Scientific Blog Gallery
The acceleration of climate change driven events is creating an increasing pressure on the environment and living organisms that depend upon it with consequences that will be hard to fix or reverse in the future. Every living organism that is exposed to environmental changes is impacted. We need to understand the scenario to put in […]
Defining beauty is a complex and multifaceted task that can be accomplished both topically and from within. Beauty is one of those feel-good life deliverables that both gives and receives, making it a personalized priority for all of us. Beauty is a matter of interpretation, appreciation, and commitment. It all starts with a strong dedication […]
Here’s a hot flash you may not have heard before. You’re not aging. You’re rusting. As we get older, we start to face a complexion that looks duller, dingy, cloudier, less luminous. And more unevenly discolored. The reason? Iron is the most abundant transition metal in human body and the best-known driving force behind oxygen […]
Coloring agents are essential components of certain cosmetic products, especially color cosmetic formulations. Most cosmetic colorants are synthetic and are regulated globally. In the US, they are regulated by FDA with monographs for each and all located in Title 21 of the Code of Federal regulations, Parts 73 and 74. In the EU, allowed cosmetic […]
Introduction For years, hair care products have been focused on addressing damage by providing solutions to repair, prevent and maintain hair health. With increased awareness, consumers now recognize that healthy scalp is also a fundamental foundation for healthy hair. Holistic care means to restore the hair at its core while maintaining a healthy scalp. With […]
The Use of Natural Oils to Treat the Skin Roger L. McMullen Fairleigh Dickinson University and Ashland Inc. The term natural oil refers to a fixed (nonvolatile) oil of animal or plant origin. These types of oils—in contrast to essential (volatile) oils, which are obtained by steam distillation methods of plant matter—are typically obtained […]
The topic of “biodegradability” has become extremely important over recent years, but still may not be fully understood. The following is a basic overview for formulators and anyone wishing to know more about this critical issue. (Note that regulations, definitions, and practical guidelines on biodegradability are continually changing, and the comments in this blog are […]
Ever since the FDA published their proposed monograph ruling in February 2019 recognizing titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as the only Category I (Safe and Effective) sunscreens, a cascade of reformulations of most sunscreens products on the US market took place. Inorganic sunscreen formulations are now center-stage and are slowly replacing organic sunscreen formulations. In […]
The recent introduction of holistic wellness as a major component of “I feel better and I look better” is not new to the beauty and cosmetic market. However, the explosion of nutritional formulations in the space of beauty from within is today associated with more robust and convincing scientific evidence than in the past. Supplement […]
The skin barrier function has recently dominated the cosmetic media and consumer market segment. The dermal-epidermal junction (DEJ) is a region within the skin which does not get a lot of face time relative to its high-profile neighbor (epidermis / stratum corneum). The DEJ is the birthplace of the epidermis so it seems reasonable to […]
Brief history of nanomaterial regulations According to Wikipedia, the word “nanotechnology” was first coined by Professor Norio Taniguchi of Tokyo University in 1974. He used it to describe semiconductor processes such as thin film deposition and ion beam milling, which exhibit characteristic control on the order of a nanometer. Since the 1980s, the term nanotechnology […]
We have all heard the term “photoaging” and can agree on its definition, succinctly described by the Canadian Dermatology Association: “Photoaging is premature aging of the skin caused by repeated exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV), primarily from the sun but also from artificial UV sources. Photoaging differs from chronologic aging: the damaging effects of UV […]
Introduction Silicones have been widely used in the cosmetic industry for decades. They are exceptionally versatile and impart multifaceted benefits across a wide range of beauty and personal care products. Not all silicones have been created equal, however, and some of these materials are now limited by regulatory restrictions on their use. Due to […]
PPARs reemerging as a skin wellness target in cosmetics Written by Marc Cornell, Mar-Key Consulting LLC Cosmetics are continuing their marvelous evolution with new scientific findings and breakthrough innovations. Sometimes we need to look back to find the genesis of a current marketing or positioning trend. Take a step back with me to the late […]
Natural ingredients offer a myriad of possibilities for developing effective cosmetic products. Their popularity has greatly increased over the past two decades in part due to a major shift in public opinion about the environment, human health, and wellbeing. Plant ingredients have been shown to be effective treatments of the skin for a number of […]
The use of in-vitro modeling to predict clinical outcome: A users guide to technology development In-vitro models have been a staple of technology development as well as a tool for mapping mechanistic understanding of skin biology. Their complexity has evolved over time to become quite predictive to clinical outcomes. In-vitro modeling is a powerful solution […]
Interview with Giorgio Dell’Acqua, 2022 NYSCC Chair Giorgio Dell’Acqua 2022 NYSCC Chair Last November the Chapter successfully organized the first ‘back-in-person’ NYSCC Suppliers’ Day after the pandemic break. How was the turnout for attendees and exhibitors? It was incredible and extremely rewarding to meet face-to face and be reunited with so many members and colleagues. […]
Article via Cosmetics Design:
Modern-day formulators relied on polymers to stabilize o/w emulsions much more than surfactants. The introduction of polyacrylic acid-derived polymers many years ago enabled formulators to develop stable emulsions with minimal effort. In realty, formulators used polymers as their primary stabilizers, and they selected the surfactant and esters to tailor the texture and sensorial properties of […]
Technology touches every aspect of our lives, and the influence of technology in beauty and cosmetics has grown in recent times globally, becoming a quite interesting playground of opportunity for consumers, big multinational brands, and entrepreneurs. There have been increasingly more examples of beauty tech advancements in skin care; however, offerings for beauty tech in […]
Physiochemical properties of hair are impacted by many stressors ranging from physical, chemical, mechanical to environmental. A combination of several environmental factors such as sun exposure and air pollution can impact overall hair and scalp health. Damage induced by these aggressors impacts hair properties such as protein content, melanin oxidation, surface quality and structural components […]
In the last two decades the role of antioxidants in skin care has radically changed. In the early 2000s, it was typical to find finished formulas on the shelf that contained butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) or butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which were mostly added to enhance the shelf-life of the product. As time went on, formulas containing […]
What is the Exposome? According to the CDC/NIOSH[1] website, the exposome can be defined as: “the measure of all the exposures of an individual in a lifetime and how those exposures relate to health. An individual’s exposure begins before birth and includes insults from environmental and occupational sources. Understanding how exposures from our environment, diet, […]
The use of hand sanitizers has steadily increased over the past ten years. Their use began in hospitals, doctor’s offices, clinics and healthcare facilities. Then, we started seeing dispensers in building entrances, by elevators and in many common areas. Due to the recent COVID pandemic, there was an exponential increase in the use of hand […]
Introduction Back in 2000, when I started my adventure as a cosmetic scientist and formulator working at a contract manufacturer, I was introduced to suppliers and brands that suggested ingestible ingredients as an effective treatment to improve the way our skin, hair and nails looked. We called it at the time the “inside-out” approach to […]
Although it seems to be common sense and even routine to some consumers to use sunscreens to protect the skin from the harmful effects of the sun, many still do not use any sunscreens in America. This is especially true in the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community. As the demography in USA […]
Formulating cosmetic products presents many challenges, ranging from regulations, product safety, performance, aesthetics, consumer demographic trends and claim substantiation, in addition to media scrutiny, etc. To be a successful formulation chemist, one must toggle many priorities with limited resources of time and money, while maintaining market launch timing. In this blog, a few of the […]
How Many Languages Does our Skin Speak? A fresh look at what it can it teach us in terms of innovation if we listen. Inflammation is Just the Beginning: Inflammation has garnished the attention of mainstream headlines for the past 20 years and has certainly taken center stage describing and managing the current virulence of […]
Sunscreen Monograph Proposed New Rules and its Impact on Formulations-Part III Introduction Ever Since the FDA published its proposed rules in February of 2019 reclassifying 14 of the 16 sunscreens approved as Category I to Category II and III, the entire US sunscreen market has been upside down. Most sunscreen manufacturers scrambled to formulate new […]
Introduction Human hair is characterized by several descriptors, some of which influence how the hair behaves and responds to cosmetic products. Common descriptors include texture, density and diameter. Porosity is another relevant descriptor of hair that merits further attention. It is advantageous for the industry to consider aspects of hair porosity given the rise of […]
Introduction Light dances on the surface of special effect pigments before it bounces off angles to bend and blur lines with optical diffusion, creating depth, offering dimensionality, sheer luminous glow or a dazzling, eye catching sparkle. Used in everyday products across a wide array of industries such as color cosmetics, personal care, auto, paint and […]
Introduction The birth of color cosmetics is said to be traced back all the way to Mesopotamia over 5000 years ago where gems and semi-precious gems were ground up and applied to both the lips and the eyelids. In 4000 BCE, Egyptian women would apply Mesdement, a dark grey ore of lead, Galena chemically known […]
Introduction As the body’s first defense against the elements, skin is frequently exposed to electromagnetic radiation from the Sun, which can lead to a variety of detrimental conditions such as photoaging, photoimmunosuppression, and photocarcinogenesis. Reactive oxygen species are largely responsible for the initiation of these disease states in skin and are mostly due to exposure […]
Cosmetic chemists are an innovative, curious, and creative group of scientists, continually looking to formulate the most effective and pleasing products for the world’s consumers. Yet when asked to create the galenic forms most often requested by marketing – creams and lotions – the “default emulsion” is almost always oil-in-water (O/W). While O/W systems offer […]
In my recent blog published in August, changes to the current sunscreen tentative monograph were proposed. These changes are probably the most drastic changes to the sunscreen monograph since its inception. In this section, I would like to tackle two key areas related to the changes requested by the FDA. The first one is the […]
All Things Beauty to Be Celebrated May 2019 in NYC (New York, NY, December 2018)—The New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists (NYSCC) has renewed its partnership with CEW by sponsoring a new category in its prestigious Beauty Awards program the “Supplier’s Award: Ingredients and Formulation.” Mirroring the Academy Awards Science and Technical Achievement awards, […]