SCC Tackles Claims Substantiation and Genetic Testing at Annual Meeting

At the Society of Cosmetic Chemists'  (SCC) Annual Scientific Meeting and Technology Showcase, which took place on Dec. 12-13, 2013 at the New York Hilton, pertinent subjects were tackled, such as modern claims substantiation, nanomaterials, genetic testing and cosmetic dermatology.

The pre-event Continuing Education Program (CEP) featured a class by Howard Epstein on molecular biology and genetics in cosmetics. He noted how studies continue to emerge on the influence of micro RNA on gene expression. "The same micro RNA can have different effects depending on the type of cells it's acting on," he explained. Epigenetic regulation and antioxidant activity are also active areas of research. "Epigenetics is of particular interest to us in the 'naturals' area," said Epstein, who noted how studies have shown that nutraceuticals and even topical ingredients such as quercetin and curcumin can influence the epigenome. Finally, he discussed work showing how a mother's diet affects gene expression in her offspring. Specifically, a study of genetically identical mice showed one mouse being negatively influenced by its mother's poor diet, becoming overweight and turning its hair orange, compared with a healthier, brown mouse having received good nutrition. From such studies, Epstein observed, "I can see dermatologists of the future talking about epigenetics in relation to lifestyle."

The first session focused on claims substantiation, with a combination of assessing product performance for lips and underarms using new methods to a more broad discussion of claims substantiation in the EU and even more broadly in the cosmetic industry. Yulia Park, PhD, from Amway began by introducing her company's approach to assessing lip product performance using their Facial Analysis Computer Evaluation System (F.A.C.E.S.), which utilizes the VISIA-CR system to combine eight visual properties of the lip skin into one lip appearance index (LAI) score.

Similarly, Gert Nilsson, PhD, of Wheelsbridge AB, later discussed the use of polarized light to measure sweat gland activity as a means of assessing AP/deo performance.This method, according to Nilsson, is capable of quantifying the number of active sweat glands and the relative extent to which a liquid film forms over the skin surface area in different parts of the body (palm, forehead and axilla). In addition to assessing antiperspirant efficacy, it can also be used to assess the magnitude of hyperhidrosis and sweat gland activity in diabetic neuropathy.

Karl Lintner, PhD, PhD, of Kal'Idees, address cosmetic claim substantiation, specifically in the EU. He addressed the "common criteria" for cosmetics claims substantiation published in the EU, referencing the Cosmetics & Toiletries column by Chris Flower that introduced these criteria. These criteria relate to the justification of claims, and he noted that the EU wants to harmonize claims to allow the consumer to compare different products. However, he noted that making these claims easily verifiable to allow for informed decisions is where problems arise. Claims should contribute to the consumer's ability to make informed decisions, and other than in sun care products, there are no standards for cosmetic claims to allow consumers to compare products. He noted that this will be an uphill struggle.

Also speaking on this struggle was Joseph Schwarcz, PhD, from McGill University, who delivered the Frontiers of Science Award Lecture, sponsored by Cosmetics & Toiletries magazine. Read more on this presentation, which addressed the chemical phobia that is running rampant all over the world.

At the afternoon's Theresa Cesario Awards Luncheon, a number of honors were bestowed, including: The Frontiers of Science Award Lecture to Joseph Schwarcz, PhD, on behalf of Cosmetics & Toiletries; the Maison G. deNavarre Medal Award to Phillip Wertz, PhD, on behalf of the SCC; the Shaw Mudge Award, to Christopher Heisig, PhD, and Peter Karanja for their paper "The Impact of Formulation on Microbial Efficacy of Active Ingredient in Hand Hygiene Products, on behalf of BASF Corp.; the Allan B. Black Award, to Joseph Chris Dederen, PhD, Cornelis Verboom and Peter Landa for their paper "Sensory Mapping Methodology Detects the Substantial Perceptible Effect of Emulsifiers in Emulsions," on behalf of Presperse Corp.; the Hans A. Schaeffer Award to Amy Vanden Heuvel, Kathleen Englebrecht, David W. Koenig, PhD, and Divesh Bhatt, PhD, for their paper "Use of neutral Polysaccharides to Control Bacterial Biofilms on Skin," on behalf of Lonza Personal Care; the Joseph P. Ciaudelli Award, to Paul Carpenter, Fraser Bell and Stephen Buckness, for their paper "Advantages of a High-throughput Measure of Hair Fibre Torsional Properties," on behalf of Croda Inc.; and the Des Goddard Award, to Andrea Keenan, Terri Powell, John Reffner, PhD, and David Sutton, for their paper "Personal Care Polymers for Thermal Protection," on behalf of Lonza Personal Care.

The second session of the day was all on hair, beginning with a presentation by Timothy Gao, PhD, of Croda on assessing conditioning performance on hair with 3D atomic force microscopy (AFM). They found 3D AFM imaging to be a useful tool to characterize hair surface morphological and mechanical properties. Furthermore, the nano-scale properties studied correlated to macro-scale measurements and consumer perceptions, such as hair shine, color vibrancy, hair feel and hair conditioning. The results of his study indicated that the treated hair surface became more hydrophobic with lower surface energy. A conditioner formulated with behenyl trimonium methosulfate (BTMS) demonstrated better conditioning performance on bleached hair, but a conditioner with quaternium-91 showed better conditioning performance on virgin dark brown hair.

Cosmetics & Toiletries columnist Trefor Evans went on to talk about perm chemistry, which he finds to be the "best known way to permanently change the chemistry of hair." He highlighted some new product forms of straightening products, which "just the same old chemistry." He noted that perm (thiol) chemistry will curl tightly in one person's hair, but loosely in another, so he studied these differences using single fiber tensile kinetics (SFTK). There are still questions regarding why different people's hair reacts differently to this chemistry; however, it is known that the health of the hair does impact reactivity.

Sylvie Bouzeloc, from Dow Corning, then presented the company's new Frizz Index, which quantifies frizz using images that change the tress and associated frizz into black and white areas for measurement. According to Bouzeloc, this method allows the company to quantify the frizz independently from volume, unlike the Aspect Ratio testing method. Later in the day, Bouzeloc spoke to Cosmetics & Toiletries editors, noting that frizz control should not compromise volume in the eyes of the consumer. "The market is ready for the next technology," she added, commenting that it is possible to get frizz control without a heavy feel. "Volume is back on the plate; you can target both independently." The company recently launched CE-1874 Microemulsion (INCI: PEG-7 Dimethicone (and) Laureth-7 (and) Polysorbate 20), which conditions hair, imparts shine, protects color and creates a soft touch, all while improving and not decreasing volume.

The day was concluded by Vince Gruber from Lonza, who spoke about investigating bioactive claims using ex vio hair follicles. He began by noting, "The hair follicle drops down into the dermis. It is a very active metabolic area that is very difficult to test." He explained that it was thought that stem cells in the hair bulge contacted the follicle to regrow hair. It has also been found that cells in bald scalps were in senescence and ATM and p53 were good markers to study this senescence in follicles. He noted that treating the scalp like skin by upregulating collagen and elastin, can help improve the health of hair.

In related hair care news, Anna Howe from Evonik, was at the event talking about her company's new insights into the ethnic care market. The company looked at the whole hair care regimen of the ethnic hair care styling market, and found data to show benefit of products in a bundle. The team noticed a change in the market from relaxer chemistries to natural hair. The ethnic care market is still coloring their hair and straightening hair with irons rather than chemicals. Therefore, there is a need for products that protect hair, reduce breakage and add shine. The company presented its Abil ME 45 (INCI: Silicone Quaternium-22 (and) Polyglyceryl-3 Caprate (and) Dipropylene Glycol (and) Cocamidopropyl Betaine) as a product that can deposit better to help protect ethnic hair from breakage.

The second day started with a discussion of nanotechnology and its regulation. It began with the Henry Maso Award Lecture by Jay Ansell, PhD, of the Personal Care Products Council. Ansell reviewed the evolving science and regulation of nanomaterials as it affects the personal care industry. He noted that while there is a convergence of opinion within the scientific community on nanomaterials, there is a difference in regulation. Continuing the nano safety talk was Steven Verberckmoes, PhD, of Umicore. To determine whether nano-sized zinc oxide posed long-term inhalation dangers to humans, he reviewed recent inhalation tests. The tests showed an absence of particle accumulation, suggesting that dissolution kinetics are faster for nanoscaled zinc oxide for a much faster clearance rate from the lung. In addition, the effects on the lung were fully reversible and no persistent particles could be found in any study group. These tests confirm that nano zinc oxide is safe.

The conversation then moved from zinc oxide to the other well-known nanoparticle, titanium dioxide, with a presentation by Caroline Guetta of Ariel Laboratories on the influence of nano-TiO₂ and the stability of  a cosmetic nanoemulsion. She concluded that nanoparticles do not affect the mobility of atoms and molecules, causing no significant changes in their rheological profile. This conclusion was based on the fact that TiO₂ nanoparticles cause a slight increase in the emulsion's viscoelastic moduli without changing the viscoelastic behavior compared to the original emulsion.

In another, more controversial presentation M. Serpil Kislalioglu, PhD, from the University of Rhode Island, suggested that nanoparticles pose a threat to human health and the environment. She noted that there are a lot of different nanomaterials from different sources, and that they are complex and their effect is hard to generalize. "There is a great deal of work that still needs to be done on their effects," she added. She believes that nanoparticles should be treated as new chemicals and subject to new safety assessments before being allowed for use in cosmetics and consumer products. "Nano ingredients in cosmetic products should be labeled to allow people to make informed choices," she added, noting that the EU requires this designation on the label. She furthered, "Manufacturers should keep accurate records of production use an disposal. Only incineration is recommended for the disposal of large amounts."

Concluding the session on nanoparticles was Paul Staniland, PhD, of Croda, with a safety review on nanotechnology in sun care. Conversely to the previous presentation, Staniland emphasized that nano-sized sun technologies are safe and that there is sufficient evidence to support this. "They do not penetrate the skin, and the toxicity can be reduced by coating the particle." He noted that characterization methods should be standardized, which vary based on equipment used and particle size terminology.

At the afternoon's luncheon, the 2014 officers were installed and a Certificate of Appreciation from the SCC was given to Guy Padulo the outgoing 67th president of the SCC. The SCC's Merit Award was given to Stephen Greenberg, PhD, for his service to the SCC, which included serving as its 34th president and being a member of the COSA Committee.

The last session of the event covered DNA testing and new raw materials, which seem to go hand in hand as DNA testing can validate the activity of those ingredients. Thomas Polefka, PhD, began with a useful explanation of molecular biology for the cosmetic chemist. This explanation, which included the replication and transcription process, was particularly useful given the DNA testing presentations that followed. Polefka recommended attending Howard Epstein's Molecular Biology Course, which was a great introduction for Epstein, PhD, who followed with the tools and techniques available to cosmetic chemists who want to be a gene expression detective. He noted, "The first and most important tool is our creative mind," and followed by recommending gene detectives to conduct a literature search and generate a hypothesis before they design an experiment. He talked about polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which he found to have revolutionized genetics testing.

Anna Langerveld, PhD, elaborated further by talking about how genomics can be used in skin care testing. "Genomics is the best tool in the toolbox," she noted, highlighting elements such as high throughput, screens 100s to 1,000s of genes at a time, reproducibility, high quality data and cost effectiveness. She found that genotyping in skin care will become an emerging area and that soon it may be possible to conduct genotyping to create personalized skin care. She added that there is great opportunity to use gene expression to validate the safety profile of the product; that it is ideal for screening new actives, products in development and finished products; and that it can identify new biomarkers and monitor biomarkers.

The discussion turned to  raw materials for the last part of the event. Ravikumar Pillai, PhD, from Symrise, who introduced a ginger extract BIO3040 (INCI: Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract) as a new active for promoting skin luminosity. The extract was found to protect stem cells in addition to strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.

A new sunless-tanning agent was then introduced by Christophe Carola, PhD, from Merck.Palmitoyl Dihydroxymethylchromone was found to increase the dendritic melanocytes, which support the transfer of melanin to the keratinocytes. It also induced  an increase in the surface of the epidermis occupied by melanin.

Finally, Christina Carreno, PhD, of Lipotec, discussed counteracting circadian regulation of adipose tissue to fight cellulite. To find actives that could counteract circadian regulation, they had to identify the circadian gene, Nocturnin, that expresses in adipocytes at night. Through testing, they were able to identify a marine extract (BL245) as a potential nocturnin inhibitor for smoother and tighter skin at night.