64 PRESERVATIVES
efficiency by attacking the cell wall respectively membranes of germs. The disadvantage is that they can also boost the irritation potential of slightly irritating ingredients.
Are certified products more skin- friendly and which certification label should I trust more? Sometimes it can get very confusing and it is not easy to keep the overview. It seems as for each new trend a new certification label pops up. All these labels have different requirements and it can be hard to keep track of it; in particular for manufacturers who export their products and thereby are obligated to fulfil local requirements of other countries. Although, today it is highly recommended to reassess especially the antimicrobial system of cosmetic formulations more than ever. Most of the certification labels are focusing on natural ingredients and in average the final products are more skin friendly. As a responsible formulator you should not follow every rule blindly. A vegan product for example can be full of harmful ingredients and natural raw materials can also cause irritations. As Paracelsus said: “Poison is in everything and no thing is without poison. The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy.”
Are new innovative antimicrobials the best choice for preparing mild formulations? Scientific research is very important. The number of resistant germs is growing and the bigger the choice of suitable antimicrobials, the easier it gets to find the best solution for an individual formulation. We are continuously screening not only the market and but also nature for new antimicrobials extracts - although research often means that by solving one problem two new problems pop up. Parabens and formaldehyde once were declared as the “perfect new substances” for preservation systems at the time. However, the negative side effects were only detected many years later. You never know what kind of side effects
might be detected in the future. Nowadays tox centers have a lot of experiences and are highly professional. This experience that they will test substances precisely and hence, with a high probability, side effects will be exposed. Risks are obviously higher with new chemically produced molecules compared to naturally derived substances but research means much more. Identifying synergetic effects plays a key role for modern and skin friendly cosmetics. The better you understand the mode of action and interactions of antimicrobials, the lower is the needed concentration without losing any efficiency. In general, we recommend to combine two or three different
PERSONAL CARE NORTH AMERICA
antimicrobials in one formulation. If one antimicrobial needs to pass the bacteria membrane and the other one attacks the membrane, you can increase the efficiency by using two antimicrobials. Another very good example is the solubility of antimicrobials: Many of the most effective substances are soluble in oil. Germs grow in the water phase, so you need to push hydrophobic substances to the water phase too, otherwise they will not be effective in emulsions. You can make the water phase more attractive for those substances by using diols or by using co- emulsifiers that are present in the interphase and at the same time act as a solvent for oil- soluble antimicrobials. Prospectively, new molecules and new antimicrobial extracts will be developed as we gain more knowledge about natural processes and billions of years of evolution. Nevertheless, improving existing substances to work in a more effective way is also gaining in importance. Finally, we can learn from history that the
current classification is just a snapshot of the current toxicological knowledge base and it will be interesting to see what new insights the future will bring. Thus, improving well known substances is one more part of research. Well-proven antimicrobials which have been used for decades without any concerns are like raw diamonds. Let me make this clear with an example: The combination of levulinic acid (Cosphaderm® anisic acid (Cosphaderm®
LA-T) and pAS natural) is very
often used in baby care products as well as in products for sensitive skin. A deficiency could be considered within the workflow – but we have a solution already. First you need to form the salt of anisic acid to dissolve it in water and in the end of your formulation you need to reduce the pH value to benefit from the antimicrobial efficiency of the acid. Due to this extensive workflow, we created Cosphaderm Sodium LAAS: At first glance this product seems to be inconspicuous but the details
make the difference. Transforming both natural acids into salts combined with a spray drying process results in a new product that is far more user-friendly and also more sustainable. No further dissolution steps of the acids are needed and the concentration of actives in the mixture can be increased to a maximum. This does not only reduce packaging and transportation costs but also storage areas.
Conclusion In conclusion, mild products and an excellent skin feeling are not a contradiction. Nowadays, the technical progress allows us to produce very pure and natural high-class raw materials. Potential allergens or solvents that might appear during the extraction or production process can be totally removed. Cosmetic manufacturers need to realize that consumers are paying more attention to the ingredients and the trend of more naturality is increasing rapidly. We should and can learn from nature! The preservative system plays a key role regarding the mildness. We need to find a way to stabilise formulations without risking the skin-friendliness. Costs for natural solutions are higher but represent just a little percentage of the total calculations as you need to take into consideration the environment as well. Often, actives and dyes have a much higher influence on final costs. Even for mass market products there is always room for improvement – also if it is done step by step: In the first stage, criticised preservatives
can be replaced with mixtures of well- tolerated and mild preservatives boosted by antimicrobial multifunctionals. The second stage is represented by synthetic multifunctionals with the big advantage that there are additional benefits for marketing and no restrictions. Usually, they have the best rating on raw material databases and rating portals. Finally, the last stage is to increase the shelf life of the product with the help of natural-certified antimicrobials which completely replace traditional preservatives or synthetic substances. This broad product portfolio is a relief for
every cosmetic manufacturer because many substances are offered as both: as a natural and a synthetic version. Once an efficient antimicrobial system has been identified, it is easy to start with the synthetic versions and simply replace them with the chemically identical natural versions if a certification is required. For each individual formulation the best
price/efficiency ratio needs to be identified. There are several companies like Cosphatec GmbH in the market that have a strong knowledge about preservation, irritation potential and improvement of formulations. If you want to formulate for mildness, you should consider a detailed consulting by those experts.
PC October 2020
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