A deep understanding of skin: during its annual meeting in New York, the Society of Cosmetic Chemists looked beyond the stratum corneum to get a better understanding of how skin works. Donald S. Orth receives the Society's highest honor.

MORE THAN 1,400 cosmetic chemists jammed the Hilton Hotel once again for the Society of Cosmetic Chemists' annual meeting in New York City, Dec. 6 and 7. They came to hear sessions devoted to novel chemistry and new test methods, view poster presentations from industry suppliers and honor their own. Chief among the honorees was Donald S. Orth, Ph.D., who received the Maison G. deNavarre Medal Award, the industry's highest honor.

The annual meeting opened with a session devoted to new insights, which was moderated by Art Georgalas of Kemira/Tri-K. Jean-Francois Nicolay of Exsymol detailed a design for creating innovative skin care products. In his presentation, Dr. Nicolay told the audience that with the passage of REACH, chemists must have comprehensive safety data, as well as a better understanding of in vivo effects. Dr. Nicolay discussed methods for molecular modeling of peptidominetics using molecular modeling software, standardized human reconstituted epidermis and multi-enzymatic mixtures.

"Molecular modeling is a valuable approach for the design of innovative peptide-derived cosmetic ingredients," he told the audience.

Using this information, his team successfully modified arginine-containing dipeptides in order to limit their enzymatic hydrolysis in the upper layers of the epidermis.

Dr. Michael Jaffe, professor of biomedical engineering and chemistry at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, discussed "Sustainable UV Stabilizers Based on Isosorbide."

Dr. Jaffe is exploring a new class of sustainable resource-derived UV stabilizers, based on the cinnamic acid esters of isosorbide with the help of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Energy. The objective is to identify commercially relevant corn sugar-based chemistries. The project is centered on defining the cost-performance of isosorbide-derived compounds that improve the performance characteristics of commercial systems. The work is intended to effectively impact the feasibility of fuel production for high-value chemical building block derivatives co-produced with liquid fuels.

Isosorbide, a versatile dianhydrosugar compound derived from sorbitol is hydrophilic and thermally stable. This makes it compatible with many polymer and cosmetic base materials. It is expected that this family of compounds will effectively absorb both UVA and UVB and be suitable for cosmetic applications.

"Isosorbide provides a whole new set of building blocks for cosmetic chemistry," insisted Dr. Jaffe. But he urged the audience to help his organization: "We need direction from you!"

Calorie-Restricted Diets Improve Health

Leonard Guarente, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, presented the Frontiers of Science Award Lecture, "Sirtuins, Aging and Diseases." Dr. Guarente pointed out that calorie restriction (CR) diets cause a variety of favorable metabolic adjustments, including improved glucose and lipid homeostasis that lower blood glucose and LDL-cholesterol and raise insulin sensitivity and HDL-cholesterol. These changes alone provide benefits in fighting disease such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease and diabetes. In contrast, overeating leads to obesity, glucose intolerance, diabetes and a predisposition to a host of other diseases.

"If we had a drug that works like CR, we could treat these diseases of aging," he told the audience.

He noted too, that sirtuin is activated by resveratrol and that resveratrol-fed mice live longer, but the material is unstable and requires a high-dose rate in order to be effective.

Back to Basics: Immunology

Scientific session B, Back to Basics: Immunology, was moderated by Mindy S. Goldstein, Estee Lauder. Dr. Howard B. Fleit, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, presented "The Immune System: A Bridge Between Health and Disease." He focused on innate immunity as opposed to adaptive immunity. Dr. Fleit concluded that the immune system is a finely balanced system designed to protect the individual against invasion and subsequent disease production.

"The immune system is an elaborate series of cells and molecules that provides early defense against microbes," observed Dr. Fleit.

John Wagner, Ph.D., Weill Cornell Medical College, spoke about the skin as an environmentally responsive immunological barrier. Evidence suggests that the nucleotide ATP acts as an endogenous adjuvant that signals the existence of tissue damage to the immune system. As a result, local signaling systems within the skin modulate immune responsiveness, and these signaling systems provide therapeutic targets that may be exploited to modulate cutaneous immunity.

Next, Margaret Altemus, Ph.D., Weill Cornell Medical College, discussed the "Effects of Acute And Chronic Stress on Skin: Clinical Studies." Psychological stress has long been associated with exacerbation of dermatologic disorders and recent work has examined the effects of stress on skin physiology. Studies were conducted to compare the effects of acute and chronic stress on disorderfree human skin. Divergent skin response profiles produced by acute laboratory stress and chronic psychological stress underscore the need to quantify dose and duration of stress and consider individual differences in stress responsivity when studying effects of stress on the skin.

For example, in one study of the effect of acute stress on the barrier function in women ages 18-29, Dr. Altemus' team found increased cytokine release after psychological stress. She noted too that stress causes an increase in the inflammatory response and can affect the barrier function.

The final presentation of this session was from Mary Matsui, Ph.D. She presented "Ultraviolet Radiation Induced Immune Suppression: An Incentive for Sun Protection Strategies Beyond SPF." Dr. Matsui urged the audience to consider Immune Protection Factor (IPF), which measures the unseen damage caused by UV radiation. As she noted, erythema is not a useful indicator of immunosuppression.

A Look at Ethnic Hair and Skin

On Friday, Michael Smith of L'Oreal moderated a session on ethnicity. Victoria Holloway Barbosa, MD, Dermal Insights, Inc., reviewed the literature and recent reports on the differences in skin across ethnicities.

Amy J. McMichael, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, discussed scalp and hair in the African American patient: normal state and in disease. She noted that seborrheic dermatitis and folliculitis are the most encountered scalp disorders in addition to acne keloidalis nuchae and scarring alopecia. The hair and scalp disorders experienced by African American patients include those seen in the population at large, as well as those disorders more common in patients of color. The key is in the approach to clinical history of disease and hair care practices that patients may think is noncontributory to disease.

Next, Patrick Obukowho, AR-L, examined the nature of reaction and importance of materials in irritation reduction in relaxer formulae. He showed how replacing a quat with an essential oil, such as coconut, can improve overall product performance.

Finally, L'Oreal's Harold Bryant, Ph.D. discussed hair problems, physical characteristics and grooming practices-based on ethnicity. To determine consumer perceptions of hair problems, a pilot study was conducted with 350 female participants from various ethnic backgrounds who were asked to list all their hair problems. The list was compiled and used for a national internet-based survey that targeted four ethnic groups, Caucasian, Mexican, African American and Chinese. The average number of hair problems reported was higher for African American and Mexican as compared to Caucasian and Chinese. His analysis indicated that while many of the problems were common, certain problems were specific to each category.

In conclusion, differences in the perceived hair problems appear to be related to ethnic background. There may be a correlation between the problems and the use or misuse of chemical treatments, but data suggest that inherent differences must also be considered. Tests also indicate that the hair from people of African descent is more fragile and that fragility may be related to inherent physical differences.

Skin Tone

The final session, moderated by Martha Tate, Kimberly-Clarke, was devoted to skin tone. Isabelle Imbert, Vincience-International Specialty Products, opened the session with "Botanical Active Ingredients That Enhance Skin Tone: An In Vivo Study." She pointed out that the desire for a natural tanned skin appearance without excessive UV exposure or irritating self-tanning products has increased consumer interest in tone enhancers. A new botanical active ingredient has demonstrated significant protective effects against UV-induced damage with better homogenization of skin tone. As a result, irradiated skin biopsies showed higher skin tone intensity than non-irradiated biopsies, and irradiated active treated biopsies revealed a better homogenization of melanin content than that of irradiated control biopsies.

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The new active ingredient can help prevent sun-induced damage by enhancing skin tone and limiting UV induced skin inflammation. The study also suggested that this active ingredient could be used in skin care, sun care and self-tanning products.

Next, Olga V. Dueva-Koganov, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, discussed the impact of polymers in sunless tanning delivery systems. The objective was to evaluate the ability of several polymers to influence the color development induced by sunless tanning formulations.

Barbara Brockway, Ph.D., of Active Concepts, explained how hyper-pigmenration, especially age spots, are sensitive to manipulation via the melanocortin 1 receptor.

Still on the topic of skin tone, Adriana Altuve, Procter & Gamble, suggested linking surface energies to cosmetic beauty on the skin. She explained how a good SE match between the foundation and the skin represents a favorable low energy state that facilitates advantageous surface interactions. SE has proven to be an invaluable technical tool to understand how to best deliver color to the skin and to improve overall foundation performance on the skin.

Donald S. Orth Awarded deNavarre Medal

THE MAISON G. DENAVARRE MEDAL AWARD was presented to Donald S. Orth, Ph.D., a broad-based industrial microbiologist with more than 40 years of experience in industry, government and academia. He is an adjunct professor of Cosmetic Science in the College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati. In accepting the award during the Thursday luncheon, Dr. Orth reminded those in attendance to look closely at their data, as it can reveal much more than originally expected. He also urged cosmetic chemists to follow their passion and enjoy the Society.

Other Award Winners

The Shaw Mudge Award, sponsored by Ciba Specialty Chemicals, was presented to Robert Y. Lochhead Ph.D. for his paper entitled "Investigation of the Effects of Polymer Microstructure on the Rheologies of Polyelectrolyte Gels: The Importance of Chain Rigidity, Branching, Hydrophobic Modification and Polymer-Particle Interaction." The award recognizes the best paper presented at the 2007 annual scientific seminar.

The Allan B. Black Award, sponsored by Presperse, was presented to Yelena Loginova, Ralph Macchio and Alan Farer for their paper entitled "Rheomorphological Changes in Mascara Texture Related to Filling Stress." The award recognizes the best paper on makeup technology either presented at the previous Annual Scientific Meeting or Seminar or published in the Journal of Cosmetic Science.

The Hans A. Schaeffer Award, sponsored by Arch Personal Care, was presented to Yin Z. Hessefort, Brian T. Holland and Richard W. Cloud for their paper entitled "True Porosity Measurement of Hair: A New Way to Study Hair Damage Mechanisms." This award recognizes the most innovative paper presented at either the previous scientific meeting or seminar.

Takashi Itou, Masayoshi Nojiri, Yoshikazu Ootsuka and Koichi Nakamura earned the Joseph P. Ciaudelli Award for their paper entitled "Study of the Interaction Between Hair Protein and Organic Acid that Improves Hair-set Durability by Near-infrared Spectroscopy." The award, sponsored by Croda, recognizes the best article submitted to the journal of cosmetic science of the subject of hair care technology in 2006.

During Friday's luncheon, the Society of Cosmetic Chemists' Merit Award was presented to R. Randall Wickett, Ph.D., for his outstanding services and distinguished leadership in society activities. Dr. Wickett serves as Editor of the Journal, was a member of the COSA committee and CEP Instructor for several courses spanning more than 20 years as a member of the Society.

Finally, the Society of Cosmetic Chemists' Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Guy Padulo in recognition of his able and efficient leadership, his counsel and unselfish services as 61st president of the Society.

LaToyah Burke

Associate Editor

Tom Branna

Editorial Director