Cosmetics

 

Harmonized with nature to protect our everyday lifestyle.

 

Today's consumers are getting more and more aware of the fact that in general many personal care, cosmetics and healthcare products contain a multitude of potential harmful synthetic substances such as:

■ Artificial preservatives
■ Harsh surfactants
■ Petroleum derived emulsifiers (PEG-substances)
■ Synthetic dyes (e.g. 'AZO-dyes', 'acid blue', 'acid green' etc)
■ Chemical aromas and fragrances

Artificial substances have inherent toxicity towards the body and the environment, so consumers are now looking for natural alternatives This can be seen by the sharp rise in the demand for natural cosmetics and alternative and complementary medicine based on traditional herbs and natural treatments, To substitute harmful and environmentally problematic substances in consumer goods with natural alternatives is not an easy task :

■ Changing formulas and the consequent recalibration of production processes means investing time and money.
■ Natural produced substances are usually labour intensive and thus more expensive than chemically produced ones that are often manufactured from cheap, petrol based raw materials in large scale chemical processes.
■ Availability issue: natural broad spectrum preservatives for instance are rare to find. Such agents must be stable in a broad range of pH environments without being subject to hydrolyses or polymerization at high or low pH values.
■ An ideal natural antimicrobial should not alter product characteristics such as odour or taste when used as a preservative for cosmetics.
■ Natural alternatives should be completely harmless for humans, aquatics and the environment and should not be a skin sensitizer, not trigger gene mutation (Ames test), and micro organisms should not develop resistance against it.

Bioflavonoids

CitrusDefence® unique innovative technology is based on intensive research using botanical extracts Particularly Bioflavonoides. Today bioflavonoides are known to exert the following benefits :

■ Facilitate the regeneration of vitamin E, increase vitamin C and B-carotene levels
■ Anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-mycotic effects
■ Inhibit oxidative stress (through the inhibition of lipid per oxidation in the phospholipids layer of bio-membranes, decrease the oxidized LDL ratio and triglyceride level)
■ Modify the enzyme activity, usually inhibition (inhibits xantin-oxidase and monoamino-oxidase,lipoxigenase dependent peroxidation inhibitor, aromatase inhibitor)
■ Increase vascular permeability, anti-arteriosclerotic effect
■ Inhibit platelet aggregation
■ Hepato-protective, neuro-protective effects
■ Reduce the long-term complications of diabetes

The advantages of CitrusDefence® in cosmetics

■ Completely natural compounds
■ Broad spectrum of anti-microbial activity: gram positive and gram negative bacteria, viruses, moulds, yeast and fungi
■ Powerful natural anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties
■ Break down biofilm to reach pathogenic organisms
■ Non-hazardous to operators and the environment:
■ Non-toxic, non-carcinogenic, non-mutagenic, non-alignement and non corrosive
■ Dermatologically tested – suitable for use on sensitive skin
■ Odourless and colourless (at specified concentration)
■ Stable even when exposed to light and non-volatile
■ Not tested on animals
■ GMO free
■ Effective in very low concentration (in water) .25%-2% concentrations

Technologies developed use APG (Alkyl Poly Glucoside) as primary foaming ingredient. Other natural foam boosters are incorporated to increase foaming capability of formulation. The inclusion of mild ingredients in the proposed products deliver excellent mildness making them suitable To use regularly throughout the day. The synergistic blend of mild surfactants deliver excellent foaming and the desired sensory properties on skin.

All product formats would be tested using Industry test methods to fully substantiate mildness claims.
A F&K (Frosch & Kligman) human patch test would also be carried out to assess irritancy potential of products. A published Ocular Test protocol would be adopted to assess eye irritation.

CitrusDefence® technical team can assist in developing formulations using new, natural and novel ingredients to deliver excellent mildness, performance and skin feel benefits in some of the applications cons (left) :