Inspired by ancient rituals and forest therapy, Ashland has launched Santalwood biofunctional, a natural extract from Santalum album that “captures the melodic kiss of the wind and dance of the woods to fuel ethereal beauty, an inner fire and outward glow.”
 
It is the first biofunctional to be developed by Ashland with Artificial Intelligence (AI) for aging well that helps transform skin’s appearance from dull and lifeless to vibrant and glowing.
 
“Ashland has long looked to ancient ceremonies and trends to bring new technologies to the field of active ingredients for personal care that amplify the efficacy of our customers’ products and applications,” said Joel Mantelin, vice president marketing and business development, biofunctionals and naturals, Ashland. “For the first time, Ashland is also combining artificial intelligence as the starting point in the design of an ingredient. Our scientific solvers discovered that skin olfactory receptors decline with age and Santalwood biofunctional was developed to fight the skin aging process and ensure the integrity of our customers’ products and applications.”
 
Santalwood biofunctional reduces skin cell senescence and helps mitigate air pollution damage. It adds to the allure of skin with clinically proven benefits for regeneration, firmness and anti-wrinkles. The biofunctional is oil soluble and can be formulated into a wide range of beauty products for well aging.
 
Harnessing the Power of Trees
 
“Forests often deliver large amounts of odorant molecules identified as forest volatile organic compounds (VOCs),” said Anne Clay, global marketing manager, Ashland. “Sandalwood produces forest VOCs that form only with the right mix of genetics and environmental factors. Ashland Santalwood biofunctional captures selective forest VOCs from the sandalwood and enhances skin olafactory receptors shown to decrease with age and air pollution.”
 
Scientific studies have shown that inhaling forest VOCs can result in antioxidant and ant-inflammatory effects on the airways, and the pharmacological activity of some forest VOCs absorbed through inhalation may also be beneficial to promote brain functions by decreasing mental fatigue, inducing relaxation and improving cognitive performance and mood.
 
Ashland Santalwood biofunctional is extracted from Santalum album, which is sustainably sourced in Australia. It is obtained by superficial CO2 extraction from upcycled wood chips, as a part of a circular economy model and furthers Ashland’s corporate environment, social and governance (ESG) agenda.