cosmetics formulation.

to begin inventing a cosmetic product, we need to actually know the actual formulation. that is, the actual ingredients to be put and mixed in. different types of product has different types of ingredients with particular purposes. ingredients for shampoos is obviously not the same for moisturizing cream ingredients because they have different purpose in which shampoos are more focusing on cleaning. therefore, shampoos have more cleaning agent or surfactants. each of the ingredients has their own purpose and maximum percentage amount should be mixed in. less or more of the range percentage could affect the efficiency of the product. the most important thing is the base formulation where the essential ingredients should be in before we add in the active ingredients or anti-aging ingredients for example. methods to do this are basically trial and error (with reference to past formulation/journals) or using a software called Design Expert where u key in all the possible ingredients and then you get quite a number of different formulations to be experimented and the software will analyse it for u of which is the best formulation.

this is the example of moisturizing cream formulation;

moisturizing cream

ingredients:

silicones or volatile silicones (eg: cyclomethicone) 50%

emollients (oil,waxes etc) 30%

moisturizing agents (eg: glycerin) 15%

additional ingredients (plant extracts, vitamins etc) 10%

fillers (eg: starch,kaolin,talc) 10%

emulsifying agents (eg: sorbitan stearate) 5%

cosmetic colorants (eg:iron oxides) 2%

preservatives, antimicrobials 2%

viscosity controlling agents (eg: cellulose gum) 1%

parfum 1%

aqua (water) to 100%



*the percentage is the maximum level of ingredient (w/w)


Source: COLIPA guidelines : Cosmetic Frame Formulations.


the purpose of each main ingredients will be explained later.

The skin.

First thing first, the biology of the skin.

Skin is the largest organ of the human body. It is a continuous membrane or sheet covering the entire body surface which composed of two main layers, the epidermis and dermis. The thickness of the two layers varies over different regions of the body in which the epidermis is thickest on the palms and soles of the feet whereas the dermis is thickest on the back and thinnest on the palms.

The epidermis is the uppermost layer that generates the stratum corneum which provides the skin’s protective barrier. This membrane prevents extraneous materials getting into the body as well as controls and prevents the loss of materials from within the skin. The dermis is the thick, fibrous layer beneath the epidermis that contains blood vessels, hair follicles and glands that produce sweat, which helps regulate body temperature and sebum, an oily substance that helps keep the skin from drying out. It also contains several connective tissue proteins which are collagens, elastin and proteoglycans. Collagen covers the body, elastin provides elasticity and strength while proteoglycans are involved in damage repair.

The third and bottom layer of the skin is called the subcutaneous layer which is made mostly of fat and helps your body to stay warm and absorb shocks, like if you bang into something or fall down. The subcutaneous layer also helps hold your skin to all the tissues underneath it.

New skin cells are produced at the bottom of the epidermis, and it moves upward when it matures. In the process, it loses moisture and flattens out until it is exposed at the topmost layer of the skin. This becomes a barrier against moisture loss and environmental damage. The cycle of cell renewal takes about 28 days, but the process takes longer as we age. The cycle or rate balance of these cell renewals is important in order to maintain a healthy skin barrier.

Intro.

I'm in my 2nd semester of my masters program and i'm doing a research specifically on cosmetics. I am currently doing my research at UTM (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia) under CEPP (Chemical Engineering Pilot Plant) which is an institute under the Faculty of Chemical Engineering. I'm under the supervision of Assoc Prof Dr Azila bt Abd Aziz in the department of Bioprocess Engineering.

i dont know why but i've always been interested in cosmetics science. how they interact with skin and the body, delivery etc. more on the health side not on the beauty side. but nowadays both of them are always combined. health and beauty. after all, beauty comes from a healthy person. that's why came about the term 'cosmeceuticals' which based on wikipedia, it represents a marriage between cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

Cosmeceuticals are cosmetics products with biologically active ingredients purporting to have medical or drug-like benefits. The biologically active ingredients influence the biological function of the skin by delivering nutrients necessary for healthy skin. In general, vitamins, herbs, various oils and botanical extracts may be used in cosmeceuticals. The majority of such products are moisturizers, anti-aging creams, sunscreens and other skin treatment products that claim to do more than just cleanse and beautify our skin.

Another concern is about the issue of possible long term effect due to the combination of chemicals used in cosmetics. A lot of chemicals which are used in common are known irritants and carcinogens. Switching to natural cosmetic products help us avoid feeding our skin with harmful chemicals. A natural product is described as one that contains mostly or completely natural derived ingredients (Antczak, 2001).

That is why my research is on formulating an effective facial cleanser product and designing a delivery system (i'll explain later) which incorporates an active ingredient which in my case, i'm using a popular Malaysian herb, Kacip Fatimah or Labisia Pumila which are associated with women's illness and now has the potential to become an anti aging ingredient. The end product is having an anti-aging facial cleanser product with Kacip Fatimah as the active ingredient. Hope it'll be a success!