Some new research

Looking forward to what comes next!

clipped from www.sciencedaily.com Why Hair Turns Gray Is No Longer A Gray Area: Our Hair Bleaches Itself As We Grow Older ScienceDaily (Feb. 24, 2009) — Wash away your gray? Maybe. A team of European scientists have finally solved a mystery that has perplexed humans throughout the ages: why we turn gray. Despite the notion that gray hair is a sign of wisdom, these researchers show that wisdom has nothing to do with it. Going gray is caused by a massive build up of hydrogen peroxide due to wear and tear of our hair follicles. The peroxide winds up blocking the normal synthesis of melanin, our hair’s natural pigment.

 

Not a surprising trend

Riding the wave of everything natural, it’s no surprise that natural actives are likewise growing in popularity.

clipped from www.gcimagazine.com Kline Explores Growth of Botanical Actives Posted: February 17, 2009 According to Kline & Company’s study “Specialty Actives and Active Delivery Systems for Personal Care 2008: U.S. and Europe,” botanicals consumption is growing at 8%, outstripping growth of other specialty actives with average growth of 5.4%. The increased use of botanicals is one of the major changes in the cosmetics and toiletries industry in recent history. The market for specialty actives and delivery systems in North America and Europe is approximately $840 million, with specialty actives in the European market accounting for the lion’s share of the market. Botanical actives are growing in share within the specialty actives segment in both the European and U.S. markets. “Labeled” actives are showing extremely quick growth, upwards of 20% per year.

 

This is big

The first real standard for organic personal care products??

clipped from www.cosmeticsdesign.com NSF’s ‘made with organic’ standard becomes an American National Standard By Guy Montague-Jones, 19-Feb-2009 NSF International’s ‘made with organic’ standard for personal care products has been adopted as an American National Standard. According to NSF, the significance of the news is that its NSF/ANSI 305 standard is now the only consensus-based standard for personal care products made with organic ingredients.

 

Crazy intro but interesting research

“Showcasing that the health of the skin and body are truly intertwined”… Really? Who writes this stuff??

clipped from www.skininc.com Fat-synthesizing Enzyme Found to Affect the Health of Skin and Hair Showcasing that the health of the skin and body are truly intertwined, a recently study of a fat-synthesizing enzyme provides information on how the body processes and reacts to retinoic acid. Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) have found that an enzyme associated with the synthesis of fat in the body is also an element in healthy skin and hair.

 

Why kill the cash cow?

If consumers are going to snub green, it hasn’t happened yet, so nobody’s going to turn away from one of the few areas that’s growing…

clipped from www.cosmeticsdesign.com Industry won’t stray from sustainability despite recession, say beauty packaging leaders By Guy Montague-Jones, 16-Feb-2009 Sustainability can be expensive but leaders in the beauty packaging industry claim they cannot afford not to go green. At the PCD Congress in Paris earlier this month Osnat Lustig, VP packaging development at Coty Beauty Europe, questioned what impact the recession would have on sustainability. Lustig voiced the common fear that consumers may snub greener products when their wallets and purses are under threat, irrespective of how supportive of sustainability they may be when presented with a questionnaire. Packaging companies are already under financial pressure in the current climate and could find themselves in trouble having invested in sustainability and paid the price for going green.

 

And so it begins…

Looks like Canada is taking the leading on regulating nanotech.

clipped from www.cosmeticsdesign.com Canada expected to demand data from suppliers of nanomaterials By Guy Montague-Jones, 16-Feb-2009 Canada is poised to become the first country to demand that companies report their use of engineered nanomaterials. Information on quantity, usage and chemical data will be required as part of a one-off request from the Canadian government, according to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies (PEN) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Companies that manufactured or imported more than one kilogram of nanomaterial in 2008 will have to submit the information, said a spokesperson from Environment Canada.

 

Start your own contract manufacturing company…

…at bargain basement prices (though the exchange rate still isn’t particularly favorable)

clipped from www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com Assets from failed cosmetics plant put up for sale By Guy Montague-Jones, 12-Feb-2009 The assets from the failed contract manufacturer Budelpack Cosi have been put up for sale in an online auction. Budelpack Cosi, which recorded turnover of €105m in 2006, closed its doors in Maesteg, South Wales, in December with the loss of 263 jobs after experiencing a slump in sales. Joint administrators, Alistair Wardell and Nigel Morrison of Grant Thornton, have now placed the factory assets up for auction with GoIndustry DoveBid.

 

Government in action

The Lacey act stuff is important, I suppose, but the way it’s set up will likely cause more problems than it solves.

clipped from www.cosmeticsandtoiletries.com Recent Changes in US Regulations By: David Steinberg, Steinberg & Associates Two recent changes to regulations will significantly impact the industry in 2009. These include changes to over-the-counter (OTC) labels, and the latest amendment to the Lacey Act. The most recent “Regulatory Review” column, published in December 2008, discussed the Lacey Act in brief but more details are emerging. Although neither of these regulatory changes will likely impact the way in which companies conduct business, they do require more information on product labels and will cause significantly more paperwork both for cosmetic companies and ingredient suppliers.

 

Yawn..

I love the ‘it’s natural so it must be safe’ argument here. We’ve seen a lot of natural products that have an SPF, but what’s the number? I doubt you’ll be formulating an SPF 30 moisturizer with this stuff….

clipped from www.cosmeticsdesign.com Milkweed may hold natural sunscreen potential By Katie Bird, 09-Feb-2009 The oil of the milkweed seed may help protect the skin against UV rays, according to scientists with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Investigations into the commercial applications of Asclepias syriaca, native to much of North America, have always focused on the potential of the plant’s silky floss as stuffing, but now Rogers E. Harry-O-Kuru believes it might find its place in the cosmetics industry. According to Harry-O-Kuru, the oil found in the seed of the plant may protect against UV rays as well as having good moisturizing qualities. Using a process that has been patented by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Harry-O-Kuru modified the seed oil to a form that protects against UV radiation.

 

Another shocker

News flash: smaller molecules penetrate better than larger ones. Story at 11.

clipped from www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com Fenchem research shows low molecular weight HA is more effective By Simon Pitman, 04-Feb-2009 China-based ingredients provider Fenchem says the anti-aging ingredient hyaluronic acid (HA) is more effective at low molecular weight (LMW). The company says it conducted in vitro studies on LMW HA to determine the penetration capacity and water holding ability compared with conventional ingredients of a higher molecular weight. Fenchem says the results showed that the LMW HA showed clear signs of penetrating the skin more easily and also has a higher water retaining capacity, qualities that give greater anti-aging efficacy.