Skin science: Our top stories on cosmetic formulation and science

1 – VIDEO: Alternative animal testing device may soon be available to the cosmetics industry​

The team behind an alternative animal testing​ device, “skin-on-a-chip”, is forming new start-up to commercialise the product and offer its services to the cosmetic industry.

At this year’s Society of Comstics Scientists (SCSS) Suppliers Day, we sat down with Dr. Massimo Alberti, from Polaris Science to learn more about the innovation, which is backed by The Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech).

Alberti and his colleagues successfully reconstructed human skin on a compact, microfluidic device which can reduce or eventually replace animal testing.

“The device is a system where you can stimulate blood flow, recreate the microenvironment in which the skin or the tissue you want to study is absolutely close to the physiological condition,” ​said Alberti, who believes will be a game-changer for the industry.

“[The cosmetic industry] is constantly struggling with the cost of R&D and need to bring products on the market as fast as they can. At the same time, the whole supply chain is affected because the ingredient providers and research organisations that have to follow those needs and also be able to provide those kinds of service rapidly and reliably,” ​he said.

2 – Dior collaborates with leading Japanese lab to study the mechanism of skin metabolism​

The research arm of LVMH is collaborating with the Centre for iPS Cell Research and Application of Kyoto University (CiRA) to study the mechanism of skin metabolism​ for Parfums Christian Dior.

The aim of the joint project is to explore how oxidative metabolism affects skin keratinocyte self-renewal or differentiation capabilities.

“The effects of age on mitochondrial status, skin regeneration and differentiation will be investigated with the hope of contributing to major therapeutic discoveries in the skin and cutaneous rejuvenation,” ​said CiRA in a press statement.

Under the direction of Nobel Prize laureate Shinya Yamanaka, CiRA is a leading centre for induced pluripotent stem cell research.

According to CiRA, iPS cells are cells generated by introducing a small number of factors into body cells such as skin cells and blood cells.

3 – Super hydrator: Kao develops new formulation that targets rough and dry skin​

Kao Corporation has developed a novel formulation which it claims can smooth away roughness​ caused by dry skin.

Developed by the Japanese firm’s Skin Care Laboratory, Material Science Laboratory, and Analytical Science Laboratory, the formulation is a combination of ‘large water-content alpha-gel’ and an OXP-SI polymer.

The combined formula was found to be absorbed into regions with micro-scaling. According to Kao, micro-scaling is a “condition in which the horny layer skin is thinly exfoliated in pieces”.​

According to a survey conducted by Kao, an increasingly large number of Japanese women now suffer from dry skin. Among them, more than 90% were found to have micro-scaling on the skin surface.

4 – Moisture-retaining membrane: Kao develops new formula with fine fibre tech to reduce moisture-loss on skin​

Further research on Kao’s fine fibre technology​ has revealed its effects on protein expression in the stratum corneum and potential to improve skin condition with what the firm claims is a unique formula.

Kao Corporation first announced the development of its fine fibre technology in 2018.  The technology creates a barely-visible film on the skin’s surface, creating an ultra-thin membrane on looks and feels natural.

Since then, the company’s Skincare Research Laboratory and Analytical Science Laboratory have developed a novel formula based on fine fibre tech which claims to control water evaporation on the surface of skin.

Futher research found that controling the moisture premaebility affects the expression of the proteins that were linked to healthy skin conditions.

5 – Base notes with benefits: Down Under expands wood oils portfolio to meet APAC consumer demands​

Australian ingredient provider Down Under Enterprises has launched a collection of native Aussie wood oils​ to cater to the increasingly complex demands of APAC beauty consumers.

The collection consists of locally-scoured Australian blue cypress oil, Australian buddha wood oil, Australian sandalwood oil, Indian sandalwood oil and Australian white cypress wood oil.

Phil Prather, head of marketing and operations at Down Under Enterprises, told CosmeticsDesign-Asia​ that the firm believed there was a need for more variety of oils that offer functional benefits.

For instance, Prather elaborated, buddha wood oil and blue cypress oil have anti-inflammatory properties while white cypress oil has demonstrated skin brightening properties.

“What we want formulators to understand is that these oils are more than just a base note. These oils can provide functional properties for their formulations. Properties that are based on clear science that has been published in clinical papers,”​ he said.