MichelleReece
Forum Replies Created
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Check out beauty.webpackaging.com, which is an online magazine. There are several dozen companies to pick from that’s located in Europe and USA.
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@Bobzchemist, @Perry, @ heraklit
Even worse, there might be impurities in the product, such as metals, that cause irritant or allergic reactions.
It’s a good idea to get patch-tested by a dermatologist or allergist, just in case. It’s definitely possible you’ll be allergic to or cross-react with carnuaba wax. Plant-based products tend to do that.
Microcrystalline and okozerite waxes are good substitutes, and they’re technically “natural” (well, they are minerals),
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For anyone who’s interested:
Arnica’s “active ingredients” are speculated to be the sesquiterpene lactones in the extract. More research is needed, of course, but looks so far that those sesquiterpene lactones only penetrate the skin if the base has a high % of ethanol and/or put in a microemulsion. If not, then it could take a ridiculously large percentage (20%+) to have any effect, presumed it’s formulated correctly.
Though, I doubt any cosmetic preparations currently on the market are properly formulated for arnica to be effective.
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Yes, @heraklit, propolis is a potential allergen. Estimations of contact sensitivity based on studies range from 1.2 to 6.6%. Chamomile and its derivatives can also cause allergies, though it’s usually the whole extract, as there are numerous chemicals within those extracts.
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How are the other MWs nasty, @Bobzchemist?
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What preservative(s) are you using? Preservatives can conflict with and deactivate other ingredients.
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That’s been the underlying message in that website and its sister website, sciencebasedmedicine.org, both of which I’ve been following for years.
The limitations of Google-ing are relevant here:
1. Past search history and keywords can skew search results. Many people don’t go beyond 2-3 pages, so of course they could easily pay attention to the bad information. If you want the studies, search on Google Scholar.
2. Not all medical journals are high quality, and in fact there are several bad ones. But not even the best medical papers are immune from publishing sub-par or bad studies.
3. You should look around for any methodological criticisms (from the experts) or recent paper retractions. Keep an eye on Pubpeer and retractionwatch.com.
4. You should really know how to read a study. Having a background in statistics will help a lot.
5. Some companies and researchers like to abuse/skew double blinded, placebo-controlled studies because they know it’s immediately credible. One example: check the treatment vs placebo. If they are in different vehicles-say, a cream versus a gel-it’s not double blinded.
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No, it wouldn’t. I’m a bit of a “data freak”, and I was actually surprised I couldn’t find the detailed data anywhere so far.
Oh, well, time to experiment.
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Centerchem’s Petalatum and hydrogenated vegetable oil are good alternatives.
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Thanks, DavidW and Perry. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to contact the FDA itself just to be sure.
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What about micro- or nanoemulsions? Do you have the resources for that?
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Consulting lawyers are inevitable, but another thing I’m wondering about: would you get into any more (or less) trouble if you had evidence an ingredient “soothes [dryness-induced] irritation”, such as a placebo-controlled study?
The FTC also investigates marketing claims, so would adequate evidence keep the FTC away from you, or would it incur FDA’s investigation as you haven’t submitted that evidence for FDA review?
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There are actually multiple active ingredients in (colloidal) oatmeal. A link here:
I know from what my parents and grandparents have told me, oatmeal was a fairly popular folk remedy. They didn’t consider it a folk remedy, though-going to the doctor was expensive for them.
@braveheart: It’s a good question. I’ve seen the FDA go after companies who use testimonials as evidence, such as “I didn’t need to go to the hospital for my burns after using this lotion!” when the product didn’t have any active/drug ingredients. But on the other hand, companies are apparently safe if they have testimonials. I suppose it depends how the testimonials are worded.
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I’m not quite up-to-date with the technicalities, but I’m wondering if claiming that a certain ingredient (i.e, urea) “soothes dryness-induced irritation” would count as a drug claim.
I know you can avoid legal problems by claiming the product/formulation does it, as long as you don’t go into specifics such as “inhibits NFkB”.
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Well, Paula’s Choice could get into some trouble.
@ElaineB Yeah, every humectant could technically be a drug under the FDA’s broad definition. I’d feel a lot better if the FDA actually goes into specifics and monographs more ingredients.
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I’m a bit surprised no one else has mentioned this, but one way you can market is to crowdfund like on Kickstarter. If you design and work your page correctly, it can generate a lot of online interest and some extra revenue. This is where you must get skilled on marketing.
Remember that marketing provides the “answers” to what your customers are thinking: “How does this product benefit me?” Convey your “answers” in the clearest way possible. Don’t get caught up too much in the “style”; that will come out naturally if you have a clear vision.
You must also know your demographic from the inside-out. You are best off actually talking to your demographic instead of sending out surveys. It’s seemingly obvious that you should know your demographic well, but I’ve seen several people fail in different business avenues because they really didn’t know.
In the same thread of beauty bloggers: you may want to start an affiliate program. That way, more beauty bloggers would have an incentive to talk about and promote your product(s). Affiliate programs are really the most cost-effective marketing solution on the Internet so far. It can be risky, but then again everything in business is.
Hope this helps!
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What Belassi said, and glycerin and the fish oil might be making it worse.
The problem with plant and animal oils is that their emolliency can noticeably differ among different batches, which is the reason mineral oil is so popular.
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I haven’t experimented/used that much with urea, but it’s super* sticky/tacky like glycerin can be.
*Okay, I might have to admit I have very low tolerance for stickiness/tackiness, but other people I know have complained about it too.
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Many tyrosinase inhibitors can have that side effect, especially in those with African-American descent, which is why some dermatologists will tell them to not “spot/area treat” so much.
When retinyl palmitate, retinol, or retinal turns into tretinoin, it accelerates skin turnover, which lessens epidermal pigmentation. From enzymatic studies, my estimates would be that it takes 2-4% retinyl palmitate-depending on the carrier-to equal low-level tretinoin. But in low concentrations it makes a nice moisturizer.
Salicylic acid isn’t as strong of a skin turnover accelerator as AHAs, but it’s anti-acne and anti-inflammatory effects prevents redness and thus inflammation-induced hyperpigmentation. Also, it has fewer side effects compared to glycolic acid.
You might be interested in skin turnover accelerants/exfoliants such as mandelic acid, L-lactic, gluconolactone and lactobionic acid (the last two are polyhydroxy acids) which are nicer on skin. But you could have trouble finding gluconolactone and lactobionic acid.
Oh, and with kojic acid: it’s sensitive to oxygen and sunlight, so 1) store it properly and 2) you might want to have it under 2% and combine it with allantoin if possible to counter the former’s potentially-irritating effects.
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That would be the best occlusive for dry skin ever.
But how the heck would you get it in a cream?
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Anti-inflammatories such as glycyrrhizic acid and bisabolol do block inflammation-induced pigmentation, though not as powerful as steroids. Salicylic acid has anti-inflammatory properties too.
Have you considered linoleic acid, arbutin or kojic acid? What about weaker forms of vitamin A such as retinyl palmitate?
Some advice: skip the mulberry extract. It takes than 25-50% (per studies) to show results, and it’s kind of a pain to preserve extracts. Also, you won’t have very good product consistency.
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Propylene glycol is actually a humectant, so you don’t need to use so much glycerin and panthenol, unless you’re using the former for more than just its humectant properties.
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Well, there are plenty of creams in the USA “for” melasma. Most of them contain 2% hydroquinone and sometimes combine it with glycolic and lactic acids. It works, but only on epidermal melasma to a certain extent. Sunscreens are used to prevent UV-induced pigmentation. But we’re technically talking about drugs here.
Are you willing to formulate with hydroquinone? It’s a finicky ingredient. Come to think of it, I can’t remember if hydroquinone is even legal in Mexico.
There are other cosmetic ingredients sometimes used for unwanted pigmentation: niacinamide, retinol, and antioxidants. The first two help (a little), but not so much antioxidants because most of them are fussier than even hydroquinone.