FEATURE ARTICLES

Melanin is a pigment common to a variety of animals, plants and microorganisms. In humans, it resides in the skin, the hair and the iris as well as the retina of the eye. Melanin gives the skin its colour and protects it against the damaging effects of UV sun radiation.

Over the past several years, a number of scientific papers have been published that suggest the skin pigmentation process can be fully mapped by following the cellular pathways and the molecules involved in melanogenesis.

‘Free from’ claims are held to be controversial by many members of the personal care industry. While some within the industry believe that it is entirely valid to make specific claims on the absence of ingredients that have been very closely scrutinised and judged to be safe by independent scientific experts, others see such claims as wrongly/unfairly denigrating products that still contain these materials.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is approaching a new, highly anticipated milestone – economic integration through the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

Natural cosmetics are one of the very few segments of the personal care market which has shown strong growth over the last 10-15 years.

Formulating Cosmetics, together with Making Cosmetics offer a two-day event with more exhibitors and seminar content than ever before. Exciting new content awaits attendees this November with scientific, technical and professional content delivered by leading suppliers and experts.

Today’s lifestyles expose the body to all sorts of constant environmental stress which is difficult to avoid in a continuous and efficient way.

New consumer moisturisation and sensory testing has shown that by using a blend of Zemea and glycerin in a lotion formulation it is possible to improve the consumer perceived aesthetics without compromising hydration performance.

Initiated in the 2000s, ‘neurocosmetics’ refers to topical ingredients that work on the cutaneous nervous system to restore the mediator-receptor balance in the epidermis. It has led to new ways of inducing a positive action on the skin’s nervous system which results in increased skin health.

While most anti-ageing products promise to fight signs of ageing and turn back time, older skin care users are reported to be perfectly comfortable with their age.

Biomimetics is a cutting edge technology platform that involves the concept of taking inspiration from nature; its models, systems and processes and exploiting them to meet consumer demands.

in-cosmetics is to launch the first international technical summit dedicated to texture in personal care formulation.

Essential oils have been important contributors to personal care and medicinal products for hundreds of years, and offer a wide range of attributes, from fragrance to antimicrobial activity to anti-inflammatory benefits.

The SCS Annual Conference this year focused on ‘Naturals in Cosmetic Science’ and was held at the Royal College of Physicians on 1-2 July.

The Swiss SCC will be welcoming the international cosmetics community to Zurich from 21-23 September 2015 for the 23rd IFSCC Conference.

Since the global success of BB and CC creams in the West, brands and manufacturers are on the lookout for the next successful innovation coming from South Korea and cushion has the potential to take this route. Cushion compacts carry many benefits of what consumers look for in facial cosmetics, including long wear, flawless coverage, added benefits and easy-to-use format.

Natural and organic cosmetic products now account for 3% of all cosmetic sales across the world (source: Organic Monitor).

Trends in personal care continue their rapid rate of change – products that do more, increasing demands for efficiencies, faster acting, multifunctional uses, etc. The challenge is to respond with products that push the limits and to develop concepts that find an edge in the market.

A major unmet need of the cosmetic industry is the effective, natural and safe means to protect and detoxify the skin against environmental pollution to which it is exposed daily.

Syn®-Coll, the synthetic tripeptide from DSM, simultaneously boosts collagen production and protects against collagen degradation –two major factors in maintaining the structural integrity of skin.