safety, efficacy and toxicity questions. Cosmetics and toiletries represent a highly diversified field involving many sub- sections of science and art, because even in an era of high technology, intuition continues to play an important role. In this respect innovative raw materials and formulation techniques have improved the formulator’s ability to create products that can accomplish multiple tasks (Figure.1).
The discussions on dermatological side effects provoked by nickel sometimes found in make-up formulations, as reported by Anna Frydrych, or nanotechnology applied to cosmetics, broadened the horizons of all participants to the role now played by the Cosmetic Dermatologist. Improved knowledge of the biology of the skin and the development of innovative raw materials, technologies and cosmetic actives help cosmetic chemists understand how to develop and evaluate the multifunctional personal care formulations desired by the consumer. And people are demanding more performance from products of all types, including cosmetics. Just as telephones are capable of scanning and faxing documents, and computers play CDs or DVDs, cosmetics must satisfy growing consumer expectations by combining more than one function into a single product. This was a recurring theme during the two-days of the meeting, opening with advances in photoageing treatments reported by Professor Slawomir Majewski of the Dermatological Department of University of Warsaw and continued in my own presentation, principally based on the increasingly raised expectations of wellbeing sought today by consumers of cosmetics and dietary supplements (Figure 2).
Skin ageing and photo-ageing and the very interesting role of the so called cosmeceuticals combining cosmetic and pharmaceutical functionality were all featured.
Photoageing is a growing problem because people all around the world are exposed to too much sun; real protection of the skin from the damaging effects of the sun’s radiation has become a must. Thus the new wave of ‘Clinically Correct Cosmetics’ and dietary supplements which are being studied both in vitro and in vivo by chemists and dermatologists seem to represent the era of new multifunctional health products that combine the aesthetic appeal and benefits of traditional cosmetic products with therapeutic benefits (Figure 3).
New ways of formulating multifunctional skin care products were reported by Melanie Marcant from Noveon and Veronique Jay-Debaut from Greentech. The presented new raw materials making it possible to obtain respectively more stable oil in water emulsions with Pemulen-silsense, and immuno-modulating and soothing effects for sensitive skin by the use of Protectol.
But what about the new actives compounds? Interest was focused on the novel use of lipophilized aminoacids and peptides reported by Joanna Glówczyk-Zubek. Great interest was attracted by new molecules extracted from the plant Organia spinosa presented by Dorota Wójtowicz and by the interesting biological activity demonstrated by a copper-tripeptide complex and its skin penetration ability reported by Lena Mazurowska. Justin Mirocha focused on the synthesis and transdermal transport of new arbutin-derivatives, demonstrating greater penetration.
Staying with sun screening, the new Polysilicone-15 from Roland Jermann of DSM Nutritional Products Europe surely represents an important innovation. This polymeric sun filter has several interesting characteristics: it is not penetrative, it reduces the penetration ability of other sun screens, and it is able consistently to increase their SPF values, synergising the filtering activity of other screening agents. The computer-presentation is itself worth a mention – highly original and very effective (Figure 4).
Rossella Ingoglia from Solvay Solexis Spa demonstrated the ability of a new group of fluorinate compounds able to stabilize the activity, for example, of DHA, but also able to decrease the stinging sensation caused by alphahydroxy acids and to produce stable, multifunctional emulsions – an impressive characteristic.
The dermatologist Kamila Padlewska underlined the importance of regular testing of all cosmetic products by means of contact tests on human volunteers. Anna Pawelczyk and Agnieszka Kowalska spoke about the use of natural compounds such as plant-extracts as active principles, and natural and synthetic jasmine used as a fragrance. Methodologies must always be standardized in order to obtain the same consistent results in terms of product efficacy and safety.
The penetration of active compounds through the skin is of fundamental importance in cosmetic science. To this end, the formulation of appropriate carriers is a must both for cosmetic and dietary supplements. Professor Jacek Arct co-ordinated a number of sessions on this topic with presentations by Tomasz Wasilewski, Ewa Sobolewska and Agnieszka Rogulska. They took a detailed look at the development of ingredient mixtures; what kinds of emulsifier to use, and the influence of shape, size and ordering of micelles on viscosity and the efficacy of the carrier ingredient with different the actives (Figure 5).
We heard that the lipophilic properties of an emulsion may, for example, enhance or retard the penetration of ascorbic acid esters, and different liquid-crystalline systems may also affect the penetration of a carrier vehicle through the skin.
Nanotechnology represents not only the future of carrier vehicles but of active compounds too. An original application of this methodology was reported by Zev Lidert of Salvona, and the novel use of non-ionic metal colloids as novel active preservative compounds was brilliantly presented by Maciej J Pike Biegunski of the Nano-Technology Group Inc in the USA. The predicted use of nonionic nanoparticles of Ag as preservative agents for cosmetic products should be interesting when compared quantitatively against standard mixtures of antibacterial agents commonly available.
Packaging is a vital tool in designing cosmetic products, and this was the topic of Anne Emblem of the London University of Art. Product development staff commonly ask what packaging material should be used. For any combination of function, aesthetics, cost, and application the manufacturer has several materials to choose from. Many factors will be dictated by the product itself, and then the issues of shelf life, aesthetics, the market appeal of the product, the process technology to be used, strength, weight and safety requirements, distribution, product application and finally the environmental and resource impact of the chosen package must all be considered. A clear graphic is better than words, but a clear product description, preferably on the back of the pack, adds to consumer education. Therefore packaging plays a key role in supporting a product and some products simply would not exist without the proper packaging.
On Wednesday, the conference turned its attention to the hair. My fried Janusz Jachowicz from International Specialty Products USA, opened the session on the second day with a wonderful and well documented lesson on the image analysis methodologies used to measure the activity and efficacy of different products, both on hair and skin (Figure 6).
It was surprising to see how image analysis allows us to see and measure the potency of cosmetic actives with specialized products endowing hair with greater strength, or more lustrous appearance. The luminosity of the hair after a treatment or the reflection of light from skin treated to reduce the evidence of wrinkles, can both be measured and quantified. Using image analysis in conjunction with techniques such as Raman microscopy presented by Wojciech Fabianowski it is now possible study the effects and relative safety of hair colouring (Iwona Bialas), or to look the safety issues surrounding the use of parabens (Karolina Lelen). Finally by evaluating the penetration of active ingredients into the hair shaft, as reported by Stanislaw Krus, it is possible to measure the take-up of the products studied using cosmetic sensory analysis and to expose product to customer opinion during pre-launch market research. A well documented study on this topic was given by Katarzyna Pytkowska (Figure7).
Measuring the perceived and /or real performance characteristics of skin care products demands trial designs that can objectively quantify effects that may be supportive of the marketing claims made for a product. Thus when formulating Clinically Correct Cosmetics it is necessary to evaluate the more common dermatosensorial issues (itching, burning, stinging etc) that may lead to the skin barrier maintaining the normal homeostasis of the body. In the future with the increasing use of functionally active raw materials and with the new technologies able to quantify each molecular event occurring at the surface of the skin, we should finally address the true mechanism of action of different cosmetic products to meet the needs of the market and customers.