Drink production to cosmetic ingredient: three articles on upcycled cosmetic ingredients
Lushin’ your line: Six possible applications for wine-waste ingredients - Study
Many consumers already drink wine for its potential health benefits, but the waste from its production may be a good source of bioactive cosmetic ingredients.
A research team out of Lebanon and Italy, Hoss et al, published a review paper in Cosmetics exploring the viability of extracting active ingredients for cosmetics from wine waste.
The waste from winemaking consists roughly of 25% seeds, 25% stalks and 50% skins, known as grape pomace. Hoss et al posit that grape pomace could be a good source of phenolic compounds, known for their antioxidant, antiaging, anti-hyperpigmentation and photoprotective effects.
“Among various by-products, generally considered as waste, those obtained by winemaking industries have attracted the attention of a wide variety of companies, other than the vineries,” Hoss et al said. “In particular, grape pomaces are considered of interest due to their high content in bioactive molecules, especially phenolic compounds."
Beer by-product possible source of cosmetic antioxidant ingredients: study
In the name of sustainability, craft beer brewing by-products could have a second life as antioxidants in cosmetics products.
The Italian research team, Censi et al, set out to determine the phenol level and antioxidant activity of the by-product of multiple types of craft beer and evaluated the impacts of beer-waste extracts on human keratinocytes to demonstrate what uses they could have in cosmetics.
As craft beers have risen in popularity in the US and Europe, the research team said the unpasteurized and non-filtered nature of the product presents a unique opportunity to derive personal care ingredients.
“Thus, the evaluation of antioxidants in the waste products from beer production may be of great importance if one considers the rapid growth of the craft beer market worldwide,” the paper said. “The exploitation of brewery by-products to develop health products such as cosmetics and/or supplements would help increase the sustainability of beer production.”
Coffee cup to cosmetics: Colombian company introduces coffee cherry ingredient with big protective claims
While the fruit from a coffee tree is an antioxidant-rich superfood, it’s often discarded. A Colombian company has turned that waste into an ingredient with protective claims.
Colombian company Sanam has partnered with US-based Flora Reserve to bring their antioxidant ingredient Naox Derma to the beauty industry. While the ingredient has already entered the supplement space internationally, Flora Reserve Managing Director Jeff Avila said it has huge potential in cosmetics.
Naox Derma is a coffee cherry extract derived from the pulp of the fruit, which is normally discarded, and among its cosmetics’ benefits claims are anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant properties and blue light protection, among others. Avila said he sees the ingredient going into a broad spectrum of personal care items, including creams and serums.
