Cosmetic Business 2024 live: Cosphatec champions rosemary-sourced antioxidant for skin care preservation

05 Jun 2024 --- At the ongoing Cosmetic Business event in Munich, Germany, Cosphatec showcases Cosphaderm Tocopharin, an antioxidant blend that preserves skin care formulations without affecting product smell or color.

The blend protects the oil phase of cosmetic formulation and positively influences the skin oxidation processes. 

Personal Care Insights speaks to Dima Bogdanov, sales manager at Cosphatec, on the trade show floor to learn about the herb’s use in cosmetics.

“You have a two-in-one solution for your formulation without changing the color or the smell of the formulation in the end. Most people think when you extract ingredients from rosemary, it will have a strong smell, but in this case, it does not. So you have a good solution,” Bogdanov tells us.

Creating clean ingredients
Bogdanov touts Cosphaderm Tocopharin as a “clean ingredient,” noting an “especially large” clean beauty industry in Germany.

 Cosphaderm Tocopharin can protect the skin from outside irritants.He attributes the trend to “many people wanting to avoid harsh ingredients or ingredients that persist in nature or in the environment.” This is why Cosphatec is focusing on biodegradable solutions.  

Cosphaderm Tocopharin consists of the natural antioxidants tocopherol and Carnosic acid dissolved in sunflower oil. The included mixed tocopherols contain a high proportion of γ-Tocopherol and, therefore, ensure protection of the oil phase of the formulation.

Carnosic acid obtained from rosemary supports the tocopherols in protecting the oil phase and has a distinct effect on protecting the skin from oxidative stress. The ingredient is a phenolic diterpene found in rosemary and has “long been valued” for its bioactive properties. 

Of all the constituents of rosemary, carnosolic acid is one of the key components that give the plant its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Preventing oxidation
The Hamburg-based company says cosmetic formulations containing oils must be protected against visual and odor impairment caused by oxidative processes. With its combination of the two antioxidant substances tocopherol and carnosic acid, only low concentrations of Cosphaderm Tocopharin, starting from 0.1%, are required to ensure product protection.Cosphatec’s Cosphaderm Tocopharin can be used in skin care applications.

Carnosic acid impairs the formation of foul odors caused by oxidation processes, which improves the shelf life of products with lipid components. 

In addition, combining the two antioxidant components within one product grants a lower required concentration of active substances compared to pure tocopherol while maintaining the same antioxidant effect.

To substantiate the antioxidant effect of Cosphaderm Tocopharin on the skin, an in vitro study measured the amount of reactive oxygen species in human keratinocytes.

Compared to the untreated sample, Cosphaderm Tocopharin reduced the reactive oxygen species level by 26% compared to the reference materials mixed with tocopherol and the synthetic standard antioxidant butylhydroxytoluene. 

These results confirm the skin cell-protecting effect of Cosphaderm Tocopharin against UV-induced oxidation processes. 

By Sabine Waldeck, with live reporting from Anita Sharma at Cosmetic Business 2024