78 NATURALS e as 40%.5 A similar age-dependent
diminution in cholesterol levels has also been observed across the entire integumentary system.6
Skin hydration through pro-ageing replenishment Skin moisturisation is currently among the most important skin care product claims for consumers. According to Mintel,
moisturisation has been a claim found in over 60% of new skin care product launches in each of the last three years globally.7
e d Cholesterol t s
scientists and regulatory authorities began cautioning about the possible health hazards that animal-derived products posed to humans owing to the transfer of animal- based diseases. It was, however, not until the advent of BSE (bovine spongiform
Consumers
have come to associate hydrated skin with healthy skin. Corroborating this assessment, researchers have found that hydrated skin presents differentiated optical characteristics compared to dry skin owing to decreased light scattering from the skin surface.8
From a commercial
perspective, as a category of consumer concern, the benefit derived from moisturisation cuts across consumer segmentation – whether for babies or boomers, millennials or mid-lifers, men or women, skin hydration is a benefit all consumers consider when evaluating product value propositions. Marketers have been quick to recognise and capitalise on this desire through an arc of product narratives spanning from the scientific to holistic. Within the broader moisturisation movement, cholesterol has emerged as the one ingredient capable of bridging these two themes. Thus, cholesterol’s documented, multifaceted role in skin health feeds directly into scientifically- focused product claims. But, as an endogenous component of skin, cholesterol also capitalises upon the holistic, cultural shift away from the ‘Anti- Ageing’ claims fueled by novel cure-all ingredients and towards a ‘Pro-Ageing’ tenet based on more natural solutions. The Pro-Ageing ethos acknowledges the
ageing process and guides consumers toward solutions that enable them to age gracefully, thereby offering a contrast with the more traditional Anti-Ageing ethos that has permeated the industry over the last decade and which focuses on reaching beauty perfection by undoing and reversing the aging process. The Pro-Ageing trend has gained momentum in some regions owing to demographics, such as in
PERSONAL CARE EUROPE
Figure 1: Illustrating the growing impact of plant- derived cholesterol (PhytoCol®
) in cosmetics.
countries like the United States where a well-informed millennial generation and a large retiring-age demographic have begun evaluating outcomes from anti-ageing products more critically. For a considerable portion of Pro-Ageing consumers, the shift in world-view regarding aging has fused with natural-oriented trends. As a result, these consumers are less excited about introducing novel chemistries to their skin and are more focused on replenishing or rejuvenating the skin with ingredients that are naturally present in the skin. Cholesterol, much like other popular skin-endogenous substances such as ceramides, falls under the umbrella of ingredient options that can offer a scientifically-grounded solution which also meets consumers’ holistic desire to replenish their skin naturally while integrating a Pro-Ageing ethos.
The animal-based challenge Although a popular ingredient for cosmetics, growth in adoption of cholesterol has historically been limited in some regions, particularly in the Americas, owing to its legacy of animal-based sourcing. Traditionally, cholesterol was isolated from animal sources - particularly from brain and spinal tissue extracts where it has its highest concentrations. In the latter-half of the 20th century,
a h s o o
encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease) in the early years of this century, that such concerns began to gain broad credence. As a result, cosmetic, pharmaceutical and biotech companies began re-thinking the use of animal-derived raw materials like cholesterol in their products. The causative agent in BSE is a misfolded
protein – a prion. The fact that this infectious agent remains viable at
temperatures over 600 °C (>1,100 °F) is indicative of the difficulty in ensuring non- contamination from animal-derived cholesterol.
Suppliers of traditional animal-derived
cholesterol have tried to mitigate the threat of BSE contamination through various approaches. Until recently, sourcing animal- derived cholesterol from animals in countries in which there had been no reported cases of BSE was considered a solution to the concerns about transmission of animal-based diseases. However, this proposal was discarded when subsequent reports of BSE in Japan, Canada, and the US, demonstrated that geographic isolation is not an adequate safety barrier. Another approach has involved changes to the animal-based feedstock of the cholesterol. For instance, today, the feedstock for most animal-derived cholesterol is wool grease. Although this source may pose some reduction in contamination risk, the potential for risk remains. More recently, adulteration of a different form has entered the cholesterol marketplace under the moniker of “enzymatically-derived” sourcing. Caveat emptor! By directing the consumers’ attention away from the critical question, viz. the nature of the actual feedstock — in this instance, rendered animal fat — these so-called “enzymatically-derived” sources of cholesterol only obfuscate the issue. Although specific treatments to minimise the risk of transmitting BSE from products of animal origin are described in pharmacopoeial monographs, distinguishing uninfected animal-derived
June 2018
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