Science! Monthly: The Science of Cosmetics by EPSA

The Science of Cosmetics October Edition 2021

Introduction Dear readers, The Students' Section of Slovenian Pharmaceutical Society (ŠSSFD) is a non-profit and non-political organisation. Our aim is to organise projects and events that will improve the general competencies of our members. Our annual strategy includes several notable projects, such as competitions (Patient Counselling Event, Clinical Skills Event, Compounding Event during which students test their knowledge e.g. behind the pharmacy counter or in a simulated hospital department), public health campaigns (we cover various topics from Antibiotics, Skin cancer to Herbal teas), professional events and student congresses, publications (we have our own publication Spatula, which enables pharmacy students to share their knowledge and interests in the world of pharmacy), humanitarian activities (Christmas bazaar, volunteering in a Pro Bono clinic, collecting clothes, toys, and school supplies), summer camps (our largest project is the International Pharmaceutical Summer Camp (IPSC) attended by approximately 70 Slovene and foreign students and comprised of the educational and social programme). We regularly participate in the EPSA Twinnet Project exchanges, attend and organise European and international congresses and participate in SEP exchanges, which allow Slovene students to explore the world and foreign students to experience Slovenia. We also collaborate in the organisation of a yearly Health Care Team project, where we work with medical, psychology, and physiotherapy students and other healthcare students with the purpose of equal interdisciplinary cooperation. In Slovenia we are also known as Društvo študentov farmacije Slovenije (DŠFS).

Enjoy reading this edition of Science! Monthly!

ŠSSFD, Slovenia Member Association

EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

Nanofibers in cosmetic science As in all areas, in the field of cosmetic science, there is a constant desire to improve the quality of products and achieve the wishes of consumers. One of the newer approaches that makes this possible is the use of nanotechnology and the incorporation of nanomaterials into cosmetic products. Nanomaterials are found in various products designed to restore and maintain healthy skin. These are mainly anti-aging creams, sunscreens, various face masks, hair products, and even decorative cosmetics. However, more and more attention is being paid to the inclusion of nanofibers in cosmetic products.

Nanofibers are fibers of nanometer diameter. They are special because of their unique properties such as high tensile strength, the ratio between the surface area of the fibers and their volume, high porosity, they are light and have small pores. They show greater flexibility and strength compared to any form of the same material of larger dimensions. Because of these properties, they have attracted the attention of manufacturers of cosmetic products, pharmacy, biomedicine, and other fields. The methods of making nanofibers, the main one being electrospinning, have greatly contributed to this.

Image 1 SEM image of electrospun nanofibers (Hassiba et al., 2017) Nanofibers are interesting for use in cosmetic science because of their structure, which resembles the structure of the extracellular matrix of the skin. That means that they do not irritate the skin, but help it to regenerate faster. Cosmetically active ingredients are embedded on the surface of the nanofibers and inside. This way the release of cosmetically active ingredients is controlled with the decomposition of nanofibers. They EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

are mainly used for the purpose of prolonged release of cosmetically active ingredients. Cosmetically active ingredients, which are built into the nanofibers, are applied to the skin and help to improve the performance of cosmetic products. Formulations with nanofibers have been shown to be released into the skin after the first few seconds, then followed by a slow release of actives for the next 72 hours, allowing prolonged release into the skin.

Prolonged release may represent an advantage for the perfume industry, which strives to release aromatic compounds for as long as possible. The emulsion electrospinning method makes it possible to make membranes, which contain fragrances that easily evaporate, trapped in the fibrous matrix of the polymer. Such systems can release aromas for fifteen days.

Nanofibers could also improve the stability of antioxidants, such as vitamin E, which are usually quite unstable, thus providing prolonged skin protection against oxidative stress. A lot of research has been done in the field of face masks, which, unlike those currently found on the market, would be dry and should be wetted just before use. Such masks allow the release of actives in deeper layers of the skin, due to the large surface area of the nanofibers.

As seen, nanofibers as a delivery system in cosmetic science have great potential for use in the future, but there is still more room for research.

Nuša Horvat and Vesna Fekonja

EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

Personalized cosmetics Genetics, environment, and lifestyle are factors responsible for differences in the anatomy and physiology of the skin. Each person has a different skin structure, sensitivity, and hormonal balance. Therefore, everyone requests specific skincare. Personalized cosmetics are products developed based on an individual’s needs and tend to be more effective than regular off-the-shelf products.

The scientific methods that help to gather information about skin properties are structural and biometric measurements, use of dermal biomarkers, hormonal, and stress response evaluation. In reality, companies normally use more accessible approaches to receive information about customers’ skin which helps them formulate personalized cosmetics. A very popular option is an online questionnaire in which the clients answer questions about the physical characteristics of their skin and lifestyle. An alternative is a live interview with a professional. A more advanced approach is home test kits containing devices and tests that enable the individual to measure properties of the skin for example trans epidermal water loss, wrinkles, fine lines, etc. There are also testing kits for individuals to submit their DNA and send it to researchers to be analysed. Genetic tests can give different information about a person’s skin properties, for example, pigmentation details or sun sensitivity. An interesting approach is also analysing skin microbiome which is specific for each individual.

Based on the gathered information, the company chooses the ingredients and creates a personalized product for the client. There are different production methods. The most common one is similar to the production of regular cosmetics and is performed at a factory. After the client completes the questionnaire, professionals choose appropriate ingredients to form a suitable cosmetic product, manufacture it and ship it to the client’s home. Very popular is also formulating the product in retail stores. A consultant helps the client to choose the right ingredients and afterward a specific product is made on spot. Another option is formulating the product at home. The client receives a cosmetic kit with a base cream and cosmetically active ingredients in the right proportions and blends them by himself. Personalized cosmetic products can also be made by simply mixing a regular off-theshelf product with active ingredients for example vitamin C.

Image 2: Personalised science EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

Although personalized cosmetics are a novelty in cosmetic science, they already have a lot of supporters and the number of people using them is constantly growing. With science evolution, we are learning to understand the physiology and properties of our skin better. Personalized cosmetics enable us to choose the right ingredients to benefit our skin and therefore it is believed that their value will grow even more in the following years.

Teja Gošek

EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

Growth factors in cosmetic products Growth factors are regulatory protein biomacromolecules that have an impact on cell growth, development, activation, and immune response. Their primary role is communication between cells. They are naturally present in our skin and make an important contribution to the wound healing process. They are used in pharmaceutical preparations for the treatment of chronic wounds.

They have the ability to reshape the skin as they promote the formation of collagen, elastin, extracellular skeleton, and hyaluronic acid. As the body ages, the proportion of collagen, elastin, and growth factors in the skin decreases.

There has been an interest in incorporating growth factors into anti-aging skincare products. As suggested the application of cosmetics with growth factors should increase endogenous levels and help to regenerate the skin. Signaling pathways that are typical for healthy and young skin would be restored. There are already quite a few products on the market that contain growth factors. These are cosmetics that contain a single growth factor or a mixture of several growth factors (EGF epidermal growth factor, TGF-β transforming growth factor β, FGF - fibroblast growth factor).

Image 3: Cosmetic product

Experts question the effectiveness due to the size of the growth factors - the molecules are so large that they are unlikely to pass the upper layer of the skin barrier in a significant amount.

Nevertheless, their effectiveness has been confirmed in clinical studies. The effect of such large molecules is argued by researchers that a small number of growth factors should be able to pass into the skin. There, through a signaling cascade, they would trigger the EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

secretion of a larger amount of endogenous growth factors. Growth factors would then reach and stimulate fibroblasts in the deeper layers of the skin. However, there is no scientific evidence for this argument.

The whole idea of using growth factors is to accelerate cell differentiation and proliferation, leading to thicker and firmer skin. Unregulated cell growth is characteristic of the cancer cells. It is important to emphasize that growth factors alone do not trigger malignant transformation. Growth factors only promote the proliferation of cancer cells that are already present in the skin. Although growth factors are unable to distinguish between healthy and cancer cells, no serious side effects have been observed to this date.

Clinical studies that have been performed so far confirmed the effectiveness of growth factors in cosmetics. However, this research is mostly done by manufacturers of growth factor cosmetics, so we cannot exclude the possibility of a subjective approach. In future growth, factor cosmetics would require more independent, double-blind, randomized, and objective clinical studies to achieve optimal formulation effect.

Valentina Vutolen

EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

Biosurfactants There is probably no person among us who does not use daily cosmetic products such as shampoos, soaps, toothpaste, face creams, body lotions, etc. There is one specific group of ingredients that all these products have in common: surfactants. Surfactants are amphipathic molecules, which means they are composed of a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic part. This feature allows surfactants to form a layer between fluid phases of different polarities such as oil/water and as a result, we get a stable cosmetic product. Surfactants are also responsible for foaming and better solubility of components.

The most common synthetic surfactants such as sodium laureth sulfate, sodium stearate, etc. are often related to irritations and are not biodegradable. Other than synthetic, there are two other categories of surfactants, which could in the future take a bigger role in the cosmetic industry since they are both eco-friendly. Those are bio-based and microbial surfactants. Bio-based surfactants are usually produced by chemical synthesis but are composed of fats, sugars, or amino acids obtained from renewable sources into their structures. Microbial surfactants are considered the most biocompatible as they are produced from bacteria and yeast, without organic synthesis.

Other than just environmental compatibility, microbial surfactants have certain advantages over synthetic surfactants – they can achieve higher foaming property and they are able to keep the activity even when they are exposed to higher temperatures and extreme pH values. Additionally, their toxicity levels are described as low, which suggests that they could potentially be also used in food and pharmaceutical fields. Even though they have a lot of advantages, there are certain reasons why they are not yet used in the cosmetic industry. Their production process is expensive, production yield is very low and there are difficulties in obtaining pure and standardized products with comparable quality.

Image 4: Biosurfactants

EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

To conclude there certainly is a possibility to develop more high price range cosmetic products with biosurfactants in the future. But on the other side, if we would want to put the product into an industrial scale and make such products available at comparable prices with products including synthetic surfactants, then firstly we would need improvements in biotechnology. That would allow us to obtain pure products at lower production prices.

Klara Tavčar

EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

References Nanofibers in cosmetic science: 1. Yilmaz F., Celep G., Tetik G., Nanofibers in Cosmetics, October 19th 2016, DOI: 10.5772/64172 2. Bellu E., Garroni G., Cruciani S., Balzano F., Serra D., Satta R., Montesau M. A., Fadda A., Mulas M., Sarais G., Bandiera P., Torreggiani E., Martini F., Tognon M., Ventura C., Beznoska J., Amler E., Maioli M., Smart Nanofibers with Natural Extracts Prevent Senescence Patterning in a Dynamic Cell Culture Model of Human Skin, MDPI journal Cells, Volume 9; 2020 3. D. C. Manatunga, V. U. Godakanda, H. M. L. P. B. Herath, Rohini M. de Silva, Chen-Yu Yeh, Jiann-Yeu Chen, A. A. Akshitha de Silva, S. Rajapaksha, Renuka Nilmini and K. M. Nalin de Silva, Nanofibrous cosmetic face mask for transdermal delivery of nano gold: synthesis, characterization, release and zebra fish employed toxicity studies, Royal Society Open Science, Volume 7, Issue 9; September 2020, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.201266 4. Goyal R., Macri K. L., Kaplan M. H., Kohn J., Nanoparticles and nanofibers for topical drug delivery, Author manuscript, October 2016, 28; 240: 77-92. DOI: :10.1016/j.jconrel.2015.10.049 5. Kamble P., Sandarani B., Majumdar A., Bhullar S., Nanofiber based drug delivery systems for skin: A promising therapeutic approach, Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology (2017), DOI: 10.1016/j.jddst.2017.07.003.

Personalized cosmetics: 1. M. Steinholtz, A. Evans: Next-Generation Personalized Beauty. L.E.K. Consulting / Executive Insights 2017, Volume XIX, Issue 61 2. H. Eixarch, L. Wyness, M. Sibanda: The Regulation of Personalized Cosmetics in the EU. Cosmetics 2019; 6, 29 3. L. Ha-yeon, J. Hyun-young, K. Gyuri: A Study on experiential consumption and development of the customized cosmetics on female university students in their 20s -Preliminary Study. Journal of Digital Convergence 2020; Volume 18, Issue 12: 595-606 4. E. Markiewicz, O. C. Idowu: Personalized skincare: from molecular basis to clinical and commercial applications. Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 2018; 11: 161-171 5. Figure 2. Source: https://www.scconline.org/wpcontent/uploads/2019/08/AdobeStock_168838030-300x220.jpeg (16.6.2021)

Growth factors in cosmetic produtcs: 1. Draelos Z: Cosmetic Dermatology Products and Procedures, second edition, John Wiley&Sons, West Sussex UK, 2016: 318-324 2. Mehta R C, Fitzpatrick R E: Endogenous growth factors as cosmeceuticals. Dermatologic Therapy, Vol. 20, 2007, 350-359 EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association

Biosurfactants: 1. X. Vecino, J. M. Cruz, A. B. Moldes & L. R. Rodrigues (2017): Biosurfactants in cosmetic formulations: trends and challenges, Critical Reviews in Biotechnology, DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2016.1269053 ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07388551.2016.1269053 ) 2. Moldes, A.B.; Rodríguez-López, L.; Rincón-Fontán, M.; López-Prieto, A.; Vecino, X.; Cruz, J.M. Synthetic and Bio-Derived Surfactants Versus Microbial Biosurfactants in the Cosmetic Industry: An Overview. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2021, 22, 2371. ( https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22052371 ) 3. Ahmadi-Ashtiani, H.R.; Baldisserotto, A.; Cesa, E.; Manfredini, S; et. al. (2020): Microbial Biosurfactants as Key Multifunctional Ingredients for Sustainable Cosmetics, Cosmetic, 7, 46, DOI:10.3390/cosmetics7020046 ( http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/cosmetics7020046 )

References for pictures: Front page image: https://www.freepik.com/photos/woman Image 1: Hassiba, A., El Zowalaty, M., Webster, T., Abdullah, A., Nasrallah, G., & Khalil, K. et al. (2017). Synthesis, characterization, and antimicrobial properties of novel double layer nanocomposite electrospun fibers for wound dressing applications. International Journal Of Nanomedicine, Volume 12, 2205-2213. doi: 10.2147/ijn.s123417 Image 2: https://www.freepik.com/photos/woman'>Woman (15.10.2021) Image 3: https://image.freepik.com/free-vector/white-cream-package-container-topview-illustration-cosmetic-product-care_53562-2469.jpg (16.6.2021) Image 4: https://www.mdpi.com/pharmaceutics/pharmaceutics-1201099/article_deploy/html/images/pharmaceutics-12-01099-ag.png (16.6.2021)

EPSA – European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association