IFSCC Looks to Land, Fire, Surf and Sky for Formulation Answers

By: Rachel Grabenhofer, Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine

Posted: November 3, 2009

page 3 of 5

After a break for lunch and more poster and exhibit time, attendees returned for talks on “surf,” which ranged from a look at stress hormones and their effect on acne to a critical look at measurements using devices to determine skin hydration and elasticity, followed by a foray into the “sky” category, including cell adhesion molecules and their role in the skin barrier, penetration evaluations of topical antiaging compounds, and advances toward a fixative polymer to improve hair style retention.

The second day’s session on “land and sky” topics examined the preservative effect of 1,2-alkanediols, as well as discussed the use of aloe powder in a Si/W/Si blend. In addition, 18-MEA combined with cationic surfactants was shown to form persistent hydrophobicity to damaged hair.

After a break, the session continued with “fire and surf,” covering the combination of self-tanning actives with modern inorganic UV filters, and the development of a new polymer whose efficacy is controlled molecularly via moisture retention on the skin.

In addition, René Scheurich (Merck) presented on the modification of known anti-UV actives to form intelligent skin care actives that are converted under sunlight to their counterpart UV absorbers. The degree of this conversion was shown to be dose-dependent and could therefore ensure intelligent UV protection based on exposure amount.

Attendees found this technology of great interest, especially for markets such as the United States, where the approval of new UV filters is a rare occurrence. As one attendee suggested, since the material begins as one material but photo-coverts to another, this could be a work-around to such regulatory hurdles.