Some brands are expecting to see the ‘Nu Natural’ trend take effect in the coming year, and stray away from the objective of obtaining natural or organic certification. Organic ingredients will still remain the backbone of ‘Nu Natural’ products, but brands will focus more on the ingredients’ authenticity and efficacy, rather than the certification label.

The ‘Nu Natural’ theme requires manufacturers to get creative and explore new ingredients and simple formulas. The twist is that they will need to take the naturally sourced ingredients and formulate them with a new generation of phytochemicals, anthocyanins and fermented actives.

Below are a range of recently launched or re-launched cosmetic ingredients that highlight the possibilities of uniting science and nature.

Lipocire A – Interesterification of oils from the palm tree

Lipocire A, re-launched by Gattefossé, is the result of the interesterification of two hydrogenated oils from the fruit of the palm tree, palm oil and palm kernel oil, which is rich in saturated fatty acids. It is used as a texturizer for emulsions and lotions and can also be used in lipsticks and makeup pencils, giving good spreadability on the lips and around the eyes, and melting smoothly on application.

Aquacell Raspberry PrH – Substitute, organic cellular water from raspberry

Cosmetic formulators can now increase the organic percentage of their products with a new ingredient from Herbarom Laboratoire, Aquacell Raspberry PrH, which is organic cellular water from fresh raspberry pulp. Raspberries are among the fruits with the highest level of antioxidants.

Aquacell Bio 100 PrG – Substitute, organic wheat culm water

Aquacell Bio 100 PrG, also developed by Herbarom Laboratoire is organic wheat culm water. It is gluten-free and is said to be suitable for formulations for fragile or reactive skin.

Liposome Herbasec  – Standardized botanical extract

Liposome Herbasec [INCI: Maltodextrin, plant extract, lecithin] is a novel range of standardized, liposomal-based, botanical extracts in a lyophilised powder form. It provides an easy way to add botanical extracts into a formulation. Current extracts, which are water dispersible up to 5%, include green tea, white tea, white hibiscus, aloe vera and guarana.

Herbasol Ecoverte  – Glycerin botanical extract

Herbasol Ecoverte [INCI: Glycerin, aqua, plant extract] is a range of Ecocert validated extracts based on Ecocert certified glyceine. The current range of preservative-free extracts includes raspberry, mango, lavender, lime tree blossom, elderflower, vanilla, green tea and white tea.

Natural AHA Complex – Exfoliant botanical extract

Natural AHA Complex [INCI: Maltodextrin, citric acid, tartaric acid, silica, lactic acid, aqua] is naturally-derived alpha hydroxy acids in white powder form, formulated to deliver 20-30% total acids (as citric acid) so can be used as a gentle exfoliant for skin and scalp. Again this is preservative and solvent-free.

Vegelight – Petroleum style volatility

Vegelight 1214LC from Grant Industries is an Ecocert approved volatile, colourless and odourless alkane sourced from vegetable oils. Grant says its volatility properties are similar to petroleum-derived isododecane and synthetically-derived cyclomethicones.

LycoMega – Antioxidant from tomato seeds

LycoMega [INCI: Solanum lycopersicum seed oil & caprylic/capric triglyceride & vaccinium cacrocarpon seed oil & helianthus annus seed oil & tocopherol] from Lessonia contains titrated lycopene extracted by cold process from tomato seeds. It is an antioxidant and blocks the damaging effects of free radicals, protecting the keratinocytes exposed to UVB.  Lessonia says LycoMega has the strongest antioxidant activity of all natural antioxidantsand it is produced by a natural, solvent-free process. The ingredient is preservative-free and is suitable for use in organic products.

Disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate – Surfactant derived from vegetables

Disodium lauryl sulfosuccinate is used as a secondary surfactant and is derived from vegetables.  It is said to act as an anti-irritant and is compatible with a wide range of cleansing products.

Sodium coco-sulfate – Surfactant derived from coconuts

Sodium coco-sulfate only comes from coconut fatty alcohol. It can be used in a wide range of cleansers where a high vegetable content is required formulates easily with secondary surfactants when high viscosities and good foaming are needed.

Helianthus annus seed oil – Moisturizer derived from sunflower oil

Helianthus annus seed oil reinforces the skin’s barrier function and provides a soothing action for dry skin.  It is Ecocert certified. Both the moisturising and soothing activities are said to be directly associated with the ingredient’s ability to activate the PPARa receptor of keratinocytes.

Vegetable-based waxing lyrical

New vegetable-based waxes provide an environmentally friendly alternative to multi-component paraffin blends. They are said to avoid the fat bloom and cracking issues sometimes associated with vegetable-based waxes.

Soy Germ Extract – Supercritical phytosterols

The organic certified Soy Germ extract made by Flavex is rich in phytosterols and said to be ideally suited to cosmetics. Soy germs have an oil content of just 6-8% so Flavex says this is best extracted with supercritical CO2. It contains more than 70% polyunsaturated omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids and an unusually high content of tocopherols and phytosterols, the special feature being the particularly high phytosterol content of 5-8%.

Wheat Bran Extract – Anti-ageing secondary plant ingredient

Millet, recently launched by Flavex, is a wheat bran extract that contains milacin, a secondary plant ingredient which is an important cell membrane component with protective and anti-ageing efficacy.

The Supercritical Wheat Bran Extract which is also made by Flavex is organic and said to inhibit subcutaneous fat tissue, making it useful in anti-cellulite applications.

Whole Foods Market is implementing new companywide standards to ensure that claims on product labels are accurate. All suppliers must be fully compliant by June 1, 2011 or will not be sold in their stores.

The company’s new set of requirements apply to all personal care products and cosmetics which use the word “organic” in any way on the product label, including the word “organic” in the brand name.  These new requirements are going to adversely affect current suppliers, and Whole Foods Market is working with suppliers to transition their label claims to meet the following standards:

• Products making an “Organic” claim (e.g. organic shampoo) must be certified to the USDA’s National Organic Program standard for organic products, which requires products to contain more than 95% organic ingredients.
• Products making a “made with organic ingredients” claim must be certified to the USDA’s National Organic Program standard for Made with Organic products which requires products to use more than 70% organic ingredients.
• Products make a “Contains organic ingredients” claim must be certified to the NSF/ANSI 305 Organic Personal Care Standard.
• Products listing an organic ingredient in the “Ingredients” listing must have the ingredient certified to the USDA NOP standard.

According to Whole Foods Market, this decision aims at ensuring that claims on product labels are accurate. “Our shoppers do not expect the definition of organic to change substantially between the food and non-food aisles of our stores,” said Joe Dickson, quality standards coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “We believe that the ‘organic’ claim used on personal care products should have just as strong a meaning to the ‘organic’ claim used on food products, which is currently regulated by the USDA’s National Organic Program.”