Soapy Hollow

Colin Sanders has posted a long and informative article on cosmetics, skin absorption  and the long term effects therein over at the Personal Care site. Colin Sanders has been a formulator of cosmetic and topical pharmaceuticals for 27 years and an active member of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists since 1985. You can also read […]

Recently a bill has been proposed in Colorado, the ‘Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act‘.  Hearings on the bill begin in March. The bill would prohibit the sale of “…any personal care product that contains a chemical identified as causing cancer or reproductive toxicity.“  On the face of it, that sounds logical. I mean, who […]

A preservative is essentially a chemical agent that will destroy or inhibit micro-organisms in finished formulations. There is ample scope for microbial contamination at the end user level. It is therefore important that the product be protected by a suitable preservative to ensure safety in use and adequate shelf life. Water activity and pH of […]

Turmeric oil [INCI: Curcuma longa] Turmeric oil is obtained by steam distillation or solvent extraction of the powdered rhizome of species of the genus Curcuma (family: Zingiberaceae). Of these species, Curcuma longa is the most well known. Curcuma longa yields 0.3-7.2% (usually 4-5%) of turmeric oil following steam distillation. The chief constituents of the essential […]

Kaempferia galanga [INCI: Kaempferia galanga root extract] Kaempferia is a genus in the Zingiberaceae family found in southern & southeastern Asia. These gingers grow from small globular rhizomes which grow fleshy roots. Most are low growing with colorfully marked foliage. Flowers either emerge in the spring just prior to the foliage or with the foliage […]

The need to control microbial activity is inherent in two major facets of personal care. The first area is that of antimicrobial care where the product helps to retard the growth of topical pathogens or eliminates them. The second is in the area of preservatives that retard the growth of microbes in product formulations. Recently […]

Working on testing formulations with some new to the market biological actives.  This one is a decadently rich night cream that contains  Laboratoires Serobiologiques actives. Complex Caviar: extracted elements of fish roe and caviar combined with oligo-peptides from actin and fucus vesiculosus extract. Phytocoothetm: canola phytosterols with moisturizing and skin barrier strengthening effect. Arganyltm: flavonoids […]