Heated Sunless Tanning for Rapid Color and Other Topics: Literature Findings

By: Charles Fox, Independent Consultant

Posted: May 27, 2010, from the June 2010 issue of Cosmetics & Toiletries.

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Stimulating collagen with beta-thujaplicin: Hinoki Shinyaku KK sourced beta-thujaplicin to stimulate collagen production in skin care applications.⁷ At 0.00001–2.0% w/w, beta-thujaplicin was found to produce collagen in topical drug and skin care applications to prevent wrinkles or promote wound repair.

Tomato antioxidants for skin: Cefali et al. report the use of tomato as a topical antioxidant.⁸ Tomatoes are the principal source of lycopene, a carotenoid with high antioxidant activity that can be used topically as a phytocosmetic to combat skin aging. The aim of this study was to develop a lycopene-rich extract from tomato pulp. The extract was analyzed using UV/vis spectroscopy, thin layer chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography. Oxidant activity was analyzed using the free radical DPPH method.

In the apolar tomato fraction rich in carotenoids, the presence of 96.70% lycopene was confirmed, and evaluation of the antioxidant capacity revealed activity (IC50 = 0.311 mg/mL). The authors concluded that tomato could be used as a source of antioxidants for topical use.

Hair and Hair Care
Foaming, cleansing shampoos: Kracie Home Products Ltd. disclosed shampoos containing surfactants and polyhydric alcohols.⁹ The shampoos provided excellent foam and cleansing and conditioning effects, and were stable at low temperatures. The compositions consisted of fatty acid soaps containing lauric, myristic, palmitic and/or stearic acids; amphoteric and/or semipolar surfactants; polyhydric alcohols; and water-soluble polymers. An example is shown in Formula 3.

Softness via amino-modified silicones: Milbon Co., Ltd. has developed hair compositions containing amino-modified silicones to provide softness to damaged hair; these compositions displayed good storage stability and did not yellow.¹⁰ The described compositions are suitable for hair conditioning and as a pre- or post-treatment agents for permanent hair wave-setting. They contain C12-22 alcohol, a cationic surfactant, a polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester, a polyoxyethylene alkyl ether and an amino-modified silicone. The amino-modified silicone has an amino content of 0.5–3.0%. The amount of cationic surfactant formulated in the composition was less than the sum of the polyoxyethylene alkyl ether and the amino-modified silicone. The composition could further contain a glycerin fatty acid ester. An example of such an emulsified hair cosmetic composition at pH 4 is shown in Formula 4.