In contemporary society, with the increasing demand for natural and safe cosmetics, the research and development of private label cosmetics is paying more and more attention to natural plant extracts and their active ingredients. The structural characteristics of these active ingredients are closely related to the functionality of the cosmetic itself. In this article, you will learn about several commonly used active ingredients of natural products according to the six functions of cosmetics: color and color enhancement, sun protection and whitening, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial, nutrition and moisturizing, anti-aging and anti-oxidation, and fragrance and deodorization. And functional characteristics. At the same time, it provides a reference for developing the application of natural active ingredients in cosmetics.
- FUNCTION 1 — COLOR ENHANCEMENT
- FUNCTION 2 — SUN PROTECTION & WHITENING
- FUNCTION 3 — ANTI-INFLAMMATORY & ANTIBACTERIAL
- FUNCTION 4 — NOURISHING & MOISTURIZING
- FUNCTION 5 — ANTI-AGING & ANTI-OXIDATION
- FUNCTION 6 — FRAGRANCE & DEODORIZATION
- ARE YOU READY TO START YOUR OWN SKIN CARE BUSINESS?
FUNCTION 1 — COLOR ENHANCEMENT
Most cosmetics on the market today need to be tinted with colorants, and synthetic colorants mostly contain heavy metals such as lead and mercury, which are harmful to the human body and more toxic. Improper use can lead to skin allergies and even poisoning. With the increase in people’s attention to health, natural pigments are welcomed by the cosmetics industry due to their high safety, strong applicability to the crowd, and diverse colors. Cosmetics with natural pigments as colorants are gradually emerging.
Most natural pigments produce different colors through the change of conjugated structure and functional groups. Commonly used red pigments include beet red, safflower, tomato red, capsicum red, and roselle red. Yellow pigments include curcumin, chrysanthemum yellow and gardenia yellow. Commonly used blue pigments are indigo and phycocyanine.
FUNCTION 2 — SUN PROTECTION & WHITENING
Due to the short wavelength and high energy of ultraviolet radiation, it can penetrate the epidermis layer of the skin and penetrate the basement membrane of the epidermis, which induce pigmentation, leading to sunburn and photoaging of the skin, and even cause cancer in severe cases. Melanin is the main cause of human skin pigmentation. As a class of ketone-containing metalloenzymes, Tyrosinase is the rate-limiting enzyme for a series of enzymatic reactions in melanin biosynthesis. Usually, the sunscreen effect of cosmetics mainly relies on the absorption of ultraviolet rays by active ingredients. The whitening effect improves the skin tone by inhibiting tyrosinase activity and reducing melanin production, as shown in the figure below.
Molecules with benzene rings and other conjugated structures have strong UV absorption. In nature, secondary metabolites such as phenolic quinones, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids and carotenoids all have core conjugated structures. Therefore, it can better absorb ultraviolet rays and is considered a natural sunscreen. In addition to sun protection, it can give full play to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory or preventive and repair functions to further enhance the health care effect.
Arbutin is an oxyglucoside component extracted from freeze-tolerant plants (such as wheat and arbutin leaves of Rhododendron) and is the condensation product of hydroquinone and glucose. Its structure is similar to hydroquinone and tyrosine, and it can competitively bind to the active site of tyrosinase, thereby inhibiting the formation of melanin. Generally, natural arbutin usually contains three types of structures: α-arbutin, β-arbutin and deoxyarbutin (D-Arbutin). Among them, deoxyarbutin has the best inhibitory effect on tyrosinase activity, and its anti-melanin effect is about 150 times that of kojic acid. However, due to its safety concerns, the European Commission for Consumer Safety (SCCS) announced that deoxyarbutin would be banned in cosmetics from July 26, 2021. The whitening effect of α-arbutin is higher than that of β-arbutin. Due to the high production cost, β-arbutin is generally used in cosmetic ingredients added with arbutin.
FUNCTION 3 — ANTI-INFLAMMATORY & ANTIBACTERIAL
The active antibacterial ingredient of honeysuckle is chlorogenic acid, and the level of chlorogenic acid content often evaluates the quality of honeysuckle. Chlorogenic acid mainly reduces the virulence factors of pathogenic bacteria by inhibiting the activity of bacterial proteases and through its metabolite quinic acid.
Nordihydroguaiaretic acid is a natural product extracted from the evergreen shrub Paeonia suffruticose and belongs to the lignan-like structure. Nordihydroguaiaretic acid has antibacterial properties, and the minimum inhibitory concentrations against Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus humans are 0.01% and 0.001%, respectively. And guaiaretic acid can regulate bacterial drug resistance protein, thereby reducing the generation of bacterial drug resistance. Propionibacterium acnes and Staphylococcus hominis are both related to the occurrence of acne. Combined with nordihydroguaiaretic acid to inhibit the activity of 5-α-reductase, have a conditioning effect on oily skin. It can prevent excessive skin keratinization and has a preventive effect on acne. Nordihydroguaiaretic acid also has antioxidant, revitalizing and anti-inflammatory properties.
FUNCTION 4 — NOURISHING & MOISTURIZING
Dehydration is a key factor leading to changes in the physiological structure of the skin, so nourishing and moisturizing ingredients play an important role in cosmetics. There are usually two methods of moisturizing in cosmetics: one is to apply a layer of oil on the skin’s surface to prevent water evaporation, and the other is to absorb external moisture through the moisturizing ingredients inside the cosmetics to nourish and moisturize the skin.
Aloe vera extract is a moisturizing ingredient widely used in cosmetics. Many moisturizing cosmetics contain aloe vera extract. The main active ingredient is aloe vera polysaccharide. Aloe vera polysaccharide is a water-storing gel polymer produced by aloe vera in parenchyma cells to adapt to an arid environment. Among them, acetylated mannan is the main component of aloe polysaccharides (>60%). It greatly affects healing skin wounds and locking in skin moisture.
Alginic acid is a polysaccharide isolated from brown algae, which is composed of β-D-mannuronic acid and α-L-guluronic acid connected by 1,4-glycosidic bonds. It can be used as both a moisturizer and a stabilizer in cosmetics. Alginic acid rapidly absorbs moisture from the environment and can also form protective moisturizing complexes through ion-ion interactions. It prevents the loss of skin moisture, thereby improving the skin’s elasticity.
Centella Asiatica extract is widely used in cosmetics, which has the functions of nourishing and moisturizing, promoting skin wound healing, beauty and beauty. Among them, the ingredients with a moisturizing effect are pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins, such as Madecassoside. It has been widely used in wet wipes and skin care products and is an effective ingredient for treating wounds and removing scars.
FUNCTION 5 — ANTI-AGING & ANTI-OXIDATION
Aging is a natural phenomenon which refers to the irreversible loss and degradation of various functions of an organism with age. The human skin is the tissue most likely to show signs of aging. The aging of the skin is mainly manifested in increased wrinkles, pigmentation, loss of lustre and elasticity of the skin. It is generally believed that skin aging is caused by the increase of endogenous reactive oxygen species (ROS), which leads to genetic damage, skin cell aging, and the reduction of collagen and elastic fibres in skin tissue. Although aging the body and skin is an irreversible process, the use of related drugs or cosmetics can still slow down the aging process to a certain extent. Natural product extracts can inhibit the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) through antioxidant effects, thereby slowing aging. It can also slow the loss of skin vitality by adjusting the metabolism of skin tissue. Among natural product components, phenols, carotenoids, and vitamins are mainly used as antioxidants. Polysaccharides can slow the loss of skin vitality by regulating the metabolism of skin tissue.
Polyphenols are easily oxidized and can bind reactive oxygen species through hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) and single electron transfer (SET) mechanisms to exert their antioxidant effects. Resveratrol is a natural polyphenolic compound. It exists in various plants such as peanuts and grapes and is one of the most studied anti-aging natural compounds. It mainly prevents oxidative DNA damage by reducing the production of ROS, scavenging free radicals, and increasing cell survival, thereby improving aging-related diseases.
Carotenoids are a wide variety of fat-soluble tetraterpenoid natural products, including carotene, lutein, lycopene, lilyxanthin, capsaicin and astaxanthin. Astaxanthin has the strongest antioxidant capacity, and astaxanthin is widely found in many algae. Especially in Haematococcus Pluvialis the highest content. Astaxanthin can be present in cells as carboxylate esters by reacting with fatty acids, proteins or lipoproteins. It can use its special structure of the conjugated double bond, hydroxyl and carbonyl, to bind to free radical reactive species, thereby scavenging free radicals generated by cells.
Vitamins are antioxidants that are often added to the cosmetic market. Ingredients such as vitamins C, E, alpha-lipoic acid, and coenzyme Q10 are frequently used in cosmetic formulations. Among them, vitamin C is a reducing component abundant in vegetables and fruits. After it enters the cell, it can directly use its enol structure to remove singlet oxygen inside the cell. Vitamin E, also known as tocopherol, is found in most vegetable oils, nuts, or dairy products. It is a collection of 8 kinds of fat-soluble tocopherol isomers, and the phenolic quinone interconversion in the molecular structure can also effectively capture free radicals and make it play an antioxidant role. Alpha-lipoic acid is widely present in animal and plant cells, mainly in the form of an R isomer, and is a multifunctional antioxidant. In addition to scavenging reactive oxygen species, it can also chelate metal ions, repair oxidative damage to cells, and transform them into vitamins C and E in the body. Its synergistic effect with reduced dihydrolipoic acid in the body is several times that of other vitamins and is a veritable “universal antioxidant”.
Hyaluronic acid is both moisturizing and anti-aging. Combining hyaluronic acid with skin cells can remove oxygen-free radicals on the surface of cells that cause skin aging. It also prevents peroxidase from approaching the cell membrane, thereby preventing aging. In medical beauty, hyaluronic acid can penetrate the basal layer of the skin, induce further hydration of the stratum corneum, and promote the circulation of nutrients in the skin tissue to maintain skin elasticity.
FUNCTION 6 — FRAGRANCE & DEODORIZATION
The floral fragrance is an indispensable fragrance composition in the cosmetics industry. The natural fragrance of flowers brings pleasure to people’s bodies and minds. Commonly used fragrances include jasmine-type fragrances, rose-type fragrances, and evening fragrances. There are more than one hundred varieties of Jasmine, among which the aroma more valued internationally comes from the large-flowered Jasmine. Its aroma is composed of Jasmine, jasmonate and jasmonolide. It is also mixed with some parabens, farnesyl, leaf alcohol, and other derivatives of cyclopentanone. Its branched structure at the α-carbon of the carbonyl group is characteristic of jasmine fragrances.
Rose essential oil has a special pleasant fragrance. Its main aroma components are mainly small molecules such as (levorotatory) citronellol, geraniol, nerol, phenethyl alcohol and its corresponding derivatives. Citronellol is the main component of natural rose oil and has a natural fragrance.
ARE YOU READY TO START YOUR OWN SKIN CARE BUSINESS?
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