Basf presented innovative solutions that accelerate the cosmetics industry's transition to sustainability at in-Cosmetics Global, held in Paris from April 16 to 18, 2024.

"Tomorrow's beauty is the expression of a holistic and responsible approach to consumption and life. Consumers want to be able to make informed decisions, and are looking for information about the origin and provenance of raw materials, as well as the environmental impact of a product, explains Gisela Pinheiro, Senior Vice President of Basf Personal Care Europe. Through innovative digital solutions, we help our customers to seize new opportunities in a fast-changing market and increase transparency for consumers."

Beyond Beauty: unveiling the future of Personal Care

Beyond beauty, Basf is committed to providing its customers with solutions to seize new opportunities in a rapidly changing personal care market, based on digital services and taking into account consumer values and priorities.

With "Beyond Beauty", the company intends to show what tomorrow's beauty will look like: consumers are looking for cosmetics that respect health and the environment, enhance their well-being, emphasize authenticity and respect the planet at the same time. Basf thus plays an active role, working hand-in-hand with its partners and customers along the entire value chain to create sustainable, high-performance solutions.

Increasing transparency of products' carbon footprint

With Care 360° - Solutions for Sustainable Life, Basf's Care Chemicals division is making sustainable development a priority. The integration of PCF (Product Carbon Footprints) in its D'lite digital services platform aims to provide CO2 transparency, by enabling manufacturers to obtain data on the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the products they buy. 

Basf, which invests in green energy, also offers certified sustainable raw materials and replaces fossil raw materials with renewable ones thanks to the Biomass Balance approach, which uses a third-party verified certification method. 

Formulating the future with biopolymers

The ingredient supplier is behind the Verdessence range of biopolymers. Five ingredients for applications ranging from make-up to hair care are available. 

According to the company, these natural biopolymers are promising rheology modifiers. However, their use represents a challenge for formulators as, to date, there is no single substitute for conventional synthetic polymers. Basf's experts have therefore developed a multi-biopolymer approach to identify the most appropriate combination for each application. To this end, they have studied various combinations of the company's range of biopolymers in aqueous systems and emulsions. The vast majority of the formulations proposed comply with the Cosmos standard for natural cosmetics.

Visualizing the potential of cosmetic active ingredients

To prove the efficacy of its cosmetic ingredients, Basf uses advanced 2D and 3D models close to real skin conditions. The company has extended its imaging expertise to reveal previously unseen modes of action. According to Basf, "Imagery" opens up new possibilities for the development of plant-based active ingredients, and surpasses traditional objectification methods. At in-Cosmetics, visitors were able to discover this expertise as part of an immersive journey, using virtual reality headsets to explore the application of imaging to specific skin needs.

Exploring the power of pearlizers and opacifiers

The visual appearance of a formulation - pearlescent, luminous or matte finish, for example - is an important purchasing factor for consumers. Using a five-step approach, Basf demonstrates the different visual aspects that can be achieved with different dispersions or combinations of waxes in surfactant systems at different concentrations. The concept focuses on the visual assessment of all formulations according to defined monadic and associative parameters, as well as on color evaluation. 

Alternatives to silicones through scientific modeling

Cosmetics manufacturers are faced with the challenge of finding alternatives to silicones such as cyclosiloxanes. Instead of replacing them with other variants of synthetic silicones such as dimethicones, the switch to biodegradable alternatives offers manufacturers the opportunity to meet consumer expectations for natural, sustainable beauty products.

Basf's approach is based on its Emollient Maestro digital service, an application available on the D'lite online platform. It is based on scientific data and offers users alternatives to the synthetic standards on the market, including dimethicones. Combined with a powerful portfolio of alternatives to silicones, and complemented by extensive formulation expertise, the company helps its customers develop and improve new, more natural and sustainable cosmetic designs.ertise, the company helps its customers develop and improve new, more natural and sustainable cosmetic designs.

_{Image taken from https://www.personal-care.basf.com.}

Vytrus Biotech, a Spanish company specializing in active ingredients derived from plant biotechnology for the cosmetics industry, launched its latest research into plant exosomes for plant biotechnology-based skin and hair care at in-cosmetics Global Paris, bringing the concept of "exosomal peptides" to the cosmetics industry.

Exosomes are bounded by a lipid membrane and are naturally secreted by cells. Exosomes contain DNA, RNA, lipids, proteins, cytokines, transcription factor receptors, heat shock proteins, enzymes, antioxidants and other bioactive compounds.

Vytrus considers exosomes to be "natural biological communicators", carrying packets of relevant biological information. In the cosmetics industry, exosomes provide various beneficial properties: anti-inflammatory and anti-aging effects, immunomodulatory properties, wound healing, hydration, synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins (collagen, elastin, etc.), skin protection, modulation of the microbiota, skin regeneration and homeostasis, among others.

Recently, the cosmetics industry has seen an explosion around synthetic/biomimetic exosomes (synthetically produced vesicles that have similar functions to exosomes, but a very different structure). However, Vytrus has just unveiled structurally intact natural plant exosomes with all their rich contents, transferred from the plant to the human body via cosmetics. These plant exosomes have the same structure as mammalian exosomes and can therefore penetrate human cells and transmit molecular information very efficiently.

Exosomes produced from plant cell cultures

The biotech company has demonstrated that it can produce and characterize true plant exosomes from plant cell cultures using its biotechnology platforms. Its plant cell cultures feature a high concentration of exosomes compared to traditional plant sources, reaching levels of billions of exosomes/ml. Vytrus' technology platforms make it possible to customize and guide plant cells to produce different types of exosomes for skin and hair care.

Cell cultures from Curcuma longa developed by Vytrus Biotech contain a high concentration of exosomes, on the order of a billion. These exosomes have very interesting applications in improving skin hydration and regeneration, as well as increasing hair density and delaying hair loss.

Vytrus has also developed cell cultures of Centella asiatica with a concentration of exosomes in the billion range. These natural exosomes have the capacity to encapsulate and protect interesting compounds such as growth factors, proteins and peptides. These exosomes from Centella are capable of activating skin gene expression profiles linked to ageing, the skin barrier and hydration in keratinocytes (increased expression of type I collagen, inhibition of elastase, etc.). A cocktail of properties that lead to the reversal of cellular senescence.

Exosomal peptides

Vytrus also turned its attention to the contents of its plant exosomes. After extensive research, the biotech company discovered an astonishing diversity of plant peptides in the contents of its natural plant exosomes, which Vytrus has dubbed "exosomal peptides" for the first time in the cosmetics field. This wide diversity of different peptides identified in Vytrus exosomes constitutes, according to the company, an enormous cocktail of natural plant peptides with anti-aging, anti-inflammatory and anti-wrinkle activities, among others.

Vytrus says these exosome-based active ingredients are highly effective on skin and hair, and have great potential for cosmetics innovation through sustainable plant biotechnology that is changing consumer demand for skin and hair care.

_{Photo taken from the vytrus biotech website.}