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I have always told my colleagues that the mark of great product design is simplicity and formulation robustness coupled with a superior consumer in-use experience. Optimal ingredient choices are made as a result of having an extensive material science background of commercially available ingredients. This provides the formulator with a large toolbox of options that they can use to design formulations and solve problems. It is hard to develop a superior formulation when the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer and every problem looks like a nail.

Principles of holistic skin care formulation design

• Delight or wow the consumer with a superior in-use experience. The formulation needs to deliver noticeable short-term product benefits that reinforce compliance that provides the long-term benefit
• Identify major formulation issues as early as possible. These include safety, regulatory, stability, and PR issues
• Use high value-added ingredients. Value is about doing things cheaper and is normally cost driven. High value added is about doing thing better and cheaper
• Use best in class materials to deliver superior efficacy. This why you need to develop material science expertise
• Active ingredients used should be backed by placebo controlled in vivo clinical studies that have statistically significant data. The benefits should also be consumer perceived
• Use synergistic combinations of ingredients, doing more with less
• Use optimized active delivery to enhance bioavailability while minimizing irritation and instability
• Formulations need to be robust and not be sensitive to minor changes
• Develop a thorough knowledge of all ingredients used and have a strong technical rationale for their use
• All skin care formulations should have good skin barrier building and moisturizing properties
• Minimize the use of fragrances, emulsifiers and preservatives

Characteristics of the ideal high value-added ingredient

• Cost effective
• Are multitasking ingredients that can be used in many different types of formulations (eliminating the need to code additional ingredients)
• Safe
• Globally approved
• Heat stable, no formulation discoloration or smell over time
• Easy to process and solubilize into water or oil
• Provide formulation flexibility
• Are green and come from sustainable resources
• Have no public relation issues

All skin care formulations need to provide good moisturizing and skin barrier building properties. This will generally improve the efficacy of most actives you use in skin repair formulations.

Benefits of an improved skin barrier include:

• Reduced fine lines and wrinkles
• Reduced TEWL
• Reduced dry, flaky, skin
• Improved moisturization
• Reduced skin sensitivity
• Reduced itching, redness, stinging
• Normalized desquamation
• Increased production of Defensins (antimicrobial peptides in skin) which may result in less Acne and skin blemishes
• Helps normalize the skin microbiome

Improving skin moisturization

• Typically, oil in water emulsions provide better skin feel and moisturizing properties than water in oil
• Use multi-lamellar liquid crystal forming emulsifiers to increase skin hydration and increase the bioavailability of actives. Examples include NET-LCS PF (Barnet Products), Amisol Soft (Givaudan), Montanov 202 (Seppic), and SD Sugar Crystal-LC (Sandream Enterprises). You will however need to use a swellable thickener like Carbomer, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, or an Acrylate Copolymer to help stabilize the emulsion.
• Use synergistic humectant combinations to maximize hydration while minimizing skin tackiness. Glycerin should be the main humectant. Other examples to use with Glycerin include Acetamidoethoxyethanol, Hydroxypropyl Bis-Hydroxyethyldimonium chloride, Betaine, Sodium Polyaspartate, and Sodium Polyglutamate.
• Use emollients that feel good and can provide skin hydration and TEWL reduction.
  • TEWL reduction-Isostearyl Isostearate, Squalane
  • Hydration-Isopropyl Isostearate, Dicaprylyl Isosorbide
  • Fine line reduction-Squalane, C12/13 Lactate
• Use ingredients that can stimulate epidermal lipid synthesis
• • Niacinamide
  • C12/13 Lactate
  • Lauryl PCA

High value-added actives

• Niacinamide (vitamin B3) is the most useful, and cost effective active used in cosmetic formulations. It has been extensively researched and is probably one of the top ingredients recommended by leading dermatologists. Key benefits include:
  • Has a very good safety and stability profile
  • Easy to formulate
  • Globally approved
  • Improves skin barrier function (stimulates Ceramide, Cholesterol, fatty acids, Involucrin, and Filaggrin synthesis)
  • Reduces skin sensitivity, makes sensitive less sensitive
  • Reduces fine lines and wrinkles
  • Acts as an efficacy booster for many skin repair actives
  • Improves skin texture/roughness
  • Improves Acne
  • Helps lighten skin
  • Reduces skin oiliness/sebum and reduces enlarged skin pores
  • Moisturizes skin
  • Has antioxidant activity against singlet Oxygen (the most destructive free radical)
• D Panthenol (Provitamin B5)
  • Globally approved
  • Good safety and stability profile
  • Easy to formulate
  • Improves skin hydration
  • Good skin soothing activity
  • Stimulates wound healing
  • Enhances skin barrier repair
  • Reduces UV induced erythema
• N Acetyl Glucosamine
  • Helps improve skin tone and barrier function
  • Reduces fine lines and wrinkles
  • Lightens skin, synergy with Niacinamide is claimed
  • Improves skin moisturization and reduces skin flaking
  • Has good skin penetrating properties
  • Combined with Niacinamide, it has been shown to increase Hyaluronic acid in a 3 D skin model.
  • Best ingredient currently available for increasing cell turnover without irritation.

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