Dr Barbara Olioso's Blog

Cosmos: is it crystal clear and trasparent?

I have just attended a conference on Cosmos organized by ICEA in Bologna, Italy (Cosmos is the harmonised private standard for organic and natural beauty products in Europe). They were sharing the final principles and guidelines for raw materials and how to apply for the products. I do not really want to go into the details of that and I would like to focus on the fact that the standard will allow some "imperfections", ie unnatural choices, which are:

-maximum 2% petrochemicals in the total formulation (this will only be allowed for a few years to give time to some companies to update their formulations without these petrochemicals)

-radiation of clay (this is because heat would not be suitable to reduce its microbial count)

-hydrogenated ingredients (they can contain Nickel residues and also their chemical structure differ from the non hydrogenated version)

As a cosmetic chemist I understand the reasons behind this strategy, however when I pointed out how the consumer would know that an organic/natural certified beauty product may contain 2% petrochemicals the answer I was given was: it is up to the consumer to find out.

How can they? when

1- they do not expect petrochemicals in organic/natural products

2- they have no technical background to spot the synthetic chemicals in disguise.

3- radiation is not even declared on the label

I think Cosmos could be more open with consumers about its technical choices, explaining the reasons in a simple way, so that people with the purity priority can decide and choose a petrochemical free beauty product (after all they ask raw materials manufacturers great transparency, why not giving the same trsansparency to consumers?). If I were a consumer with no technical background I would expect transparency and simplicity from the certification systems I rely on, because organic and natural is not not only about purity of physical content, but also of ethical content, therefore transparent and clear communication....

 

 

 

ID of the most controversial ingredient in natural and organic beauty products

Read below about the equivalent of plastic grass in cosmetics...

Trade name (brand name): Zemea

INCI name (on cosmetics label): Propanediol

Chemical name: 1,3 Propanediol

Profession: elegant humectant and preservative booster

Year of launch: 2008

Made from: GMO corn using biotechnology

Ecocert and NPA status: approved

Soil Association and ICEA status: not approved because of GMO origin

Cosmos status: we shall see...

Let's have a look at its twin ID, ie Propylene Glycol

Trade name: Propylene Glycol

INCI name: Propylene Glycol

Chemical name: 1,2 propanediol

Year invented: 1907

Profession: elegant humectant and preservative booster

Made from: petroleum

Organic and natural status: not approved by any organic certification body

By comparing the 2 IDs you can see how many controveries Propanediol can generate:

Controversy 1- because Propanediol is from corn it is claimed to be natural. Chemically speaking this molecule is not natural and human technology manipulated bacteria and genetically modified corn to make a synthetic structure. To me this is like plastic grass, it looks natural but its essence is not.

2- because propanediol is from a renewable source it is claimed to be sustainable. How can an ingredient made from genetically modified corn be sustainable? The concept behind sustainability is to work with nature without depleting and respecting it. GMO is a dangerous game and in my opinion it does not respect nature because it can cause a lot of environmental damage. It is a time bomb.

3-because Ecocert and NPA approve propanediol you can find natural and organic products on the market with a "natural" propylene glycol without consumers realising they are actually applying a Proplylene Glycol on their skin

Implications:

1- consumers are confused. (And I am confused myself on top of feeling shocked).

2- Can consumers simply rely on organic certifications for their peace of mind?

3- What is natural?

4- how did Zemea INCI name come about? Was it intended to mislead the consumers?

Personally I am not against Propanediol or Zemea as such, what I m worried about is its misleading name and contradictive claims. Besides it has the potential to promote and boost the GMO industry. My passion is for natural, safe and effective beauty products respecting the environment and working with it authentically, by putting my ethos into action (and in fact Forest Secrets Skincare is the embodiment of my passion). GMO is scary and it will present a huge environmental bill, I personally do not want to support or feed that... I am a chemist and I know propanediol is from GMO and so on therefore I can avoid it. But what about the most of the people who want to use truly natural beauty products and who care about the planet? Do they know propanediol is  propylene glycol and do they know it is GMO? Do they have a real choice?

 

 

800Kg of lemon balm leaves to make 200g of oil, how precious

A couple of weeks ago I had the immense pleasure to visit Agronatura in Italy, a cooperative growing organic and biodynamic herbs. Well for the first time in my life I witnessed the distillation of lemon balm oil, one of the most precious essential oils. I love the scent of true lemon balm because it is fresh without being pungent and it has a sweetness that I find calming and at the same time uplifting. I m going to share with you the sight of the distillation and just imagine that the oil coming out of the 800 kg of leaves can fit in less than a tea mug. Imagine the effort of picking up 800 kg of leaves under the burning sun and then transport them miles away to have them distilled. Because the process involves steam, it is a little bit of a "hell" job, and the final result is this beautiful pale yellow oil ... It takes a lot of passion and care to put up with that and that is why I respect and used Agronatura in the past to in my work.

They also grow roses!

 

Fair Trade, the latest green trend

At the In Cosmetics Show this year there was clearly a new hot trend on the horizon: fair trade. There was a talk by The Fair Trade Foundation explaining the standards and their implications for production (including employment conditions, health and safety, environmental management) and minimum price. You can see their standards here To give you an idea of how trendy Fair Trade is look at these figures:

-the worldwide turnover of fair trade products has now reached 2.9 billions euros

-8 million farmers/producers/workers are benefiting from fair trade

Not bad! The figures are mainly for food related products however the trend is moving into the cosmetic industry bit by bit and Organic Monitor published a report at the end of 2008 to give information about formulation issues, ingredients trend, prices, sales channel with a general overview of what types of products are on the market. If you would like to know more about it, visit their website here

Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate: natural and biodegradable versus skin mildness

This is a surfactant that is becoming very popular in organic certified shampoos and general hygiene products (I was in France last week and sit was in nearly every shampoo I looked at). Why? It is approved by Cosmos and Ecocert because it has good biodegradability data, it is a natural dertivative, it performs well (nice foam and thickens up easily with salt) and it is also cheap. The downside? It strips off the skin natural lipid mantle... This does not mean that all products containing this ingredient are going to be harsh on the skin as it depends on whatelse is in the product, however this dilemma higlights to me that natural and biodegradable is not enough, it does not mean it is safe or mild for the skin. To me the future is very much about SUSTAINABLE (natural, biodegradable and environmentally conscious) and SAFE (mild to the skin). In the meantime prefer products that are dermatologically tested...

Parabens: new evidence you can see

I would like to share with you the results of an in vitro test performed recently by Dr Philippa Darbre at Reading University. The test is very simple: breast cancer cells incubated for 4 days with and without 0.00019% isobutylparaben. See below the breast cancer cells before the incubation (1) and after the incubation without (2) and with isobutylparaben (3)

Picture 1

Picture 2

Picture 3

I am aware that this is an vitro test, so all the complexity of the human body is taken out of the equation, however I believe they are still valid in showing there is reason to be concerned about this compound. You can clearly see that after 4 days the breast cancer cells do grow more than the ones without. I believe that the major cancer trigger is emotional stress, however environmental factors like this can promote the cancer cells growth making it bigger.

If you add the fact that parabens do get absorbed through the skin and that they are found in urine, we need to think about their journey through the body as well as their interaction on their journey with other parts of the body. Once they are in the blood stream they are in...

Parabens are not only used in cosmetics but also in many drugs such as cough mixtures (usually they are not declared on the label), however when they get ingested they get exposed to the stomach juices and get transformed into something considered to be safe. This indicates that the parabens found in urine do come form the skin absorption rather than ingestion.

What to do as a consumer? Well my suggestion is to read the ingredients list before you buy your cosmetics in order to avoid them.

At a regulatory level isopropylparaben and butylparaben are under review and the European scientific committee has asked for more data to fill the data gaps. The industry might reply that there is no money to invest in the new research, so what might happen is the ban of these substances based on the lack of the evidence requested.

I shall keep you posted..

References:

"In vitro skin permeation and retention of parabens in cosmetic skin formulations", Pedersen, Marra, Nicoli and Santi, International Journal of Cosmetic Science 2007, 29, 361-367; "Assessment of principal parabens used in cosmetics after their passage through human epidermis-dermis layers (ex-vivo study", El Hussein S, Muret P, Berard M, Makki S, Humbert P, Exp Dermatol. 2007 Oct;16(10):830-6;
“Parabens as urinary biomarkers of exposure in humans”, Xiaoyun Ye, Amber Bishop..., Environ. Health Perspect, 114, 1843-1846

Radiation can affect the antioxidant content of pollen

Just come across an article of some research done by Knight Scientific, specialists in the measurement of antioxidant activity and oxidative stress. The article in question was published on Manufacturing Chemist in July/August 2006 and what attracted my attention the most is the graph of antioxidant activity of bee pollen before and after radiation. The graph shows clearly that pollen does loose significantly its antioxidant activity when radiated. The article does not mention the dose applied to the bee pollen, however it makes a point in showing that radiation (a technique used to reduce the microbial load of food and some natural ingredients used in the cosmetic industry such as clay, spices etc.) can affect the activity of the product radiated. This a very tricky topic because radiation is very common these days and is used to sterilise medical equipment, cosmetic and food ingredients as well as finished cosmetic products. I believe that if radiation is used, the activity/quality of the ingredient should be checked.

Orangutan friendly glycerin now available

Palm oil derivatives such as glycerin are a hot topic these days because of the destruction of the orangutans wild habitat caused in the South East of Asia. There is an alternative glycerin now available in the UK from Alfa Chemicals. This glycerine is produced from the Karanja tree. Not cheap at over £10/kg, but worth considering if committed to a green ethos.. Visit Alfa Chemicals website here

Organic Farming is only the start: the soil is the real asset

Last night I went to a fantastic talk on organic gardening by Charles Dowding. Charles was very generous with tips and insights and embodies gardening at its best, with a strong pair of arms, a brown tan and no fat!
Charles made me realise I had a blind spot in relation to organic farming. I shall explain why. Charles lives near a field where they farm organic spelt. Last year they could not crop it in August because of the heavy rain. So they did it in September when it was dry but the soil was still wet. Heavy and huge machines squashed the soil making it very compact. When it rained all the water flooded his field and nearly his house. The rain water and the compacted soil are a deadly combination for soil erosion and flooding. This means that even if organic farming is good it needs to incorporate the health of the soil as it is the major asset which we need to care for. No wonder flooding has been a big problem in the last few years..
Charles runs one day workshops on No Dig Growing, you can find out on his website here

Organic swimming pools: what an amazing space

In Vicenza, Italy, I came across the distributor of Austrian firm Bio Top Natural Pool, a company with over 20 years experience in the development and manufacturing of natural swimming pools, totally chemicals free and absolutely enchanting. Based on the harmonious coexistence concept, impurities and excessive nutrients are handled by plants and micro-organisms. Have a look at their gallery here