Cosmetic chemistry is a highly complex field. Cosmetic chemists must be aware of the beauty needs of  people, but at the same time be well-trained in chemistry in order to make cosmetic products.

Making cosmetics is not as simple as many people think. Cosmetics vary greatly in formulation. One slight variation in chemical makeup can create a whole new product texture, color, or other property. Cosmetic ingredients are divided into two basic groups. The first is the vehicle group. Vehicles are spreading agents and other ingredients necessary in the formulation of a cosmetic product, but do not necessarily cause the product to alter the skin's appearance. Ingredients that cause changes in the physical appearance in any way are called active agents.

Active agents are in essence, active ingredients. However, we can not refer to them as active defined by the FDA as a drug, rather an ingredient that makes a cosmetic do what it is supposed to do to effect the appearance of the skin. Remember, Cosmetics are products that, by law, change the appearance of the skin, not the physiological function.

Every cosmetic product has an active agent. These ingredients may also be vehicles. For example,  emollients help to spread the cosmetic, but the emollient also helps keep water from leaving the stratum corneum. Various plant extracts are also added for their conditioning properties, depending on the skin type for which they are intended.

Vehicle and Active Agents

Water

Water is the number one ingredient used in cosmetic formulations. Water must be prepared by going
through filtering, distilling, deionizing, and sterilizing before it is used in cosmetics. Water is both a vehicle and an active agent. It is an excellent spreading agent for creams and lotions, as well as an active agent in moisturizers, helping to hydrate the skin.

Surfactants

Surfactants are ingredients in a cosmetic that cause the product to slip across or onto the skin. Surfactants lower surface tension. Surfactants also include detergents and soaps. They break up oils, fats, and other debris, and cause the debris to separate from the skin.

Commonly used surfactants in cosmetics:

Sodium lauryl sulfate Sodium laureth sulfate Disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate Ammonium lauryl sulfate Cocamidopropyl betaine

All of these suractants can remove oils, dirt, and other debris from the skins surface.

Surfactants are used in varying strengths depending on the purpose of the formula. Arbonne's cleanser for oilier skin will in general contain more surfactant than the cleansers for dry skin. Our formulas are carefully prepared so they prevent irritation on most skin types. Surfactants are also added to creams to  improve the slip and adhesive qualities of a skin care product.

Emulsifiers

Emulsifiers are ingredients that keep water and oil solutions mixed well. As you are all aware, oil and water don't mix well under normal circumstances. Emulsifiers work by forming a sort of shell around small oil droplets, allowing them to remain suspended in a solution of water.

Emulsifiers help to provide stability and texture to cosmetic products. They make the cream feel even and smooth. If emulsifiers were not used in moisturizers the cream would feel wet and oily when applied.

Commonly used emulsifiers:

Polethelene Glycol (PEG) Polysorbate Carbomer Carbopol Stearimide

Emmolients

Emollients are ingredients that lubricate the skin and give the product a soft, smooth feeling. Emollients also significantly help adhere cosmetics to the surface of the skin. Because they are lubricating, emollients are also used as active agents which is the part of the cosmetic that actually causes a physical change, which is responsible for the change in the appearance that cosmetics create.

Emollients sit on the surface of the skin and impede water loss or dehydration. They are generally made up of large molecules that help prevent water from leaving the surface of the skin.  Therefore they help stop water evaporation. Emollients are often referred to as protectants and are frequently used as vehicles for both cosmetics and drugs. They are also excellent spreading agents. There are many different types and textures of emollients.

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids are derived from plant and animal resources. They are triglycerides that have been broken down by removing glycerin from fat. They help give a soft, firm texture to lotions and creams. They are good lubricants and smooth across the skin evenly. They also add stability to the formulation.

The use of fatty acids in many types of cosmetics can be varied. In lipsticks, for example, the fatty acid  may be used to improve creaminess or improve adherability. In shaving creams, fatty acids will be used because it adheres to the skin and allows the razor to move smoothly across it. They are also a good protectant against razor burns and accidental cuts to the skin.

In makeup, it may be used for improving spreadability and texture. In pressed powders, fatty acids are used to press the powder into a cake, which keeps the product in a solid form until used.

Commonly used fatty acids:

Stearic Acid Caprylic Acid Oleic Acid Palmitic Acid Lauric Acid

All of these acids are derived from fats (triglycerides) from natural sources.

Fatty Alcohol's

When most people think of alcohol, they think of isopropyl alcohol, poured on cuts when they were children. They may also think of alcoholic beverages. All of these forms of alcohol have negative connotations. While isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol can be very drying to the skin's surface, this is only one type of alcohol. The term alcohol simply means that oxygen and hydrogen atoms have attached themselves to the end of a carbon chain.

Fatty alocohol's on the other hand are fatty acids that have been exposed to hydrogen. They are used  as emollients and emulsifiers and are less sticky and heavy than many fats.

Commonly used Fatty Alcohol's:

Cetyl Alcohol Lauryl Alcohol Stearyl Alcohol Cetearyl Alcohol Oleyl Alcohol

All of these alcohol's function to aid moisture and protect the skin.

Fatty Esters

An ester is formed when an organic (carbon chain) acid combines with an alcohol. Fatty esters are  used in cosmetics as emollients and conditioning agents. One of their best qualities is that they do not feel as oily to the touch as some other types of emollient fatty ingredients. They can be used to smooth the surface of the skin, to serve as a protectant, to help replace natural esters missing from older, dryer, skin types.

Commonly used Fatty Esters:

Octyl Palmitate Octyl stearate Glyceryl stearate Propylene glycol dicaprate/dicaprylate Cetyl palmitate

Liposomes

Liposomes are hollow spheres made of phospholipids which are compatible with the lipids making up the intracellular cement. Liposomes may be used to transport other agents, which may include moisturizers and conditioning agents. The liposome may be loaded or implanted with an ingredient. The ingredient is theoretically able to use this as a vehicle to penetrate the skin. Eventually the liposome will begin to dissolve, releasing the ingredient to carry out the function it is meant to complete.

Empty liposomes are sometimes used to improve the penetration of a cream or moisturizer. Liposomes are not listed as such on ingredient labels. As regulated by the CTFA compendium the ingredients of  the liposome are listed. The most commonly recognized include soya lecithin, lecithin, phospholipids, and ceramides.

Phospholipids

Phospholipids are naturally moisturizing humectants that are compatible with the intercellular cement.  Many scientists believe that the addition of phopholipids or liposomes to a product increases moisturization and hydration. They also help to penetrate the corneum better and hold moisture in the skin for substantially longer periods of time.

Sodium PCA

Sodium PCA is an excellent natural moisturizer. It has a tremendous ability to attract and hold water and is readily accepted by the skin.

Alphahydroxy Acids/Alpha Complex

These unique acids derived from fruit have the ability to remove and loosen cells from the stratum  corneum, helping to make the surface of the skin look more even and smoother. They also have excellent humectant properties.

Glycerin

Glycerin is a humectant that has very strong water binding properties. Because of this its use in cosmetic formulations must be precise. In large amounts in poorly formulated products it can pull water from the lower levels of the epidermis, which can result in dryer skin. Used in moderate amounts in a properly formulated product, it is an excellent hydrating agent.

Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid can hold up to 400 times its own weight in water. For this reason it has excellent water
binding properties and is used as a hydrating agent.

Plant Extracts

Dozens of plant extracts are used as active agents in the Arbonne products and are used because of their anecdotal properties. In other words, they are reputed to cause changes in the skin. Many of these extracts have been shown to be very helpful to the skin in helping with appearance changes and conditioning.

Clays, Kaolin and Bentonite

 Kaolin and Bentonite clays are used in masque for their tightening and drawing effects.

Coloring Agents

In color cosmetics color agents are extensively used. Color agents will appear on the ingredient label
as a variety of different names. Coloring agents are regulated by the FDA and are categorized as two
 types, certified and non-certified colors.

Certified colors are pigments, also called lakes, that are certified by the FDA are named by listing the color name, the number assigned by the FDA and the metal associated with the chemical structure. An example of this is D&C Red No. 4 Aluminum Lake. The D&C means it has been approved and certified by the FDA for use in Drugs and Cosmetics. Some colors are approved for use in drugs, cosmetics and food. In this case, the letters FD&C will proceed the name. The colors certified by the FDA are blue, green, orange, red, & yellow.

Non-certified colors are pigments and coloring agents that contain no metal salts. Most of these are natural plant or mineral pigments. While these colors are regulated by the FDA, they do not have a specific certification number. They include iron oxide, zinc oxide, carmine, beta-carotene, mica, the ultra-marine colors, henna and others.

This area is heavily regulated by the FDA. Only approved coloring agents can be used in cosmetics.