Movement in Innovation, Notes from in-cosmetics Asia, and More Beauty Ingredient News and Launches for Early November 2013

BASF Corporation and Ross Organic entered into an exclusive agreement for the distribution of BASF’s personal care business in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. The agreement was effective November 1, 2013, with Ross becoming exclusive distributor effective January 16, 2014.

Evonik Industries opened a new production facility for organic specialty surfactants in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park in Shanghai, China. The new facility uses a number of different technologies, enabling Evonik to offer a broad portfolio of locally manufactured products. These include specialty surfactants from renewable resources that are used in personal care and hygiene products, household cleaning agents, and industrial applications. Additionally, with the confirmation of another three facilities in Hopewell, Virginia, Janesville, Wisconsin, and Mapleton, Illinois, Evonik raises the number of cosmetic GMP certified production sites to ten. ISO 22716 refers to the manufacturing process of cosmetics, as well as raw materials. It includes guidelines for quality-related aspects of a product. This confirmation guarantees that Evonik focuses on the appropriate principles and methods during production, controlling, storage and distribution.

Clariant opened its new €100 million Clariant Innovation Center (CIC) in Frankfurt, Germany. The company’s new global hub for R&D is based at the Industriepark Höchst. It will now be the home of Clariant’s competence centers in chemical research and process technology, as well as application laboratories for several business units and state-of-the art analytical laboratories . The CIC will also house the departments for intellectual property management and new business development. As the corporation’s global hub, the CIC will ensure the coordination of Clariant’s worldwide R&D network, which includes centers across Europe, North America, Brazil, Japan, India and China.

Symrise announced it is opening a catalysis laboratory to advance its strategic research focus in green chemistry. The company will investigate the synthesis of new molecules via catalysis, develop chemical processes and optimize existing processes for aroma molecules with less environmental impact. Additionally, DQS certified Symrise as a “green company.” Independent DQS auditors assessed the internal processes in research, development, manufacturing and sales for Symrise, and the results found Symrise fulfills the international requirements of the organization’s Global Conformance Program.

Lucas Meyer Cosmetics took home the gold award at the in-cosmetics Asia Innovation Zone Best Ingredient Awards. The company triumphed with its ingredient Elix-IR, a botanical active designed to fight infrared-induced skin aging. Through its inhibitory action on cathepsin G enzyme, Elix-IR reduces IR-, UV-, heat-induced MMPs production and fiber degradation, providing a new strategy for action against photoaging.

DSM announced new developments relating to Corneocare ingredients. The highly potent skin energizer Revitalin PF has extended the Corneocare portfolio, and new findings also have been reported for the company’s Alpaflor Edelweiss. DSM shared that new in vivo results confirm how Alpaflor Edelweiss strengthens the skin’s natural protection barrier, making it more resistant to external stress factors. These findings are complemented by a four-week consumer study which shows the ingredient provides a pleasant and youthful skin sensation. Additionally, for the first time ever, DSM researchers used innovative extracellular flux analysis technology to measure energy levels in mitochondria. These tests confirmed that Revitalin PF, with its energizing actives produced by fermentation baker’s yeast, boosts the two fundamental bioenergetic processes: glycolysis and mitochondrial respiration.

In vitro Plant-tech and Oriflame announced their collaborative partnership within plant cell cultivation. The development is a plant stem cell cultivation platform, based on medicinal plants with proven beneficial skin care properties, with applications for the beauty and cosmetic industry. The partnership is part of a long-term strategic initiative and runs in addition to Oriflame’s in-house work at its plant stem cell cultivation facility.

Kancor North America, a subsidiary of Kancor Ingredients, officially launched its offices in Morristown, New Jersey. Kancor North America is a global natural ingredients manufacturer serving the flavor and fragrance, food and beverage, and personal care industries.

Dow Corning displayed new beauty innovations for trendsetting and savvy urban consumers at in-cosmetics Asia 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. Dow Corning PH-1560 Glossy Fluid is a new silicone fluid with a high viscosity and refractive index that provides the long-lasting shine consumers demand of lip gloss and lipstick products; Dow Corning EL-7040 Hydro Elastomer Blend retains the recognized silky smoothness of silicone elastomers while also providing a fresher feel. Dow Corning EP-9801 Hydro Cosmetic Powder is a simple-to-use water-dispersible silicone elastomer powder that combines formulation flexibility with excellent performance and sensory benefits across a wide range of skin care products and color cosmetics. Dow Corning ES-5300 Formulation Aid is a high-performance water-in-oil emulsifier with broad oil-phase flexibility and pigment dispersibility. And Dow Corning CE-7750 Velvety Emulsion is a silicone elastomer suspension for hair care formulations that is designed to provide easy combing and a soft, smooth and velvety feel for hair care products, including shampoos and rinse-off conditioners.

Momentive Performance Materials showcased two ready-to-use, multifunctional silicone formulations at in-cosmetics Asia 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. Useful as the starting point for a variety of multi-claim formulations for skin care, sun care, color cosmetics, andydrous products and more, Velvesil Mul-T gel is a highly versatile material that combines the potent, translucent soft-focus ability of boron nitride with the powdery, velvety touch of patented Velvesil chemistry. Due to its silicone composition, it can deliver a luxurious feel, enhance natural-looking coverage, and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. And Silsoft E-Pearl PF emulsion can provide the extra “something” at the end of the formulation process, from enhancing the feel to strengthening the claims that can take it to new and improved. It can help provide the consumer with an outstanding sensory experience, hydrating feel, and line-blurring and skin-brightening benefits. Silsoft E-Pearl PF emulsion is a patented, non-ionic emulsion that easily incorporates into formulations. Easily dispersible in water, it can even be post-added to many existing formulations for skin care, sun care and color cosmetics.

New Launches

Croda broadened the ability of beauty and personal care product developers and formulators to engineer product aesthetics with the launch of the first in a line of sensory-driven emollients, Sensemol LST. This new, multifunctional, ether-based emollient offers an exceptionally light feel and high degree of skin spreading, making it ideal for a multitude of formats from color cosmetics to antiperspirants. With the addition of this differentiated emollient and its unique sensorial benefits, Croda explained that it is giving its customers the ability to further customize the aesthetics of their formulations. The ability of Sensemol LST to reduce tack and leave a light, dry feel on skin makes it the perfect option for any number of skin care applications including liquid foundations. In addition, this product is an excellent pigment-wetting agent, demonstrates a high degree of pH tolerance and can reduce the whitening effect of antiperspirant salts.

TRI-K Industries introduced a new vegetable-based alternative to animal keratin, Fision KeraVeg18. Fision KeraVeg18 is a cohesive solution containing wheat and soy amino acids, with additional pure amino acids (of vegetable fermentation origin) carefully selected to mimic the functional ratios in human hair amino acids. It is vegetable-derived, paraben-free and an alternative to animal based keratin. It increases hair strength and elasticity to prevent breakage in both Caucasian and African hair, and it also helps protect hair from harsh salon processes, improves compatibility and reduces damage from excess force used against hair. Lastly, Fision KeraVeg18 provides antioxidant protection and may help limit oxidative damage to the hair and scalp.

Evonik’s Personal Care introduced a comprehensive concept providing individual solutions for the modern man. This concept encompasses a consumer survey covering market insights on male grooming routines, as well as the implementation of the company’s own scientific studies on male skin and the development of selected formulations just for men with proven efficacy data. Based on the findings of Evonik’s consumer survey, male consumers are looking for multifunctional, high-performing and easy-to-apply products. Responding to these market needs, Evonik’s Personal Care Business Line developed a Men’s Care concept, which is based on Evonik’s extensive experience in chemistry, biology and marketing.

Lucas Meyer Cosmetics launched Pro-Lipo Neo, a smart liposome technology that offers an easy preparation for customized liposomes. The bio-efficacy of a beauty product depends largely on the properties and concentration of the active ingredients it contains. But it depends also on their ability and the time they need to penetrate the skin barrier and reach the biological targets they have to act on. Liposomes are microscopic hollow soft vesicles composed of one or more phospholipid bilayers surrounding an aqueous core. They are able to entrap hydrosoluble active ingredients in the internal cavity and liposoluble active ingredients in the lipid bilayers of the membrane. Because of their cell-like composition, liposomes are efficient biomimetic vectors highly adapted for beauty products to improve ingredient absorption and efficacy, acting as a non-irritating penetration enhancer. The entrapped ingredients also present a higher ability to cross the cutaneous barrier and diffuse through skin layers, leading to the improvement of their bioavailability.

Jeen International launched a line of thickeners for beauty and personal care products. Jeethix provides both thickening and stabilization benefits to a wide range of formulations. Composed of four initial products, the Jeethix series includes acrylamide, acrylate and taurate copolymer technologies. The flagship product, Jeethix 305 is a polyacrylamide-based liquid designed for aqueous formulations, while Jeethix T is a copolymer that requires no neutralization and swells quickly in water to provide thickening across a wide pH range. Jeethix 980 and Jeethix SP round out the initially launched products. Both are based on acrylate technology and provide thickening and stabilization attributes in a wide range of product formulations.

CEA-Leti and Capsum announced the successful transfer of Leti’s patented Lipidots nanovector technology to Capsum for cosmetic applications. The collaboration has produced the first commercial use of the new technology. Lipidots is a nano-delivery platform based on tiny droplets of oil encapsulating and carrying drugs or fluorescent imaging agents to targeted cells in the body. Leti’s partnership with Capsum shows the technology can be adapted for applications in the beauty industry. Capsum adapted the Lipidots technology to its NeoGoutttes nano-emulsions, which are used as a component in finished products, providing an efficient way of vectorizing lipophilic or hydrophilic concentrates of active ingredients. The nanovector encapsulation protects active ingredients, so they are conveyed through the skin for optimal effect.