RECENT NEWS

The Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists has issued a call for papers for their 2011 conference at the Sofitel Hotel, Brisbane Central, Queensland. To be held on Thursday 7–Sunday 10 April, the conference is titled “The Science of Dreams” and people interested in presenting papers or workshops are invited to submit abstracts.

Chemidex, the search engine for personal care and cosmetics product developers worldwide, is changing its name to Innovadex. The search engine connects product developers with ingredient suppliers, samples, and the world’s largest online collection of technical documents serving the industry.

According to new research from Organic Monitor, imported brands are capitalising on high growth in the Nordic market for natural and organic cosmetics. The research finds that although the market is expanding by about 15% a year, few Nordic companies are interested in natural and organic cosmetic products.

UK botanical extract company, Jarvis, has won new business from Hong Kong and Thailand, helping to boost the firm’s extract exports by more than 18% over the past 12 months.

The business line Care Specialties of Evonik is introducing Tegosoft OER, a vegetable-based, enzymatically produced ester that not only imparts a caring, smooth, non-oily skin feel, but also is easy to formulate.

NuSil Technology LLC, a global manufacturer of silicone materials for the personal care, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, has announced the release of PCM-7919, a PEG/PPG-18/18 dimethicone compatible with a wide range of cosmetic ingredients.

Seppic has announced its adhesion to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) which promotes the growth of sustainable palm oil and the use of sustainable palm oil products through global standards.

TRI-K Industries has announced the appointment of Laserson SA as its exclusive distributor for the French market. Laserson will distribute TRI-K’s full line of specialty ingredients and proteins for the cosmetics and personal care market.

Effective July 13, 2010, Vantage Specialty Chemicals, a leading producer of specialty chemicals merged with Lipo Chemicals and its affiliates, including Ruger Chemical, Lipo Technologies, and Lipo’s affiliate companies that are incorporated in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, France, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, South Africa, and Venezuela.

In recent years, the personal care industry has struggled with balancing the need for natural ingredients with the danger of potentially destroying priceless natural resources. HBA and Lipo Chemicals, Inc. have invited Dr Birute Mary Galdikas, world-renowned protégé of the anthropologist Dr Louis Leakey, to discuss the sourcing of green resources in the industry today and the importance of protecting their renewability without damaging the environment.

Innovation and responsibility will be the “fundamental pillars” for The International Federation of Cosmetics Scientists (IFSCC) Congress, which takes place on 20-23 September 2010 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Isobionics has finalised the development of a breakthrough fermentation process for production of its natural, Valencene Pure. This product, which is an aroma substance for the food, beverage, flavour and fragrance industry, is now available on a commercial scale.

Dow Microbial Control has formally opened its Customer Application Center (CAC) and Research and Development (R&D) Center of Excellence in Buchs, Switzerland.

Ashland Aqualon Functional Ingredients is increasing the global price of its product lines serving the food, personal care and pharmaceutical industries by 5% effective 1 June, or as contracts allow.

Specialised ingredient company Imperial-Oel- Import (IOI) has launched a comprehensive web portal on lanolin. Product manager, Mirko Rauchfuss, explains: “We’re proud to announce that the website is now live and available.

BASF is to construct a new production plant for the aroma chemical L-menthol at the company’s Ludwigshafen site. The new plant is expected to be ready in 2012. “As the world’s top-selling aroma chemical in tonnes, L-menthol is an ideal addition to our product range in a strong growth market.

The HallStar Company has introduced HallBrite PSF, a new photostabilising silicone fluid that photostabilises the active ingredients in sunscreens while improving the feel and spreadability of sun care and daily wear products with sun protection factors.

Univar is set to expand its business in North Africa with entities in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia which will service an expanded agreement with Dow Corning to sell products in these territories.

Carbomers are widely used as rheology modifiers and suspending agents in the personal care industry. They stabilise and thicken formulations like gels, emulsions or surfactant based applications.

The five founding members of the COSMOS standard have announced the launch of an international non-profit association whose objective is to develop the COSMOS standard as an international and internationally recognised standard for organic and natural cosmetics.