The International Federation of the Societies of Cosmetic Chemists (IFSCC) came together for its 22nd Conference to share the latest findings in cosmetics research and development. This year, the Brazilian society warmly welcomed nearly 600 attendees from around the globe to the beaches of Rio de Janeiro. From Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, 2013, workshops, conferences, poster sessions and social events joined some of the greatest minds in the industry.
Workshops and Opening Ceremony
The first day’s workshops ranged from discussions on worldwide harmonization, biodiversity and sustainability, and aromachology and ran concurrently with the exhibition. These led into the opening ceremony, where João Hansen, president of the Associação Brasileira de Cosmetologia (ABC), welcomed attendees with great joy to Brazil and expressed that only with the exchange of knowledge can the industry create, innovate and renovate. Jadir Nunes, president of the 2013 IFSCC conference, also greeted attendees "with open arms," paralleling the landmark Christ the Redeemer statue poised high above the city on Corcovado Hill.
Both noted how in the early 2000s, there were almost no Brazilian papers presented at IFSCC conferences but today, the event was being hosted by Brazil. This decision was made in 2008 during the IFSCC presidency of Johann Wiechers, PhD—for whom a new award was presented during the closing gala. In fact, the Brazilian society is now the fourth largest of the IFSCC, which is a reflection of the science being produced in the region. Their hope is that this is an example for other emerging countries. Finally, they stressed the importance of the industry listening to consumers because to product developers, cosmetics may be formulations but to consumers, cosmetics are confidence in themselves.
Also during the ceremony, Mauricio Guzman Alonso of Colombia-based Belcorp was awarded the 2014 Maison G. de Navarre Young Scientist prize for an essay he submitted to the society. This prize is granted each year to enable a cosmetic scientist under the age of 35 to attend an IFSCC event. “I want to thank the IFSCC for providing me this exciting opportunity,” said Alonso. “I am happy for this great recognition, and I thank my colleagues who have helped me. I also thank my parents, who supported me. … This [event] is a great opportunity to promote knowledge and technology.”
João Carlos Basílio, of the Brazilian Association of the Cosmetics, Toiletry and Fragrance Industry (ABIHPEC), then gave an overview of the Brazilian market; notably that it represents a 21% majority of the worldwide deodorant market. Following Basílio, attendees were entertained with a cultural show featuring traditional dances of Brazil and topped off the evening with a night cap at the cocktail party.
Conference Program
The IFSCC conference program covered an array of subjects—from the psychology of rotating brushes on facial cleansing, and discussion of the preservation of neuron-adipocyte crosstalk to limit emotional stress-mediated fat accumulation; to hair straightening and conditioning, various visualization tools, and novel formulation approaches.
Visualizing skin and hair: Pore-mapping, for example, was presented by Frédéric Flament of L’Oréal, to make objective assessments and predict consumer perception with physical measurements and compare populations. In hair, spectroscopic analysis was used by Kosmoscience Ciência e Tecnologia Cosmética Ltda. to assess the protein degradation of hair caused by straighteners. Also, Mariko Egawa, of the Shiseido Research Center presented two imaging systems based on the detection of the 1,920-nm water band to see water content in skin on macro and micro levels. Silab discussed an in vivo approach to determine xerotic skin’s “signature,” and a spatial measurement system to visualize makeup foundation distribution was presented by the Toyohashi University of Technology of Japan.
Di Qu, of Amway R&D, also discussed image analysis to objectively measure visual parameters of facial skin. Using the company’s comprehensive facial analysis computer evaluation system (FACES), features such as wrinkles; spots and pores; skin color, translucency, reflectance and diffuse reflectance; and unevenness/homogeneity were used to test for product efficacy. The effects of these nine visual parameters were used to obtain a skin youthfulness index.
Formulating approaches: New approaches to formulating also were highlighted. Kao Corp. discussed the development of a water-based, long-lasting makeup by dispersing hydrophobically surface-treated pigments in an o/w emulsion. Interactions between cosmetic formulations and polymeric packaging were considered by the University of Pavia in Italy, as was skin microbiology as a target for cosmetics, by the Solabia Group.
Carine Dal Pizzol, of Grupo Boticário, presented a triple nanoemulsion designed for improved dermal delivery. The thermodynamically stable system was produced by high pressure emulsification and consisted of three different nanoemulsions containing: sunscreen, caffeine and lipoic acid actives. Each was shown to penetrate the skin at targeted levels—the stratum corneum, epidermis and dermis, as shown by Franz diffusion cells. Dal Pizzol explained, “The sunscreen remained only on the surface, the caffeine went into the epidermis, and the lipoic acid penetrated into the dermis.”
During the question and answer session, attendees were curious about interactions when the nanoemulsions were combined, to which Dal Pizzol replied “The emulsions were stable and we saw no agglomeration or separation.” Others wondered about the size of these emulsions, commenting that in Europe, these would require “nano” labeling; although with the true sizes described, they could be considered “micro.” One attendee noted, however, “The nano label only relates to lipo-soluble materials, so this technology should be good to go.” Lastly, it was noted that with Franz diffusion cells, one can really only measure into the epidermis level; Dal Pizzol acknowledged that further studies were planned.
Actives, anti-aging and nutrition: Active ingredients are a mainstay discussion in cosmetics R&D, and were also prominent topics at the conference. For example, the Henry Maso award presentation, given by Hu Shuting, discussed the activity of natural resorcinol type phenolics from Cudrania tricuspidata for skin whitening. In relation, a study of armpit darkening in Brazilian women was discussed by Giovanna Pansani, also of L’Oréal, who showed how colorimetric measurements could distinguish these pigmented areas. She also described the development of a product to lighten them. During the question and answer session, one attendee asked “What do you think are the causes of this darkening?” To which, Pansani replied, “Shaving may increase in irritation, causing more damage and setting off a cascade of effects including melanin production. Also, the excessive application of products.”
Skin sensitivity and means to soothe the skin were also covered, as was the all-time favorite: approaches to anti-aging. Sabine Pain, of BASF Beauty Creations, described the restoration of perlecan and dystroglycan expression for skin rejuvenation using water-soluble plant extracts. Pain explained, “Maintaining perlecan expression is crucial for a well-organized epidermis, which anchors the dermis.” In addition, anti-aging approaches included an overnight treatment to improve the tightness and smoothness of skin; the consideration of cleansers as potentially causing skin roughness and wrinkle formation; the influence of dermatoproteins on the organization of the extracellular matrix; and iontophoresis to impart residual antioxidant activity from a reservoir of gel containing gallic acid.
Fred Zülli, of Mibelle Biochemistry, considered stimulating the Klotho gene to achieve anti-aging effects in cosmetics. This approach is based on the concept of calorie restriction to extend lifespan. He explored the effects of rapamycin on the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and subsequent increase in lifespan longevity. He applied this concept for cosmetics and found these mechanisms could be stimulated, potentially to induce health and skin benefits.
In relation, a keynote presentation by Zoe Draelos, MD, of Duke University, discussed nutrition and its impact on appearance. “Diet most definitely has an impact,” she said, explaining it not only relates to an individual’s diet, but also his or her mother’s diet.” She detailed how some genes are intentionally no longer expressed later in life, illustrating how they are “hidden” like spools of thread stored in the back of “grandma’s thread drawer.”
Sun protection: The characterization of photodamaged skin and improvement of sunscreen films for better protection were topics of discussion as well. And Rene Scheurich, of Merck, presented transformer materials used to create avobenzone reservoirs in sunscreens, which upon exposure to radiation, create more avobenzone with controlled release, over time. He illustrated this “transformation” by dramatically removing his jacket and “transforming” from a German in a proper business suit to a freestyle Brazilian in a soccer shirt, in response to which to the audience applauded.
Also focused on sun was the keynote presentation on nanotechnology by Michael Roberts of Queensland University, who noted that perception is a big deal—and scaring folks from nanotechnology so that they do not use sunscreens is a problem. His discussion focused the penetration, or not, of sunscreen types. He concluded, “Absorption depends on the sunscreen,” and recommended that formulators, “try to use a lipophilic sunscreen to limit absorption.” He added that while oxybenzone and avobenzone have the highest penetration profile, they also are the best for UVA protection.
Further, he discussed some myths about sunscreen formulation work. For example, the correct viscosity has reportedly been shown to slow absorption; while one study shows this to be true, the test was flawed in that investigators used an infinite dose. A more realistic finite dose gives different results. Also, in reference to studies on pigskin to measure penetration, even though it is the gold standard approach to testing, the results should be on human skin; whereas pigskin has shown penetration, intact human skin shows no penetration into the viable epidermis. “You have to be very careful with studies in the literature on pigskin,” Roberts cautioned. He concluded, “We [as an industry] also need to watch our marketing for ‘non-nano’ and remove it, so as not to give the impression that nanotechnology is ‘bad.’”
Awards and Closing Gala
The closing awards ceremony and gala, held at the exclusive Costa Brava Club, recognized the hard work, dedication and support of the event committees and sponsors. Claudie Willemin, PhD, president of the French society, gave a preview of the 2014 IFSCC, to be held in Paris on Oct. 27-30, which will feature a closing ceremony at the famous Louvre museum beneath the landmark glass pyramid; for more information, visit www.ifscc2014.com.
The Johann Wiechers Award for best work at the conference was presented for the paper titled: Visualization of water distribution in facial skin using novel high -sensitivity imaging systems and water application to cosmetics evaluation presented, presented by Mariko Egawa of Shiseido, Japan. The best poster award went to work on the: Role of heparan sulfate at the dermal-epidermal junction in hyperpigmentation, by Iriyama Shunsuke, also of Shiseido, Japan, and others. The ABC Award for best Brazilian poster was given for: FT-Raman evaluation of stratum corneum membrane biomimetic model for evaluation of safety and efficacy of permeation enhancers, by Aurea C.L. Lacerda, Faculty of Pharmacy, USP, São Paulo, and others.
The ABIHPEC Award for best oral Brazilian presentation went to the paper titled: Spectroscopic analysis of microstructure and protein degradation of human hair caused by new hair straightening systems, by Adriano S. Pinheiro of Kosmoscience Cosmetic Science and Technology Ltda., and others. Finally, the Apothecary Award for best Brazilian work on sustainability went to: Phototoxicity evaluation of sucupira extract: A potential new cosmetic ingredient, by M.U. Tochimi of IPEN-USP, São Paulo, and others.
The Carnival-themed evening featured dancers in full costume, who stirred attendees to the dance floor to celebrate the week’s interchange of knowledge and progress for the industry.
