Skin Science: Our top stories on cosmetic formulation and science

1 - Beauty with precision: Imagene Labs aiming to make genetic-beauty ‘commonplace’ in 5 years

Singapore-based genomics firm Imagene Labs is experiencing strong growth​ as personalised beauty continues to be in demand.

The company creates health, wellness and beauty products for consumers based on its proprietary DNA testing.

It currently offers a personalised serum that is based on the results of its skin test, oriSKIN, which consumers can purchase on its site.

The oriSKIN test kit assess DNA for 10 skin traits including premature collagen breakdown, impaired skin barrier function and UV damage risk.

Jia-Yi Har, senior vice president and general manager of Imagene Lab said the company had been spurred on by the increasing demand for personalised skin care.

2 - Chinese firm aiming to go global with its animal-free collagen alternative

Chinese firm Jland Biotech has developed an animal-free collagen​ to mimic and replenish the levels of type-3 collagen in skin.

Reallagen is created with yeast fermentation technology and is genetically engineered to imitate type-3 collagen.

It was designed to have the same structure as human collagen and has good compatibility with human skin.

Serene Yuan of Jland Biotech said Reallagen solves a real pain point in the cosmetics industry.

“In cosmetics, people are looking for animal-free ingredients. Our collagen follows that trend. It’s safe for vegans and can be used for halal products. We believe it is the future,”​ said Yuan.

3 - What does soil health have to do with the cosmetics industry?

A huge body of scientific evidence makes it hard to deny that pollution from the agricultural industry​ has contributed significantly to global climate change, but what might perplex some is how this is connected to the cosmetics and personal care industry.

The answer is simple, as our industry moves increasingly to eco-friendly and natural products, the more it is relying on the supply of raw materials from the agricultural sector, and, in turn the more this is adding to the pressure on agricultural resources.

Whether those materials are plant-, fruit- and vegetable-based ingredients that are playing a part in formulations, or natural materials used in packaging, the huge growth in the market for natural and organic products worldwide means our industry is relying more and more on agriculture crops.

In the grand scheme of things, the demands the cosmetics and personal care industry make on the agricultural sector will always pale in comparison to the food industry, but our industry should still be paying attention.

4 - Glitter gains: Award-winning eco-friendly product sparkles at China launch

What is claimed to be the world’s first eco-friendly and biodegradable glitter​ has been launched in China at the PCHi exhibition, and won the event’s Fountain Award for its plant-derived cosmetic glitter.

UK-based firm Ronald Britton Ltd launched Bioglitter last year at in-cosmetics Global where it picked up a Gold award.

It is now extending its reach into Asia by partnering with Hong Kong-based Sethic Innovations to distribute Bioglitter in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Florence Hong, product manager at Sethic Innovations, told CosmeticsDesign-Asia that the product reception at Personal Care and Homecare Ingredients (PCHi) 2019, has been very positive.

During the event, Bioglitter picked up the Fountain Award in the Green/Sustainable category.

5 - What current challenges face the fragrance industry? Disruptive innovation and collaboration needed, says expert

We caught up with Edison Diaz, who is director of applied research in EAME (Fragrance Division), Symrise, to discuss the current state of the fragrance industry​, its present major challenges and how the industry can move forward.

Diaz, who, along with his role at Symrise is also the current president of the German Society of Perfumers, is a leading expert in the fragrance industry.

One key area he picked out as holding huge potential for the fragrance industry is the cross-over between fragrance and health: the neuroscience behind fragrance and how our memory responds to scents.

The biggest challenge, according to the fragrance expert, is that areas of potential disruptive innovation currently require extra or targeted resources and time to move forward. This is lacking at the moment due to various factors currently posing challenges to the industry.