From the berry to the barrier: Development of natural products for skin and hair care

The movement of the cosmetic industry away for harsh petroleum-based chemicals and more towards ingredients that originate from natural sources has been accelerating. While many consumers feel that “natural” ingredients are safer and better for the environment, this is not always a truism. Reaching into plants or microorganisms to try and draw out unique ingredients that might have benefits for skin care is not always easy. Often times, extractions are done using solvents that might themselves not necessarily be considered all that friendly.

This talk will examine Sensient Cosmetic Technologies' capabilities in natural extraction technologies including supercritical, subcritical and standard solvent extractions that are employed to develop novel natural ingredients for food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications. From these technologies, various types of natural extracts including essential oils, natural colors and antioxidants isolated from proanthrocyanin-rich fruits, and protein hydrolysates from various crop sources are available. The company has begun exploring how these unique ingredients might be better employed in skin and hair care applications. The talk will address some of the pitfalls and difficulties that arise to bring a new ingredient into global compliance and looking at testing techniques that can pinpoint what the active might do when it is topically applied to the skin or scalp.