18 INTERVIEW
TP: Where are you from? PS: Originally, I’m Persian. I left the Middle East when I was 15 years old because of Michael Jackson! At that time, there were a lot
of restrictions on western music and media. For us kids, Michael Jackson’s Thriller album was a hot item. Someone gave me a cassette tape and I made a bad decision of taking it to school and got caught with it. I was attending a very strict
school with many rules in place and this was a clear violation of the proper code of conduct. This caused a lot of headache
for my family and as a result my family decided to arrange for me to leave the country and go to school in the US.
TP: Michael Jackson influenced your career? PS: I would not go that far, but getting access to his music changed the course of my life.
TP: I suppose after that sort of life experience there might be nothing that keeps you up at night with worry. But does anything concern you in terms of the personal care industry? Perhaps regulatory issues? PS: UV filters. There is a lot of emotional information out there and there has been a reaction to it. What keeps me up at night
is inaccurate information about UV filters that is dispatched very quickly and spreads like wildfire. We have an internal taskforce
working to scientifically rebut the information we see out there about UV filters. Things get exaggerated. Skin cancer is real. Somebody
develops skin cancer every 60 seconds. We are working towards improving the profile of our UV filters as well. But the regulatory bodies have
to be able to work just as fast as we do to transform markets.
TP: DSM-Firmenich has been trying to shape the regulations and work with FDA in the US to allow more UV filters. How is that coming along? PS: It will happen. It has to happen. We’ve been putting tremendous amount of work into this.
We have formed a consortium
with stakeholders including customers, dermatologists and the Skin Cancer Foundation, and we are working with law makers
PERSONAL CARE January 2024
to show the need to protect consumers and address the health issues associated with sun damage. We’re also working very closely with the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and they’ve been incredibly receptive and engaged. There’s constant dialogue on
what information is needed, where we are going. We are really hoping to have registration soon.
TP: Registration? PS: For the use of BEMT
“We have an internal taskforce working to scientifically rebut the
information we see out there about UV filters. Things get exaggerated.” Parand Salmassinia, President of personal care at DSM-Firmenich
[bemotrizinol, also known as Parsol Shield]. This is a well-known product in Europe, but in North America the availability of UV filters is becoming more and more limited. They really need UV filter
innovations in that market to have more aesthetically superior formulations. If we can get Parsol Shield in the US, that will really change the face of the formulations. Not just the way they feel
but also consumer behaviour. It’s no longer going to feel like a sunscreen that you put on your skin when you go to the beach. It’s going to feel like skincare
that you need to put on your face every day to protect yourself and nourish your skin.
TP: I recall last year you were promoting the use of the sunscreens in the workplace in the US. PS: For outdoor workers, yes. You go to work, you wear a hard hat, you wear steel-toed boots. If you’re working outside
and you’re exposed to the sun,
we believe sunscreen should become a requirement of OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) federal rules on personal protective equipment. We’ve been promoting
consistent sunscreen use through our ‘Safer Under The Sun’, as well as doing skin cancer screening.
TP: Do you spend a lot of time on changing sunscreen regulations, personally? Do you get involved with the regulator? PS: It’s an industry effort. We have built a whole team around it with a whole new approach. Things are incredibly intertwined and interdependent. You have to bring science
and facts to FDA to enable a proper dialogue as they have a responsibility to protect the consumers. FDA and us do not compromise on safety. You cannot have a dialogue
unless you bring all the stakeholders around the table. We realised this is much bigger than us and that we need to bring all the voices together, and make sure those voices are heard.
PC
www.personalcaremagazine.com
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