Dr. Straetmans Hosts Conference on Natural Regulation in Europe

By: Dr. Straetmans GmbH Staff

Posted: December 5, 2008

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The last session focused on the important issue of active ingredients and perfumes, which both coin the appearance and performance of cosmetic products. Margeret Ebauer, PhD, of Rahn AG explained the route from the identification of promising active materials from plants via methods for showing the cosmetic benefits for the skin to a raw material for cosmetic products. An interesting insight was given into the test designs and how important it is to design scientifically sound studies for claim substantiation so that the data produced by the raw material manufacturer or external test institutes can help cosmetic manufacturers identify and use the right active principles for consumer products.

The last presentation was given by Claudia Valder of Frey & Lau who spoke about the restrictions and possibilities of designing natural perfumes. After an introduction showing the legal background and technical limitations resulting thereof, Mrs. Valder exemplified the way from customer briefing to a fragrance for natural cosmetics, also talking about the implications of the formulation on the selected perfume. Toxicological aspects as well as further cosmetic functions of some fragrance components were also presented. This vivid talk ended with a practical demonstration of fragrance samples that illustrated the possibilities in composing modern perfumes with only natural components.

The active participation of so many members of the cosmetic industry perhaps implies that the long term engagement of so many members may allow to find another expression than “trend” for this growing part of the cosmetic industry. The success of this sector has also triggered activities in multinational companies and there will be more growth of the market for natural cosmetics in the years to come.