The Society of Cosmetic Chemists held its Annual Scientific Seminar June 5–6 at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The Technical Program was arranged by the Committee on Scientific Affairs, which is currently chaired by Wil Hemker.

Session A, Natural/Organic Cosmetic Products, was moderated by Timothy Kapsner (Aveda Corporation), who opened the session with a presentation titled “Organic Cosmetic Standards: Fact or Fiction?”

Additional presentations included:

• “A Journey to Sustainable Packaging” – John A. Delfausse (The Estée Lauder Companies);
• “Green Chemistry: The Natural Ally of the Cosmetic Industry” – Pierre Charlier de Chily (ALDIVIA SAS);
• “Green Formulating Strategies” – Ulrich Issberner, MD (Cognis Corporation);
• “Organic, Natural and Other Green Labeling Regulations” – Farah K. Ahmed (Personal Care Products Council).

Jane Hollenberg (JCH Consulting) moderated Session B – Skin Color. Presentations included:

• “A New Skin Whitener (Sodium Palmitoyproline and Nymphea Alba Flower Abstract) Capable of Modulating Melanogenisis-Related Genes and to Prevent UV-Induced Pigmentation Through its Soothing Properties” – Carla Perez (Seppic, Inc.);
• “Complex Effect Pigments: Innovative Solutions for Ethnic Color Cosmetics” – Betty Aucar (BASF Corporation);
• “Drawing the Line on Wrinkles by Supporting the Dermal-Epidermal Junction (DEJ)” – Hugues Beaulieu (Atrium Innovations, Inc.);
• “Ceramidase Control: An Approach to Improving Skin Health” – Michael Daley, PhD (Kimberly-Clark Corporation);
• “Image Analysis to Quantify the Efficacy of Active Ingredients for Skin” – Roger McMullen, PhD (International Specialty Products).

Colleen Rocafort (Ciba Corporation) moderated Session C – Hair – Aging and Graying. Presentations in the session were:

•  “Fluorescence and Coloration of Grey Hair” – Janusz Jachowicz, PhD (Better Cosmetics, LLC);
• “What Color is Colored Hair” – Peter Kaplan, PhD (TRI/Princeton);
• “Hair Aging and Graying” – Teca Gillespie (The Procter & Gamble Company);
• “Treatments for Graying Hair: What Works and What Does Not” – Perry Romanowski (Alberto Culver, Inc.);
• “Rapid Screening Protocol of Sunlight Exposure to Damaged Hair” – Eric S. Abrutyn (Kao Brands Company).

Session D – Delivery Systems opened Friday morning’s program. This session was moderated by Mindy S. Goldstein, PhD (Estee Lauder Companies). Presentations in Session C included

• “Straightforward Approach for Screening Silicone Gels of varying Functionality for Use in Cosmetic Ingredient Delivery” – Jeff Caruso (NuSil Silicone Technology);
• ”Extended Release of Lidocaine from Linker-Based Lecithin Microemulsions” – Jessica S. Yuan (University of Toronto);
• “Vesicular Delivery Systems: From Phospholipids to Silicones for Targeted Skin Sites” – Shaow B. Lin, PhD (Dow Corning Corporation);
• “Microemulsions as Sprayable Delivery Systems for Specialty Ingredients” – Jonette Payne (McIntyre Group, Ltd.)
• “Removal of Microbial Pathogens from Skin Using Magnets” – Michael Daley, PhD (Kimberly-Clark Corporation).

Session E – Formulation and Test Methods on Friday afternoon was moderated by Martha Tate, PhD (Kimberly-Clark Corporation). Presentations included:

• “Barrier Repair After Tape Stripping: Effects of Semi-Permeable Membranes on the Natural Moisturizing Factor of the Skin (NMF)” –Marisa Robinson (University of Cincinnati );
• “Utilizing Rheological Parameters to Predict Consumer-Perceived Sensory Attributes of Cosmetic Creams” – Penny Anderson (Amway Corporation);
• “Cationic Emulsifier Systems for Sunscreens: Combining Efficacy with Cost Advantage” – Anna Howe (Evonik Consumer Specialties)
• “The Development of High Throughput Methods for the Study of Polymer/Surfactant Interaction and the Evaluation of Polyelectrolyte Thickeners” – Robert Y. Lochhead, Ph.D. (The Institute for Formulation Science).

The Committee on Scientific Affairs also arranged two Mini-breakfast Seminars. On Thursday morning, Farah Ahmed (Personal Care Products Council) presented “New Proposed Sunscreen Regulations.” On Friday morning, Steve Schnittger (Estee Lauder Companies) presented “Preservative Optimization and Risk Factor Analysis.” These breakfasts are a tradition of the annual seminar and provide an informal environment where individuals can participate through an open forum of questions and answers.

Awards

The Society of Cosmetic Chemists Award, sponsored by McIntyre Group, was presented to Mary Matsui, PhD, and Daniel Maes, PhD, for their paper titled "Ultraviolet Radiation (UVR)-Induced Immune Suppression: An Incentive for Sun Protection Strategies Beyond SPF". This award recognizes the best paper presented at the 2007 Annual Scientific Meeting.

Student Posters

The Student Poster Showcase is held annually to promote student research in the cosmetic industry. This year was the largest competition in several years, with 14 posters presented to highlight students' ideas and research. Sponsored by DD Chemco, the award winners was chosen by members of the Committee on Scientific Affairs. First place went to Ashley Cox, University of Southern Mississippi for her poster titled "Investigation of the Effects of Polymer Microstructure on the Rheologies of Polyelectrolyte Gels: The Importance of Chain Rigidity, Branching and Hydrophobic Modification." Second place was awarded to Santosh Yadav, University of Cincinnati for her poster titled "Probing the Interactions of Water with Naturally Smart Biopolymer Human Skin." Third place was awarded to Hema Devarajan, University of Florida for her poster titled "Modeling of Flux through Polydimethyl Siloxane (PDMS) Membrane." Fourth Place was awarded to Virginia Smith, University of Southern Mississippi for her poster titled "Probing the Interaction of Synthetic Clay with Selected Hydrophilic Amine-containing Polymers." The awards were presented by Bret Katz (DD Chemco) at the Friday luncheon.