Dr Barbara Olioso's Blog

Safer sunscreens, hopefully on the way

2010-11-30T15:57:12+00:00

Just read about a new way to compensate free radicals generation in nano Titanium dioxide. A team of Italian chemists have found that coating the Titanium nano particles with Carbon decrease the amount of free radicals produced when it is exposed to UV. High tech can produce this kind of paradoxes, better performance and then out of the blue a side effect nobody thought about... In this case pro-aging effects! Let's see if this research opens the way to safer sunscreens...

Sweet insight on the train

2010-11-24T11:26:46+00:00

Just witnessed a very sweet moment on the train:
A short woman could not reach the top rail to leave her bag. No strong man around, but a very kind old man offered to help. Unfortunately the bag was too heavy for him and could not lift it to the rail, so the woman stepped in and lifted what she could and bang the bag was up there!
I thought this was a very sweet moment and showed me how creative cooperation is the way to go...

My presentation in Munich on the challenges of developing Natural and Organic Cosmetics

2010-10-04T14:42:47+01:00

The Challenges of Developing Natural & Organic Cosmetics

View more presentations from Barbara Olioso.

Cosmos: is it crystal clear and trasparent?

2010-09-14T18:05:11+01:00

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

2010-09-08T11:51:16+01:00

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

2010-06-29T15:10:26+01:00

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!

The Gin Lady shares her views on parabens

2010-05-18T10:51:17+01:00

The Gin Lady is a green, independent and natural place to gather information, products reviews and to buy ethical products. We would like to share with you her latest article on the most controversial topic at the moment: parabens. The article is worth reading as it gives the views of the pro and against parabens parties..

Natural candle by NuboNau, a new way to experience pure luxury

2010-05-08T11:16:26+01:00

I would like to share with you the luxurious feelings from having a 100% natural candle in my home. It came in a beautiful box with magnetic closure (that was really wow), I opened it and found this wide round glass with 3 cotton wicks, and even then I could smell the quality of the oils and their strength. I lighted it and its deep and relaxing scent enveloped all my sitting room. No black smoke, melting evenly and no smudge around the edges. Quite a work of art and love! I love scented candles and at the same time I feel I can not relax much with them because of the synthetic fragrances aspect, but with this candle I can! If you would like to have the same experience and treat yourself to something special you can get it from NuboNau (I had Tranquillity).

Fair Trade, the latest green trend

2010-05-05T12:29:09+01:00

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

2010-04-21T10:25:45+01:00

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...