| Résumé : |
For centuries, cosmetics were the lotions and potions mixed up by wise and knowing grandmothers for the younger generations. They were the magic concoctions of alchemists and apothecaries that would keep the young looking young and return lost youth to the aged. Safety and efficacy were "guaranteed" by the ancient nature of the formulations or the status of the person dispensing them. Today's consumers, however, demand that their cosmetics be proven safe and efficacious. In the last one hundred years the cosmetics industry has been utilizing the life sciences to improve the consumer's trust in its products and gain a market edge. The term "life sciences" covers a range of disciplines including physiology, botany, biochemistry and molecular biology. Each discipline has specifically contributed to our current understanding of the impact of cosmetics on the body at the genetic, cellular and physiological levels. The current testing methods, for example, of sunscreens to determine their Sun Protection Factor is the result of understanding the physiology of the body and its indicative reactions to UV light. The study of botany has enabled the cosmetics industry to not only derive numerous new botanical extracts but also to replace animal source ingredients with equivalent vegetable sources. For example, squalane has traditionally been extracted from sharks, whereas today it can be derived from olives [1]. In the past, the UV absorbing properties of urocanic acid were utilized in sun protection products. Today, as a result of cellular biochemical studies, we know it to be a carcinogen. As a result of the involvment of the life sciences with cosmetics, we can be increasingly confident in the safety and efficacy of our cosmetics. But this has not always been the case. |
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Cosmetics and life sciences : a continuing courtship in IFSCC MAGAZINE, Vol. 5, N° 4 (10-11-12/2002)
