INTERVIEW 17


Afam Okoro Chair-Elect - New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists


My responsibilities as chair will be making sure the New York chapter stays healthy, that the membership is healthy, that the attendee engagement is there, and that we are providing a lot of resources for our members - whether that’s through educational meetings or other services that we offer. We have a lot of


programmes. A lot are educational programmes, but some of them are social as well. They are a good opportunity to let your hair down a little bit but still be


professional. Everything that we do has meaning with cosmetic science behind it…but you have to make what you do fun.


[In terms of my aims for


2027], I’m still developing my plans, but I can say that my plans will be rooted in making sure that this chapter is staying active. That we are supporting our members, that we’re supporting individuals in the industry in the New York area. We also want to be


collaborating with other


organizations that we feel are aligned with who we are. That’s one of the things I want to make sure continues to happen. Recognition is another aspect that I want to tap into. Not just recognising those who’ve pioneered this industry, but those who are going to be the future of the industry as well.


Alexandre


Jouvre CEO - Kokuma


Uma Kulkarni


North America business development manager, skin care - Syensqo


We are polymer experts; we are guar experts. So we are always trying to see what can be done for the scalp as well as the skin. Our newest product is


Re2 Coffea Arabica Peptide, a novel, clinically proven scalp care active derived from coffee


grounds and designed for sensitive scalps. We plan to run tests on


the effect on the skin. We are anticipating it will also have a great effect on skin, as well as the scalp.


Our new active ingredient for the cosmetic industry is Tonasulike-D (Glucuronyl Glucosyloleanolate), which is a depigmenting and brightening ingredient that has a novel mechanism of action; it does not rely on tyrosinase inhibition. We have presented the first data on depigmentation, which is exceptional. We have seen spots disappear completely three months after the beginning of application. In addition, we have also


discovered this ingredient has an anti-wrinkling effect. At day 56, we already have a reduction of 15%, which makes it a truly multifunctional ingredient. It is not just a depigmenting and brightening ingredient. It’s more than that. Our second ingredient,


Tonasulike-P, is a melanin booster that works without requiring UV exposure.


Douglas Tomczak Head of R&D – Health & Beauty Solutions (Amcol)


Peptides in general are trending in personal care at the moment. We have taken one of the most important peptides out there, copper peptides, and we’ve been able to incorporate it into our delivery system that allows for the utilization of this material in non-aqueous, anhydrous types of products, like lipsticks, pressed powders, and other types of systems. Copper peptides are very challenging to work with


because they tend to be reactive with a lot of different ingredients. So, formulations by their very nature have to be simple. By incorporating them


into our system, we’re able to allow for much more formulation complexity. We’re starting to talk to


customers about our delivery systems and what we call GLP-1 skin care. We have a retinoid delivery


system that we couple with a caffeine delivery system.


Those two working together have been able to deliver very strong benefits in terms of addressing the reduced skin tautness—the ‘crepiness’ effect that many users of GLP-1 type products experience over time. We have data showing it


can be used for facial sagging, but we also have data that was collected about the arms too.


July 2026 PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE


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