FEATURE ARTICLES

The soothing, moisturising and anti-irritant properties of oat beta-glucan have been widelyrecognised for many years but despite being highly-regarded for its natural benefits for the skin, surprisingly little clinical data existed. This was principally due to the high cost and limited availability of existing sources, which severely restricted its widespread use.

Beraca introduces new biofunctional extracts sourced from four Amazonian fruits: annatto, acerola, guaraná and açaí. The new ingredients mark the launch of Beraca’s powdered extracts.

After three days in Barcelona, it was clear that in-cosmetics 2012 had been a resounding success and displayed an industry in excellent health with a rich seam of new products entering the market.

The story of how the original blemish balm creams became a ‘household name’ cosmetic item throughout the world illustrates how innovation can jump across geographical borders and take decades to develop into a popular consumer product.

Making Cosmetics made its first entry into the cosmetics industry’s calendar at the end of March 2012. The idea behind this new event was to take a view of the cosmetics process from ‘concept to consumer’, and look in detail at the various stages in between.

Without consumers and their needs, the cosmetic industry would not be enjoying the success it continually generates, yet often, consumers’ needs do not even get a look-in.

Traditionally, personal care products were relatively simple vehicles designed for functional benefits via the delivery of an ‘active ingredient’ to the skin to provide a specific benefit – moisturisers to address skin dryness; surfactants to clean hair; pigments to cover and enhance the complexion.

Testing personal care products using clinical trials is the gold standard for proving efficacy, but is often seen as too expensive to be considered cost-effective. However, formal proof that a product works is highly motivating to consumers, as demonstrated by the runaway success of Boots Protect & Perfect anti-ageing serum in 2009.

In the field of cosmetics, consumers are increasingly informed and demanding, and have understood the need to consume differently to care for both themselves and nature. They have become ‘consum’actors’.

The soothing, moisturising and anti-irritant properties of oat beta-glucan have been widelyrecognised for many years but despite being highly-regarded for its natural benefits for the skin, surprisingly little clinical data existed. This was principally due to the high cost and limited availability of existing sources, which severely restricted its widespread use.

The cosmetic industry has a lot to learn from others, and the food industry in particular can provide much inspiration. Cosmetic ingredients obtained from fruit and vegetables are now common in skin care products and the personal care industry is constantly seeking new sources for future actives.

What is all the fuss about regulating cosmetic products? Why do they need to be so carefully scrutinised? The beginning of the EU cosmetic products regulation harks back to the 1970s when several incidents involving the deaths of children from the accidental inclusion of the organochlorine disinfectant, hexachlorophene, in baby products which, at the time, was also used widely in adult cosmetic products such as soaps and facial cleansers.

Over many hundreds of years one of the key areas for the application of personal care products has been the face. The human face is exposed to the elements for most of the year, whether it be bright sunshine in the summer or cold, dry winds in the harshest of winters.

Today’s beauty consumers want it all. The savvy youth market seeks refreshing effects on application and ways to dramatise their appearance – along with perceivable benefits.

Age spots, also called Lentigo senilis, are small, localised, sharply circumscribed sites of hyperpigmentation of the skin. Contrary to freckles, which are due to an UV-induced increased, but reversible production of melanin, lentigines are caused by local hyperplasia (cell proliferation) at the basal layer of the epidermis.

Several research studies on aged people carried out by different research teams have highlighted the existence of a new theory in skin ageing named ‘inflammaging’.1–3 Skin inflammaging results from a combination of several deleterious pathways inducing a vicious cycle of micro-inflammation.

In the cosmetic industry, evaluating the reality and soundness of the claims is of primary importance in order to support advertising and marketing needs but more particularly to meet the regulatory requirements of different nations.

In the cosmetic industry, evaluating the reality and soundness of the claims is of primary importance in order to support advertising and marketing needs but more particularly to meet the regulatory requirements of different nations.

More and more, China is the country that global companies are looking to as the place to grow their business. This is understandable, as China has the world’s largest consumer base of 1.3 billion people, with the total value of the Chinese personal care market potentially reaching US$32.7 billion by 2014.

Across the personal care market, the past few years have seen a steady rise in the determination of companies to assert their ‘sustainable’ credentials. This has in many cases become a more dominant concept than ‘green’, but the two together have a considerable hold over the marketing and PR campaigns of many key players in the industry.