FEATURE ARTICLES

One fundamental role of skin is to prevent water loss driven by unbalanced water contents between the inner body and the environment.

Traditional cationic compounds, referred to as quats, are used very commonly in the personal care industry as conditioners and softeners on the hair and skin. This is due to the fact that hair and skin have a net negative charge due in part to oxidation of sulfur containing amino acids.

Even though it is famous for its hydrating and skin-filling properties, hyaluronic acid is not as well known as it may appear. Although present to a higher degree in the extracellular matrix of the dermis, it is also found in the epidermis where its function presents an unused potential for hydration and overall skin restructuring strategies.

In our current technological era where information spreads easily and widely, the term genome is not unknown, being correctly understood as an extensivelyused natural storage system for the entire hereditary information of an organism.

Success in the personal care market is all about meeting the ever changing demands of consumers within a legislative and regulatory framework that affects every part of the manufacturing and supply chain.

Consumer expectations for today’s hair and skin care products are often led by fastpaced trends. As a result, personal care product development can be driven in part by visions of what might be – often before technology can catch up with solutions and products that turn imagination into reality.

Creating highly viscous or soft-solid oil phases without losing the sensorial profile is a task not easy to accomplish for cosmetic formulators. There are few possibilities and only a few ingredients that will have a viscosity-increasing effect on liquid oils without altering the sensorial profile.

The boom of the ‘male grooming’ market has long been touted as somewhat of a false dawn within the personal care industry. However, with the sector now valued at near £600 m, considerable growth achieved in each of the past four years and forecasts indicating that the upwards trend will continue through to 2017, has this prediction finally arrived?1

Consumers are increasingly aware of the damaging effects UV exposure can have on the skin. While people have used sun protection factor (SPF) as an indicator of protection against UVB radiation, and therefore burning for many years, the damaging potential of UVA radiation has come into the spotlight in recent years highlighting the importance of UVA protection.

The topic of preservation in personal care is heightening and is on the forefront of the minds of cosmetic companies, formulators, and consumers. There is an interesting divide in the way that certain consumers and companies are approaching preservation.

There is a general belief that natural and organic cosmetic products cannot deliver strong benefits and only basic claims can be achieved. This is due to the limited number of ingredients available to those who are formulating certified products.

The UK Society of Cosmetic Scientists (SCS) appreciates that everyone’s time is precious, so have worked hard to ensure that their annual event SCS Formulate is packed with content and has more on offer for visitors than there has ever been before.

An elevated percentage of individuals suffer from sensitive skin and every day more people are aware of this cutaneous problem and its implications, although another percentage continues having the same alterations without knowing it.

Reed Sinopharm Exhibitions announces that pre-registration for the seventh edition of Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients (PCHi) is now available online (www.pchi-china.com/en/Visitors/ Visitor-Registration).

It would be wonderful if we could maintain our baby skin and youthful complexion throughout our lives. Skin care creams can certainly help. As we age, our skin becomes dull. The moisture in our skin begins to fall below the normal 10%-20% moisture and it feels dry and flaky.

In cosmetic products, ascorbic acid derivatives are widely used, because of the instability of ascorbic acid (AsA) (called vitamin C as its alias). As a new nonionic and amphiphilic ascorbic-acid derivative, 2-glyceryl-3-octyl ascorbate (GO-VC), which is synthesised by introducing an octyl and a glyceryl group into ascorbic acid structure, has been recently developed.

Saponin rich extracts of the Chilean soapbark tree Quillaja saponaria were traditionally used by the Mapuche Indians for washing and for medical practices. Intense research in recent decades has further proven the applicability of quillaja extracts in food, feedstock and pharma.

Asia provides the greatest opportunity for fragrance marketers worldwide, but only if they understand the diverse consumer needs created by the region’s complex cultural and demographic dynamics.

Conditioning and moisturising are still leading benefits for hair care products in the Asia Pacific region including Australia and New Zealand, and across the globe. As a result the two terms are still key benefits, claims and trends for shampoos and conditioners.1

Healthy hair is something many people are searching for. Stress, pollution and hair styling techniques all serve to lessen the quality of people’s hair leaving it dull, damaged and lifeless.