The cosmetics industry is characterized by its rapid and continuous absorption of innovations. Product launches are constant, and the audience, primarily female, is always on the lookout for new items, from new fragrances to more effective cosmetics.
Incorporating new technologies into products is a challenging task, and often a long time is required. However, one of the most modern technologies we currently have in this phase of market appropriation is nanotechnology. The name may sound a bit futuristic, but the results obtained so far are very encouraging, and this field of research has grown rapidly in both universities and industries.
But, after all, what is so special about this technology?
“Why can't we write all 24 volumes of the Encyclopaedia Britannica on the head of a pin?” This question was posed in 1959 by physicist Richard Feynman from the California Institute of Technology at a meeting of the American Physical Society in the USA. The above question was raised during the conference: “There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom” and was interpreted by many as a provocation or just another one of his jokes; however, today, we can already achieve this type of manipulation of atoms and molecules, which seemed impossible without the use of electron microscopes.
Since then, various authors have defined nanotechnology in different ways, but for me, one of the most comprehensive and interesting definitions is “Nanotechnology can be referred to as the study of those small-scale objects that can be assembled to create a new device.” This small scale is the nanometer, which is one billionth of a meter or, more tangibly, about 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair.
Regarding cosmetics, the first patents date back to the late 1980s, and since then, we have seen an increasing number of research studies and products on the market utilizing this technology. We use nanotechnology to form tiny capsules around cosmetic actives to achieve greater stability, increased performance, and safety of these products. We also use it to reduce the size of sunscreens and pigments to enhance light protection, colors, and special effects, and even to conceal wrinkles. Thus, the types of nanoparticles we can create are numerous, but those that have shown the most advantages in use are the so-called nanocapsules. These tiny capsules, measuring about 100 to 300 nanometers (nm) in size, have a biodegradable shell and contain one or more cosmetic actives, such as vitamins and plant oils, which are protected from light and air, preserving their action for much longer. This size of 100 to 300 nm is also crucial, as it ensures that the actives reach the deeper layers of the skin without side effects, increasing the effectiveness of anti-aging, anti-spot, and bronzing products, among other examples. The advantages do not stop there. Another significant benefit of these encapsulated actives is the longer-lasting effect and high hydration provided to the skin.
Recent studies have also demonstrated these advantages for hair and nails, making products for these two applications much more effective from the very first use.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this text, we are fortunate that the advances of this technology have arrived strongly in the cosmetics sector. This gives us confidence in the improved effects we will experience with these new products and the new applications that are yet to come. Be sure to check out the innovations of this tiny technology with such great benefits.
Renata Platcheck Raffin is an industrial pharmacist with a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from UFRGS. She has been researching in the field of nanotechnology since 2000 and has published over 20 international scientific articles. She is a professor and advisor for master's and doctoral programs at UNIFRA (Nanosciences Program) and director of Inventiva, a cosmetic raw materials industry with nanotechnology, a pioneer in the country in the development of these products.
References
There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom: An Invitation to Enter a New Field of Physics by Richard P. Feynman, available at http://www.zyvex.com/nanotech/feynman.html.
Duangkamon Baowan. Mathematical Modelling of Nanostructure, PhD thesis, School of Mathematics and Applied Statistics, University of Wollongong, 2008.
Alessandra Ströher, Cristián Jesús Velásquez Armijo, Renata Platchek Raffin Nanocosmetics:
