Driven by consumers’ insatiable appetite for natural ingredients in their beauty and personal care products, formulators will continue to seek out natural extracts, botanicals and actives to drive their formulations. But the cosmetic and personal care sector faces growing concern about sustainable business practices and depletion of vital resources. Couple this with the need for reliable batch-to-batch consistency related to performance and other factors (like price), and it’s easy to see why crafting products with natural ingredients has become a more complicated endeavor—and why nature-identical materials can provide a solution.

One such ingredient caught the attention of the team behind Erasa XEP-30 Extreme Line Lifting and Rejuvenation Concentrate, which was rolled out just one year ago and this April won the 2016 “Breakthrough Face Product” award from totalbeauty.com. The formulation was crafted by Jules Zecchino, chief scientist with BioMimetics Laboratories.

With a  history of working with cutting-edge ingredients as former head of R&D at Estée Lauder, Zecchino formulated the Erasa concentrate with a roster of neuropeptides including XEP-30, a synthetic biomimetic snail neurotoxin with the ability to relax expression lines. This key ingredient was developed exclusively by for BioMimetic Laboratories Inc. by a Swiss firm.

“This is the future,” Zecchino said about biomimetics/nature-identical ingredients that provide “functionality without stripping nature of resources.”

Natural Selection
Today’s advanced extraction processes create new materials that harness—and enhance—the best of what Mother Nature has to offer in a more sustainable manner. Options range from antioxidants to preservatives that can be used in a wide range of applications from anti-aging skin care to hair care.

Naturex’s Eutectys botanical collection is a prime example. With a patented extraction process called Eutectigenesis that offers a natural alternative to conventional solvents, the company says it can capture a plant cell’s most precious metabolites to obtain biomimetic extracts with “augmented” phytoactive profiles and improved performance.

“With this technology, we are bringing value to the market of natural extracts,” Stephanie Puel, director of Naturex’s personal care business unit, told Happi in a phone interview about the line, which has several extracts, including saffron flower, sea fennel, rose of Jericho, olive leaf, horsetail and rosemary.

According to Naturex, Eutectys delivers greater concentration of actives and/or a richer composition, and the ingredients have attributes that are must-haves for modern-day formulators—they are 100% natural (Ecocoert and Cosmos approved), easily biodegradable and have no preservatives.

Hydroxytyrosol is a plant secondary metabolite with a bevy of benefits that range from anti-inflammatory properties to an ORAC value that is 30 times higher than that of vitamin C, making it a coveted antioxidant. While hydroxytyrosol is found in olives and olive leaves, its extraction can be complex and cost-intensive. However, through a novel process, Wacker offers HTEssence hydroxytyrosol, which exhibits significantly higher purity with an exactly defined active substance content. The production process not only offers supply security, but also ensures that HTEssence does not contain any unwanted byproducts or contaminants, according to Wacker.

On the preservative front, schülke offers cosmetic chemists broad spectrum, nature-identical preservative blends and antimicrobial stabilizers that meet critical performance criteria.
“For a preservative to perform effectively, all aspects of its composition must be carefully controlled; any variability can allow contamination in the hands of the consumer. Contaminated product can cause infection and could trigger the FDA to issue a recall. Natural materials tend to vary significantly in composition depending on the growing conditions. Nature-identical materials can be manufactured so that all of the variables can be more tightly controlled, providing more reliable preservation,” noted Linda B. Sedlewicz, country manager, schülke inc.

The company’s nature-identical products, which are tested to the same strict standards as its traditional preservative systems, include sensiva PA 40, which contains naturally-derived, nature-identical and mild synthetic materials to offer microbiological stabilization at use levels similar to many traditional preservative systems. 

“Adequate preservation should always be a priority. Whether it is a traditional preservative system or a nature-identical system, our customers can count on schülke products and expertise to maintain the microbiological stability of their formulations,” Sedlewicz asserted.

“Demand for nature-identical preservatives is growing on account of the formulation requirements associated with ecolabels, such as Ecocert, Cosmos and Natrue,” explained Andrea Wingenfeld, global marketing manager preservatives and medical care at Ashland, which recently introduced the Optiphen DLP preservative system that enhances the antimicrobial efficacy of the active, allowing for a lower use level. The nature-identical product is recommended as a booster in products where fungi are difficult to control with progressive preservative systems. The non-alcohol based preservative is designed with an optimized delivery system and may be used in select hair and skin care formulations with a pH up to 6.4.

In addition, Ashland executives noted that some of its established nature-identical preservatives, such as Optiphen BSB-N, Optiphen BS and Optiphen BD, find application in products such as wet wipes.

Nature-identical ingredients are also playing a major role in how Symrise is addressing environmental responsibility. The firm offers products such as Dragosantol 100, highly pure nature-identical alpha-bisabolol, an essential soothing ingredient usable in many personal care products for sensitive skin as well as in hair care and baby care products.

In addition, the Symrise nature-identical roster includes SymSave H SymOcide PT and Frescolat. SymSave H—Hydroxyacetophenone found in Lampaya hieronymi and Rubus chamaemorus (cloudberry, found in Alpine regions)—can be used as an antioxidant and soothing agent. SymOcide PT is a synergistic blend of phenoxyethanol and tropolone which has broad spectrum antimicrobial properties, is a skin conditioner and antioxidant. With the Frescolat range, formulators can provide desired cooling and refreshing properties, but unlike the sharp freshness of L-menthol that can appear very intense and sometimes irritating, this nature-identical option has a very gentle profile and is even suitable for sensitive skin, according to the company.

TRI-K offers Fision KeraVeg18, a vegetable-based alternative to animal keratin that mimics the functional ratios of amino acids in human hair and contains soy and wheat amino acids, arginine, serine and threonine, and Fision Hydrate, which is a mimetic to skin’s Natural Moisturizing Factors (NMF). It contains amino acids and PCA enriched with Provitamin B5 and sodium hyaluronate.

According to Elzbieta Kasprzyk, director, innovation, research and development at TRI-K, Fision KeraVeg18 delivers the benefits expected from hydrolyzed animal keratin, which is still widely used by formulators, for increased hair strength, protection from harsh salon processes, improved manageability and, consequently, healthy-looking hair. Fision Hydrate, she said, delivers immediate and intense long-term moisturization to sooth dry skin and nourishes skin for improved health. The product also creates an instantly perceivable feeling of better-moisturized skin so customers can truly feel the difference it creates. 

According to Catherine Centro, business manager-natural synergy products, TRI-K has had very good success with Fision Hydrate internationally and domestically, this ingredient is being evaluated by several different multinational companies. She noted that Fision KeraVeg18 has generated interest among medium and large companies that are looking to remove animal ingredients from their products.

“Today’s consumers are more educated and pay closer attention to the ingredients used in cosmetic and personal care products,” noted Centro. “We are seeing a growing perception that products which mimic the body’s natural components are thought of as better, more effective and gentler to the skin.”

An ingredient that harnesses the best of what nature has to offer with a keen eye on sustainability was lauded at the recent In-Cosmetics show. In April, Seppic netted the Green Ingredients Gold Award for Ephemert, a gametophyte extract that contributes to the protection of the skin by strengthening its antioxidant capacity, slowing the formation of free radicals, responsible for aging. The active is taken from macroalgae cells cultivated in a laboratory and harvested at an ephemeral stage in the life cycle of Undaria Pinnatifida seaweed. The technology enables Seppic to limit the harvesting of marine resources for the active.

Said Guénolé Le Calvez, director of BiotechMarine, Seppic’s subsidiary that developed the innovation, the award “illustrates the boldness and creativity shown by the research teams to achieve this unique innovation and to offer strong prospects for new responsible actives.”

As pressure mounts on sustainable and responsible production and processes, expect more cosmetic formulators to explore the benefits of nature-identical ingredients.