Cossma 7-8/2013

V egetable oils and fats (butter, waxes) which are widely used as active raw materials in cosmetic formulations, are green natural “bio- solvents” featuring remarkable proper- ties: their solvent power is adjustable according to their composition and their rheology, they are heat resistant, non-volatile, food-grade, microbiolog- ically safe, biodegradable and renew- able. As they contain essential mole- cules for the skin e.g. omega 3 and 6, vitamin E and phytosterols, they are value-added solvents to obtain cos- metic extracts. Solvent properties of oils have already been proven to pro- duce plant-based oily macerates, but often with poor results regarding qual- ity, oxidative stability or of low-yield in extracted molecules. However, anhy- drous cosmetics, including skin care oils, serums and make-up, require effi- cient oil-soluble actives. Oléoactifs now provide a technical solution with stable unoxidised oily ac- tives, ready to use and in addition are focused on a specific cosmetic target. What is an Oléoactif? Each of these oil actives comes from the judicious combination of a “solvent” i.e. a natural fatty substance, with a plant e.g. a flower, fruit, leaf, root etc., and both of them selected accord- ing to the cosmetic target to be ad- dressed – anti-ageing, anti-inflamma- tory, anti-free radicals – and to the for- mulation – oil, cream, milk, balm. The extraction of lipo-extractible plant compounds must be conducted in the most rapid, natural and efficient way possible, with no addition of organic co-solvent or of chemical product in the oil, and protected from oxygen to limit the risk of alteration or of oxida- tion. With the help of this process a stable, preservative-free, clear and ready-to-use concentrated lipid com- plex is obtained: an Oléoactif. Unlike a macerate which is a simple addition of a plant in an oil, this oil active is a genuine plant extract resulting from a complex technology. The efficacy of these oil actives is based on both the principle of synergy and on the less well-known principle called the “polar paradox theory”, which was demonstrated by Prof. Ed- win Frankel for anti-oxidants1 . In an emulsion, it is of interest to formulate antioxidants which are polar, more wa- ter-soluble such as vitamin C, or rather fat-soluble apolar, like tocopherols, and also amphiphiles such as lecithin or some flavonoids. All of these com- pounds respectively protect the aque- ous phase, the oily phase and the oil/water and oil/air interfaces2 . In an oil-only solution, and in contrast to 12 COSSMA 7-8I2013 FOCUS: NATURAL COSMETICS INGREDIENTS what to expect, Prof. Frankel demon- strated that it was efficient to simulta- neously have apolar antioxidants that solubilise at the center of the oily solu- tion and more polar antioxidants, that have less affinity for oil, and which will therefore organize themselves in a mono-molecular layer at the oil/air in- terface or around air or water micro- bubbles. Their presence therefore en- sures a protection of the most oxidiz- able lipid areas. Thus, the purpose of the oleo-eco-extraction process is to concentrate in an oil, different mole- cules in “physiological” doses with sev- eral synergistic or complementary mechanisms of action, which is more efficient and safer in terms of potential toxicity than a very high concentration of a pure compound1, 3 . Thus, an oily active can bring vitamins, phenolic an- tioxidants, phytosterols, carotenoids and xanthophylls, chlorophyll, waxes, squalene, co-enzyme Q10, tri-ter- penes, a number of micronutrients re- trieved from the plant that will act in addition to omega 3, 6 and 9 fatty acids to import optimum properties, to a cosmetic product with a favourable transdermal vectorization. Patented extraction technology The oleo-eco-extraction technology (see box) was the subject of a patent is- sued in March 2010 and is applicable to any natural dry or semi-wet substrate and to any vegetable fat including a high melting point (waxes). The process has many advantages that make it a green process, eco-responsible and Ecocert certified, e.g. zero solvent and chemical product, zero catalyst, zero chemical synthesis of esterification type, zero secondary reaction of trans- isomerization, oxidation or polymer- ization type, zero gas or solid waste, low energy consumption, recovery of Green oil-based actives A first collection of biological anti-ageing oil actives comes from myrtle leaves, opun- tia flowers, Berber pomegranates, alpine willow herb, cinnamon and from an ultra- concentrated propolis butter photo:SergioStakhnyk,Shutterstock.com Oléoactifs obtained using a new green technology called oleo-eco- extraction are the first bio-certified oil-based actives simultaneously combining a proven efficacy with a high stability as Anne Rossig- nol-Castera from Oléos explains. COS1307-8_12_Oleos_GB_COS1307-8_12_Mani_D 26.07.13 11:25 Seite 12

Cossma 7-8/2013

Pages