Functional Cosmetics? Cosmetic Drugs?: Skin Creams Turned Inside Out
Natural Foods Merchandiser> The first time I had a facial, back in 1984, I was pressured into buying an almond butter facial scrub on my way out. When I got home, it smelled so delicious that I didn’t know whether to spread it on my face or slather it on toast. Twenty years later, we see more and more food ingredients and herbal supplements ingredients used in skin creams, which constitute the largest part of the multi-billion dollar cosmetic market. This is not surprising, since our quickly aging population knows that the complexion is an obvious biological marker for one’s age.
What were once traditionally foods and ingredients to swallow are now making their way into topical cosmetics as the internal becomes external. Ingredients that make skin creams almost good enough to eat include lemon oil, soy phospholipids, oat bran, coconut oil, Ester-C, green tea extract, Co-Q10, wheat germ oil, vitamin E, olive oil, avocado, wild yam, lemongrass, aloe vera, grapeseed extract, caffeine, chamomile, jojoba oil, papaya, kiwi, peach, apricot, mango, hazelnut oil, soybean sterols, licorice extract, evening primrose oil, DMAE, rose hips, eucalyptus oil, rosemary, wild mint, coneflower extract, black currant extract, vanilla oil, lecithin, grape leaf extract, guarana, kola, maté, cucumber, carrot oil and willow bark extract.
And this is just a fraction of the delectable cream, gel and “butter” ingredients in products with tempting names such as “Orange Cleansing Soufflé.” At the Functional Foods and Beverages Forum to be held in October in Orlando, Fla., one scheduled talk, “A Functional Skincare Ingredient: Lutein—The Short Cut Antiordinary Antioxidant,” will argue that the same ingredient in spinach and green leafy vegetables that maintains eye health also has an important role in skin health. Continue Reading>>
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