Methods & Processes

Deriving Renewable Squalane from Sugarcane

Jul 1, 2014Derek McPhee, PhD; Armelle Pin; Lance Kizer, PhD; and Loren Perelman, PhD; Amyris Inc., Emeryville, CA, USA

Commercial use of squalane has been constrained by an inconsistent supply and resulting price volatility, but modern biotechnology has been able to leverage enzyme-catalyzed chemical reactions found in nature coupled with traditional chemical processing steps to create a high-quality source of renewable squalane.

3D Printing Demo

3D Printing 'Popping Up' in Personal Care

May 16, 2014Rachel L. Grabenhofer, Cosmetics & Toiletries

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is popping up in many fields, including in cosmetics and personal care development; from behind the scenes, in R&D package concept labs, to presentations at in-cosmetics and the April SCS Symposium—even at home, in one former Harvard student's printable cosmetic device concept.

R&D Spending: 'Investment' vs. Expense

May 7, 2014

It's not news that top-performing companies are putting resources into R&D. Interestingly, however, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, if R&D spending were treated as an investment rather than an expense, the overall growth of gross domestic product could be much higher.

Science-based Skin Care in Demand

May 2, 2014

Science-based skin care is not new to the industry, but according to market research firm Diagonal Reports, it's a new demand from consumers. Speakers at the C&T Summit will address means to meet this demand on June 26 and 27. Register now!

Understanding Fragrance Allergy, Is Fragrance-free Always Necessary?

May 1, 2014Garrett Coman and Nicholas Blickenstaff, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA, and University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA; Ashley Edwards, Touro University, Vallejo, CA, USA; Howard I. Maibach, MD, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, USA

This article reviews studies to diagnose allergic contact dermatitis due to fragrance, including a patch test designed to measure such. Limitations of patch testing, the relevance of fragrance concentration in products, use testing of common consumer products, and dermatologist recommendations to manage fragrance contact allergy also are discussed.

Penn State Develops 3D Model Linking Facial Features to DNA

Mar 25, 2014Cosmetics & Toiletries editors

Researchers at Penn State have developed a three-dimensional model that illustrates connections between the shape of the human face and DNA.

Skin Aging Characteristics of Russian Women

Feb 24, 2014Eve Merinville; Gemma Z. Grennan; Vlad Golounin; Johanna M. Gillbro, PhD; Jacques Mathieu; and Alain Mavon, PhD, Oriflame

There appear to be no published studies on facial aging in Russian women, despite clear interest from the industry in this market. In order to formulate products, it is necessary to understand the end consumer. This article therefore explores a recent study of 203 Russian women and describes their aging specificities versus other, more studied Caucasian populations.

C&T Summit Explores Proteomics to Examine Hair Damage

Feb 10, 2014

Damage to the hair shaft can lead to the breakdown of proteins from the hair, which can provide an early diagnostic for damage before it is manifested at the macro-structural level. Mike Davis will explore this approach during the Cosmetics & Toiletries Summit this June.

Visualizing the Impact of Emulsifiers on Emulsion Perception

Jan 13, 2014Chris Dederen, Jennifer Donahue and Cornelis Verboom; Croda, Edison, NJ, USA

This paper describes an approach to systematically investigate the intrinsic effects of emulsifiers, quantify them and translate them into consumer preferences. These are processed mathematically and displayed in a simplified, two-dimensional map to assist formulation work.

Role of Photography in Acne Metrics*

Dec 1, 2013Audris Chiang, University of California, Irvine; Farhaan Hafeez, Yale University School of Medicine; and Howard I. Maibach, MD, University of California School of Medicine, San Francisco

To optimally treat acne, an accurate severity assessment is required1 and while visual assessments have relied on text descriptions, lesion counting and photographic methods, an ideal grading system would be more accurate and reproducible. Further, its ease of use, and time and monetary costs are also important. Here, the authors consider different approaches for improved acne assessments using photography.