Richard Scott – Editor, Personal Care ESSENTIAL OILS
Ingredients focus: essential oils and their attributes
Essential oils have been important contributors to personal care and medicinal products for hundreds of years, and offer a wide range of attributes, from fragrance to antimicrobial activity to anti-inflammatory benefits.
The name ‘essential oil’ is something of a misnomer as they are not ‘oily’ in feel. They are, however, very much the essence of the plant and highly concentrated, so a little goes a long way. In recent years there has been considerable debate regarding the issue of skin irritation and sensitisation and it therefore goes without saying that it is very important to choose the correct ingredient at the right use level for the formulation.
The fragrance attributes offered by essential oils thanks to the volatile compounds are probably the first aspect to come to people’s minds, however now the therapeutic benefits of a number of essential oils are being more widely recognised. Following is an overview of some of the products available on the marketplace that can help formulators create innovative, effective and safe personal care products.
Essential oils
Hydroessential Citrus Limon from Vevy is part of a range of natural hydrosoluble fractions of natural essential oils, obtained by molecular distillation. It is particularly suitable for the preparation of hydrolates, aromatic waters and tonics and is completely natural, without solvents or solubilisers. It has the same aroma and intensity as the original essential oils permitting the preparation of hydrolates (tonics, lotions, aromatic waters, collyries, etc.), and is entirely natural, with no additives. Exclusive Hydroessentials are available and the range is recommended for lotions, tonics, aromatic waters, and collieries, with use levels from 0.005% to 0.3%.
Australian Sandalwood Oil WS from Southern Cross Botanicals is an aqueous micro-emulsion of Australian sandalwood essential oil. It has interesting antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties with
Aromatherapy has been one of the major areas of use for essential oils.
an exotic warm sandalwood aroma. This luxurious bio-active essential oil-based fragrance is extracted from sustainably wild harvested Santalum spicatum timber from the Australian Outback. Australian Sandalwood Oil WS is easy to use and has the following benefits for cosmetics: l Luxurious, exotic warm sandalwood aroma
l Targeted antimicrobial activity (antibacterial and antifungal) especially for acne treatment
l Anti-inflammatory activity (anti-irritant)
It can be used in a wide range of applications in personal care products aimed at problem skin and scalp. Sandalwood essential oil is one of the oldest known perfumes. Australian aborigines used it as cough medicine by soaking or boiling inner bark in water. They also used it as a relaxant and to promote mental focus and in the early 1920s, clinical trials were conducted at several Australian public hospital for the treatment of urinary tract infections. It is used in Ayurvedic medicine as skin tonic and mental balancing agent. Australian sandalwood essential oil is composed of alpha and beta-santalol which give the characteristic sandalwood aroma. The alpha-bisabolol gives the anti-inflammatory
properties to the oil and the tran, trans- farnesol is responsible for antimicrobial activity.
Antimicrobial Activity Australian Sandalwood Oil WS is a targeted natural antimicrobial agent, particularly effective against Gram-positive bacteria. Anti- inflammatory activity in vitro studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory property of Australian sandalwood essential oil is due to enzyme inhibition of both cyclo- oxygenase enzymes, COX-1 and COX-2, and 12-lipoxygenase. Australian Sandalwood Essential Oil was tested against indomethacin, a common non- steroidal anti-inflammatory and it showed significant anti-inflammatory activity. In the form of aromatherapy, Australian sandalwood essential oil is used to create serenity, to calm, to relieve nervous tension and stress. It improves mental clarity and said to be aphrodisiac.
Australian Myrtle Oil WS, also from Southern Cross Botanicals, is an aqueous micro-emulsion of lemon myrtle essential oil. It is a broad spectrum antimicrobial with a magnificent citrus floral aroma. This bio-active essential oil is produced by steam distillation of leaves of the Backhousia citriodora, an Australian native tree indigenous to the coastal, sub-tropical rainforests of Queensland. It is also called
September 2015 PERSONAL CARE 21
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