Nanocosmetics: How smart technologies are used in the beauty industry
Text: Daria Burkova
In the modern world, food production using nanotechnology has become commonplace: without microscopic particles with a given sequence of atoms, we would not have flash drives of even ten gigabytes. Nanoparticles (the prefix "nano" means one billionth of a meter) have been studied since the middle of the 20th century, and now technologies have become so simple and relatively cheap that they are used not only in the creation of chips and microchips, but also in the cosmetic industry. We understand why they do it, how it happens, whether manufacturers are lying and whether there is any sense in all this.
Liposomes, Nanosomes and Photomesoms
This may seem surprising, but nanotechnology began to be used in the manufacture of cosmetics in the early 90s. Of course, at first such cosmetics were intended only for professional use. Now in the composition of creams and serums you can find the so-called microcapsules, which you will learn from the advertising of products and the presence of the word "micro" in the name. Strictly speaking, nanoparticles have a size of from 1 to 100 nm, and to the fact that they are larger, add the prefix "micro". Microcapsules are spherical molecules ranging in size from 50 to 200 nanometers with a given strict sequence of atoms, which easily pass through the stratum corneum of the skin due to their miniature size and deliver the active ingredients contained in them to the deeper layers of the skin.
The first and most popular form of microcapsules is liposomes. Funds created using this nanotechnology, even referred to a separate group of liposomal cosmetics. So what's liposomes? “Due to their composition and structure, liposomes are unique ingredients. Their membrane consists of lecithin, which has a high degree of stability: it has water- and fat-soluble areas, which gives lecithin the properties of a natural emulsifier,” says Elena Pasternak, head of the medical department of Sesderma in Russia - Lecithin, in turn, consists of phospholipids, possessing both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties — they both attract and repel water. phospholipids swell and form one or several (up to tens and hundreds) closed biological layers, which form microcapsules. The layers of the walls of such capsules form a semipermeable membrane that easily passes water, but at the same time detains the active substances in it " .
Due to phospholipids, the structure of liposomes is similar to the cell membrane, therefore, they are easily absorbed by the body. It is also believed that soy lecithin liposomes are the most stable: they harmoniously combine strength and plasticity. The main advantage of liposomes over other microcapsules is that several ingredients can be contained in them at once, both inside the capsule and in its membrane. Substances can be very different: vitamins, acids, plant extracts, amino acids, enzymes, enzymes, microelements, hormones and antibiotics.
Spots of liposomes are nanosomes, the shell of which is made of only one layer of phospholipids. Only one active ingredient (for example, vitamin E) can be enclosed in nanosomes, and they are most widely used in cosmetics because of their relative cheapness and ease of manufacture. In addition to lecithin, microcapsules with a shell made of polymers are very popular - they are used primarily for the delivery of fat-soluble components. It is worth knowing that almost every cosmetic company patents its own kind of microcapsules and gives them a separate trade name, often quite complex and undetectable. All this can safely turn a blind eye: the meaning of the nanocapsules does not change from changing the name. They can be identified by the presence in the advertising of messages in the spirit of "the active ingredients are delivered directly to the cells in an unchanged form."
Another concept that can now be found more and more often is photo shots. In fact, this is just a separate type of liposomes, which contain light-sensitive enzymes to restore and protect skin DNA cells from exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Substitution of concepts
The average permeability of healthy skin is about 100 nanometers, and the size of the smallest sediments used in cosmetics is 50 nanometers. Responsible manufacturers use soy lecithin liposomes up to 150 nanometers in size - they can still reach the goal due to their plasticity, but microcapsules from polymers with a size of 500 nanometers, alas, will not pass through the epidermis unchanged. Unfortunately, scanners for determining the size of nanoparticles have not yet been built into our iPhones, so you have to rely on the fear, risk and production documentation on the Internet when buying funds with microcapsules.
Another problem with nanotechnology in the production of cosmetics is the substitution of concepts due to the lack of official language explaining what, in principle, can be considered nanotechnology in this area. As a result, manufacturers may call nanocosmetics not products with microcapsules or products, in the manufacture of which nanotechnologies were used, but creams and serums with ingredients of nano-dimensions. These include, for example, sodium and potassium salts of fatty acids (their size is from 1 to 3 nanometers), which are contained in ordinary soap.
Cefine cosmetologist Elena Karminskaya says that the technology of obtaining and applying soap was developed by the famous Swiss alchemist Paracelsus in 1520. However, Paracelsus was not the first nanotechnologist in history. History has preserved information about ancient cosmetics, used by Queen Cleopatra. Olive and other vegetable oils and animal fats, the molecules of which are several nanometers in size, occupied a central place in these products. The tradition of using mineral cosmetics (clay, ocher, lapis lazuli powder), according to archaeologists, dates back to the Stone Age. The most valuable are powders with a minimum particle size of these funds, reaching tens to hundreds of nanometers. Mineral powders and powders are also used in modern cosmetics.
Why need nanocapsules
Microcapsules are original containers and are used to transport the active ingredients of cosmetics through the epidermis into the deeper layers of the skin. Reaching the goal, microcapsules release the delivered substances, and liposomes also participate in the work of the cells. For example, in the regeneration of cells or the transformation of some molecules into others. The use of capsules allows not only to overcome the barrier of the stratum corneum, but also to reduce the required amount of the active ingredient itself, because it is delivered directly to the target, which reduces the risk of skin irritation, for example, from retinol or glycolic acid (they are placed in capsules for this purpose) . And that's not all: because phospholipids in liposomes are perceived by skin cells as related molecules, they receive peculiar signals from cells that need active substances most of all, and deliver the ingredient in the first place to them. This principle works so-called smart cosmetics. “Nanoparticles are able to absorb and transport active substances, as well as accelerate various reactions at the cellular level,” says Anastasia Kontaurova, BABOR training manager. protective properties and increases the work of the body’s own resources. "
Cosmetics with microcapsules are actively used in salon care in combination with hardware techniques (microcurrents, iontophoresis, phototherapy). In beauty salons, such procedures are presented as replacement injections. And this has its own truth: initially, microcapsules were made just in order to deliver to the deep layers of the skin with the help of cosmetics those ingredients that previously could be held there only with the help of an injection. In addition, there are already toothpastes with encapsulated microelements to restore enamel and eye drops in the form of a spray that should be applied to the eyes with closed eyes: miniature liposomes pass through the skin and deliver moisturizing components to the mucous membrane.
Photo: Babor, Stop Karies, Sesderma, Chanel, Sephora (1, 2)