DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES

AND RESEARCH IN CHEMISTRY

02/02/23 DEPARTMENT OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH IN CHEMISTRY Slide1

 Science of products
Dr Akshaya K B
PhD Chemistry, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
MPhil Chemistry, CHRIST (Deemed to be University)
MSc, NITK, Surathkal
 Forms of cosmetic
products

 Cosmetic products are designed to

work at the skin’s surface

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 Absorption of product by the skin
• formula base of the product
• type and concentration of ingredients
• amount of skin exposed to the product
• length of time skin is exposed to the product
• condition of the skin
• variation between individuals

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Science of products

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 Cleansers

 Products to clean the skin

 Soap, body wash, facial cleansers, exfoliators, and products to clean the hair like
shampoo

 Remove oils and dirt from the surface of skin or hair

 First being put on the surface and then being removed - as they are removed,
they take the dirt with them

 Three categories – water, oil and surfactants

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 Basic cleanser - water
 Works to remove any type of compound that is soluble in water

 Water soluble material - little time - multiple water rinses - warmed water to
speed removal

 Water doesn’t work on ingredients like oils that aren’t soluble in water

 Most of the material - to remove from skin and hair are oil based

 Water is NOT effective

 To cleanse this type of dirt, other two technologies preferred

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 Oil cleansers

 Work by the same method as water cleanser

 Remove oil based dirts

 Cleansing oil ingredient - sunflower oil, coconut oil, or shea butter and apply it to
the surface of skin

 Oil as solvent + oily dirt on surface - Cloth or towel to wipe it off

 Surface will be clean and free from dirt

 How to Clean Your Face Using Oil: 10 Steps (with Pictures) (wikihow.com)

 NOT easy to remove all the cleansing oil - hair

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 Surfactants

 Ingredients compatible with both oils and water

 One portion of the molecule is lipophilic which means it’s “oil loving” while the other portion of the molecule is
hydrophilic which means “water loving.”

 Ideal ingredients for cleansing products

 How they work? Surfactant on the surface of skin or hair + water - lipophilic portions + combine with the oils
on skin or hair - helps lift them off the surface - hydrophilic portions allow them to be rinsed away

 First surfactant - Soap - oils like tallow or olive oil with a base like sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide

 1920s - Synthetic surfactants - steadily improved - efficiency and reduction of irritation

 Hair shampoos, body washes, facial cleansers are surfactant cleansing based
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Cross section and structure of skin

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 Skin moisturizers

 Keratinocytes - main type of cells in the epidermis - migrate up from the dermis - undergo many
changes to become a flat, keratin rich corneocyte before being shed

 During this progression through the layers of the epidermis - lipids are released into the spaces
between cells - skin’s own Natural Moisturizing Factor (NMF) is generated

 These lipids form a barrier to water loss - help retain the skin’s NMF

 It is the disruption of this lipid matrix and subsequent loss of hydration - lead to dry, flaky skin

 Cosmetic moisturizers - help repair the lipid barrier and restore hydration

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Ingredients in skin moisturizers

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 Humectants

Ingredients like glycerin, urea, pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA) -

attracting water from dermis below - helping to keep that water
bound in the stratum corneum

Glycerin is used frequently - low cost and high efficacy - leaves a

tacky feel on skin - other ingredients included to offset that effect

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 Emollients

Can have occlusive effect but they also have a nice feel and
improve the appearance of the skin by smoothing flaky skin cells

Emollient esters and oils - grouped based on ability to spread on

the skin

By combining emollients with the different spread rates - skin feel
of a moisturizer can be tailored

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 Occlusive agents

Increase moisture levels by physically blocking epidermal water

loss

Ingredients - petrolatum, waxes, oils, and silicones

Petrolatum - leave a heavy feel - combined with other ingredients

like emollients - to improve consumer appeal

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 Hair conditioners
 Designed to improve the look and feel of hair

 Rinse-out conditioners - applied to the hair after shampooing - allowed to stay in the hair -
30 s to couple of minutes – rinse thoroughly

 Hair easier to comb, frizz-free, soft feeling, reduce static charges, improve shine, protect hair
from future damage

 Conditioning and moisturizing ingredients - left behind on the hair after rinsing and affect
the hair characteristics - Cetrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone, Polyquaternium-10,
Meadowfoam Seed Oil

 Primary conditioning agents include quaternized surfactants (quats), cationic polymers,

silicones, emollients, humectants
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 Hair and hair care

 Types of conditioners - Deep conditioner, Cleansing conditioner, Leave-in conditioner and Dry
conditioner 17
 Why conditioners?
Cuticle - outermost layer of hair shaft - looks like a flaky layer when observed under a
microscope

Cuticle flakes - normally pressed down firmly and neatly aligned by hydrogen bond

Scalp produces natural sebum that keep the cuticle flakes down

Shampoo or prolonged exposure to sun - strip away the sebum - open the cuticle and
cause HAIR DAMAGE

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 How do conditioners work?
 Components - humectants, oils, and cationic surfactants
 A trace amount of acid in conditioner will make the overlayed cuticle flakes to lay tightly even after
the conditioner is rinsed out
 To top it all off, the hair conditioner can smoothen hair strands and making it less static, as well as
keeping the moisture in and pollutants out
 Daily wear and tear from pulling hair back in headbands or ponytails can damage the hair shaft
 Damage recovered - refortifying the cuticle and coats the hair shaft to preventing breakage, split ends,
and even hair loss

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 Cationic surfactants

Quats and cationic polymers - remain on hair - electrostatic interactions

Positively charged - when placed in a solution of water

Attracted to negatively charged, damaged protein sites on the hair

Positive/negative interaction prevents them from being removed

Coat hair fibers and counteract the problem characteristics

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 Silicones and emollients

Rely on their hydrophobic nature to plate out on the hair

Conditioners - emulsions composed of water and these hydrophobic

materials Contain emulsifiers - keep the oily materials suspended in solution
- as the product becomes more dilute when put on hair and rinsed, the oily
materials separate out - remain on the hair where they can counteract hair
problems

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 Styling gel

Designed to help hold hair in a fixed shape

Clear product - smoothed through the hair, coating it - setting up a rigid film
that inhibits movement

Well-formulated gel - flexible when initially applied - stiff when it dries

Styling polymer and thickening system

Other ingredients: colorants, solubilizers, solvents, emollients, spreading

agents, preservatives
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 Styling polymer
Primary ingredient - hold the hair - styling polymer

Vinyl monomers - PVP (Polyvinyl Pyrolidone) or VP (Vinyl Pyrolidone)

Good hold while still being water soluble enough to be easily washed out of the
hair

Holding agents in other styling products like putties, pomades, and some hair
dressings

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 Thickening system
Other ingredient - thickening system

Acrylic acid polymer - Carbomer

Acidic when put into a water solution

When the polymer is neutralized with an ingredient like TEA, it causes bonding
within the polymer - creates the gel

prop-2-enoic acid 25
 Activity
Get some of the different skin moisturizing ingredients and see if you can tell a difference between them
when placed on the back of your hand

For a humectant, get some glycerine

For an emollient, you can get mineral oil (or baby oil)

For an occlusive agent you can get a sample of petrolatum (Vaseline)

Apply them each to different parts of the back of your hand and see if you can notice any differences in
the way they feel, how easy they are to apply, how your skin feels after it’s been on there for a while and
how the ingredients feel after 10 minutes

Write down any differences or similarities you notice

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