SCC Annual Meeting Provides Insights for the Future

By: Katie Anderson (Schaefer), Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine

Posted: January 6, 2012

This year’s Annual Scientific Meeting and Technology Showcase, held on Dec. 8–9, 2011, at the New York Hilton and Towers Hotel by the Society of Cosmetic Chemists (SCC), not only highlighted the latest raw materials, it also gave insight on developments for future active makeup, hand hygiene products and polymer architectures.

Session A opened with the Frontiers of Science Award Lecture, sponsored by Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine. It featured Robert S. Langer, ScD, who described his 1970s research using a polymer to inhibit blood vessels from supplying nutrients to a tumor, thus prohibiting its growth. This technology led to a number of anti-cancer drugs, the delivery of which was later controlled using nanotechnology. He also discussed technologies that are not yet commercialized; for example, a polymer that extends the life span of patients having undergone surgery for glioblastoma multiforme, a type of brain cancer, by lining the brain. On the polymer’s development, he added, “It became a paradigm on how one might use local delivery.”

Langer then touched on his cosmetic- related work, such as the identification of polyfluoroester as a material to replace silicone for frizz control in hair care. He noted, “Everyone uses silicone to control frizz.” This technology led to the establishment of Living Proof Inc. and its No Frizz hair care brand-which uses the ester to block humidity. After Langer concluded his presentation, Katie Anderson, associate editor of Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine, presented him with the Frontiers of Science Award.

Active colors: After Langer, the session’s focus was on active colors. Thomas Rudolph, PhD, from Merck KGaA/EMD, discussed surface-active functional ingredients for the deposition of wash-off hair color. His team used vitamin C as an antioxidative linker and found it capable of physically and chemically attaching color-modifying entities to the hair. Further, a UV absorber attached to vitamin C was found to reduce color fade and prevent free radicals better than vitamin C or other antioxidants alone.

Karl Lintner, PhD, of Kal’idees, followed Rudolph with a presentation exploring the potential for biological actives in color cosmetics. He noted the popularity of such “active makeup” but acknowledged difficulties in their formula design, including heat stability and other compatibility issues. Lintner gave a few examples of active benefits, including powder that moisturizes by the incorporation of loofah oil, and mascara that supports eyelash growth via the inclusion of biotinyl-GHK. He concluded that the development of active makeup requires a good understanding of the physiology and structure of skin.