Future Face

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday August 24, 1999

Felicity Ward

Skincare and cosmetics companies are racing to find the next "miracle" potion.

Extracting information about new cosmetic ingredients from research labs is like trying to draw water from stone. The new ingredients and tools are the key weapons in a highly competitive industry with big budgets and the odd "miracle" claim.

Recently Good Living spoke to Pierre Perrier, Director of Parfums Christian Dior Research and Development Laboratories and Director of LVMH Fragrances and Cosmetics Research, and got an insight into some of the advances in science and technology that may hit the market within the next five to 10 years.

The past decade of cosmetic research and development has ridden a steep curve, with certain ingredients and methods of testing eliminated, and others hailed as the saviour of aging skin the world over.

We've seen the end of animal extracts and testing, as a result of pressure from anti-vivisectionists and the mad cow disease scare in the UK. Then came Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs) as the latest and greatest in a long line of anti-aging treatments.

Next, we saw the use of vitamins, primarily E, C, and A, as antioxidants and for skin whitening. Especially important for Australia was the surge in interest in UVA filters, which started to be used in equal amounts to UVB in sunscreens. This area, professionals say, is also a focus for the future.

But what's going to happen next? What will be the miracle "millennium" potion? (And yes, this title has already been taken, by Elizabeth Arden).

Perrier forecasts more active make-up products, and more make-up in skincare, which we've already seen with tinted moisturisers. There will also be increased debate about the term cosmeceutical. The question is:

do you classify products with biologically advanced, highly active ingredients as drugs or cosmetics?

Four specific developments brewing in labs are outlined by Perrier, some of which have been sitting under our noses for years, while others are new formulations.

Weeds and seeds, herbs and spices, and karmaceuticals (plant extracts) will become more important, says Perrier. "People are working in China, India, Africa, South America, even France, with flower nectars and plant extracts."

"Many of these have been around for a long time," says Gavin Greenoak, former chairman and council member of the Australian Society of Cosmetic Chemists, and honorary research associate at the University of Sydney, "but we understand better how they work, so they can be formulated in a more rational way, in

terms of their effects." Greenoak says the fact the Therapeutic Goods Administration set up an office dedicated to complementary medicine in April this year indicates the greater recognition and acceptability of plant extracts.

And back to nature for development No 2: products from the sea - incorporating plankton, microalgae, and the like. "But it's difficult, because contrary to plants, where there's a lot of tradition, with sea extracts there is nothing," says Perrier.

Greenoak says the discovery of sunscreen in coral is an example of a potential marine "miracle". "Now we know ultraviolet light penetrates water up to 10 metres, exposing coral to varying degrees of light. Coral has a symbiosis with algae, giving the coral a cocktail of sunscreen, depending on the [amount of] UV light that gets to it."

Although Perrier says not much is yet known about marine ingredients, this doesn't necessarily mean they're dangerous for human use. "The great thing about it is it's already in the food chain, being eaten by animals in the sea who also get the sunscreen," says Greenoak. "So we can have some idea of its toxicity before we start working with it."

He says it will take five to 10 years for such an ingredient to turn into saleable product "especially with sunscreen because you're into the drug arena".

And all those "tree huggin' hippies" were right about aromatherapy, because that's another key development for the future.

The direction that labs are taking with aromatherapy and aromacology is to study the effects of certain aromas on the brain. "What's new are tools to measure the holistic approach," says Perrier. "Positive stress is linked to the use of make-up - if you look better, you feel better. Research is being done to measure the effects directly on the brain, looking at brain waves, and through the technique of sensory vibration."

The flip side of this is the marketing potential in aromas. Dr Frances Scriven, CEO of SMART (Sensory Market Analysis and Research Technology), says: "We test fragrances to identify what consumers like and how that affects their perceptions."

She cites the example of washing powders that have a harsh, astringent scent to indicate they are hard-working and kill germs.

Or, a beauty product with a healthy, refreshing scent that conjures up visions of youth.

The latest area of research that has professionals talking is bio-mimetic technology, synthetic proteins that mimic our natural biological mechanisms in the skin. Perrier says we can expect to see this on counters, after extensive testing, within the next two or three years.

"We can use this method, for instance, for immuno-stimulation, anti-aging, sensitive skin, maybe for tanning, and for whitening, by sending messages to the skin about how to compensate, correct and modify. The key aim is to find the messenger, and how to stimulate it, so you mimic the natural biological mechanism. It is one of the key approaches for the future."

Perrier says the benefit of this approach is its less aggressive action on the skin. It only slightly modifies our skin's natural mechanisms. "Some ingredients are too irritating, and do not correspond to what we want to do today. We want a long-term biological effect and, at the same time, a short-term, purely cosmetic effect."

But Greenoak warns: "This would put cosmetics slap bang in the drug arena" - the cosmeceutical argument. "A drug is defined as something that has a physiological effect, so when you're specifically targeting a mechanism in the skin and modifying biological processes, the question is: at

what point do we know enough about the effects, short- and long-term, to be confident that there's no hazardous effects associated with its use?"