Laboratoires Sérobiologiques (LS), the active ingredient business of Cognis Care Chemicals, has developed PA Reviviscience LS 9562 by using extract of MyroThamnus Flabellifolia, a plant that thrives in extremely dry desert conditions.
Combining the anti-oxidantrich active properties of this plant extract, the formulation has been designed to meet the increasingly high demands formulators now require from moisturising products.
Today skin has to put up with a range of conditions - both natural and man-made - that can affect the natural micro-releif of the skin. These include extremes of temperature brought about by central heating and air-conditioning as well as exposure to extremes of hot and cold climates. Added to this is the problem of exposure to UVA and UVB radiation.
Which is where the Myrothamnus flabellifoli extract comes in to itself. This plant has to contend with extremes of drought mixed with torrential rains. In the dry conditions the plant has a defense mechanism allowing it to survive on a minimal water supply.
However, as soon as it rains, the dessicated plant is able rehydrate very quickly and resume normal cellular function - giving it the name 'resurrecetion plant'. Likewise, it is these rehydration properties that are so beneficial to the newly developed PA Reviviscience ingredient.
As well as the desert plant extract, the ingredient also benefits from oligosaccharides derived from xylogulcans found in tamarind, a plant known for its immunostimulating and moisturising properties, together with trehalose, which the company says also moisturises and allows osmoregulation.
The combined properties of the formulation means that the ingredient is best suited to products developed for very dry skin conditions and temperature extremes, LS claims. Equally it is also suitable for products aiming to provide 24-hour moisture protection, because of its durability.
LS also says that efficacy tests showed that the formula can provide protection against heat shock, cold shock, osmotic shock and UV exposure. In clinical tests the ingredient was shown to have significant anti-drying and softening qualities in extreme conditions, when compared to a placebo cream.
The clinical test found that skin that had been treated with a cream containing 5 per cent PA Reviviscience had a 21 per cent higher moisture rate after 30 minutes of being exposed to extremes of temperature, compared to the placebo cream.
The company added that a separate one-week test showed that skin treated with the ingredient had an 11 per cent higher moisture rate.
The launch of the ingredient also coincides with consumers' growing demands for natural-based ingredients - demands that have come about from increasing concerns over the use of a number of man-made chemicals in cosmetic products.
"Value-added natural care ingredients are gaining market share because they address consumers' concerns about the environment and meet their preference for natural products," said Isabelle Benoit, LS marketing manager.