I was invited to attend the Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients (PCHi) show in China in March 2010, held in Shanghai. Exercising great patience, the travel agent proposed several flight configurations through Korea, Canada and Beijing before we settled on a final route. Since I had only been to China once before (via direct flight), my primary concern was self-preservation: How would I find my way to the right connecting gate in an unfamiliar language? I didn’t want to assume the signage in China would include English translation.
Acknowledging my shortcomings in Eastern languages, two colleagues, one fluent in Chinese, and I called the airports to ensure I would be able to find my way. While this certainly betrays me as a Westerner, my heartfelt concern was of preservation to ensure that I would arrive promptly in Shanghai to actively participate in the event.
This loosely leads us to several Cosmetics & Toiletries articles that are also connected to preservation. In a story by DuPont et al., preserving youth is the primary objective. This article considers an integrated approach to antiaging and puts a complex blend of actives to the test in a proof of concept study.
In addition, preserving the stability of nanoemulsions is the topic of Knapik et al.’s article, in which the authors examine the dynamics of various processing conditions and ingredient combinations to determine the optimal conditions for producing stable nanoemulsions. And as an added bonus, Godfrey exposes the literature responsible for the infamy of parabens in his article, “Parabens: Myth and Reality."
Efforts toward preservation are more than a trend, they are an essential component of the inner workings of our industry. Consider how much of the world has recognized this and joined in adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices and it becomes obvious. In the words of writer Samuel Butler, “Self-preservation is the first law of nature,” and with any luck, I’ll follow this path to arrive safely and lawfully in China.
