Biotechnologies and green chemistry, our commitments to 100% sustainable cosmetics
Green chemistry and biotechnology are shaping the future of 100% natural, sustainable cosmetics. Less polluting, thrifty with natural resources and safe for human health, these virtuous cosmetics incorporate environmental protection at every stage of product development. For over 20 years, we have been committed to this approach and have been innovating in this area.
In our formulas, plant extracts from organic farming are combined with active ingredients from non-polluting biotechnologies, and surfactants, emollients or emulsifiers from green chemistry.
At a time when green science is reinventing the cosmetics of tomorrow, find out how we use green chemistry and biotechnology to formulate ever more virtuous, innovative and high-performance natural skincare products.
The aim of biotechnology: doing more with less
Considered to be the future of cosmetics, biotechnologies exploit the fermentative capacities of micro-organisms to develop solutions in the cosmetics, medical and environmental fields.
The aim of biotechnology is to use fewer resources by relying on living micro-organisms or biological systems. These living organisms - bacteria, fungi, yeast or microalgae - are fed by a combination of nutrients. In exchange, they produce and transform these nutrients into useful products, such as active dermocosmetics ingredients.
Our dermocosmetic active ingredients are derived from non-polluting biotechnologies
Alongside our plant ingredients, which include carrier oils, hydrosols and plant powders… our formulas are highly concentrated in dermocosmetic active ingredients.
We carefully select these active ingredients for their proven efficacy, their safety for human health and their perfect skin tolerance. We favour active ingredients of 100% natural origin, derived from non-polluting biotechnologies.
The ferulic acid in one of our future skincare formulas is obtained from fresh acai juice by biofermentation. This biotechnological process enables us to obtain a ferulic acid with powerful antioxidant properties, 100% of natural origin and sparing of natural resources.
Hyaluronic acid, our flagship active ingredient, is made up of polysaccharides (sugar chains) of different molecular weights (depending on the length of the chains). These polysaccharide chains are obtained by fermentation using non-GMO bacteria.
Our Vegan Collagen Serum contains peptides that mimic human collagen, produced by biofermentation using Pichia pastoris yeast.
The retinal in our Optimised Retinal Serum Concentrate is obtained using the extremophilic micro-organism Halobacterium salinarum, which grows naturally in high-salinity environments and produces retinal in its cells based on proteins that enable it to convert light into energy. This micro-organism's natural ability is used to produce natural retinal, which is then extracted from the cells after the micro-organism has been inactivated.
Green chemistry: preserving biodiversity, reducing health risks
Green chemistry is designed to reduce the use of compounds that are known to be toxic to humans and the environment, while avoiding the waste of raw materials and resources. This is achieved by using oil-free chemical processes, using renewable raw materials. Green chemistry uses all the molecules in the raw material to generate as little waste as possible.
This major principle, known as "saving atoms", is one of the 12 principles of green chemistry, published at the end of the 1990s and championed by two American chemists, Paul Anastas and John C. Warner. These principles also include minimising energy consumption, reducing the number of derivatives to cut down on waste production, developing real-time analysis methods to prevent pollution, and developing safer and less dangerous fundamental chemistry…
One of the objectives of green chemistry is to reduce or eliminate the use of dangerous, toxic or environmentally harmful solvents and reagents.
Green chemistry bans petrochemical solvents that have a harmful impact on human health and the environment (benzene, trichloroethylene, dichloromethane, hexane, etc.). It also restricts the use of water-based solvents, water being a raw material that needs to be saved as much as possible, given that it is already scarce and is likely to become even scarcer in the near future.
Green chemistry in our formulas
At Aroma-Zone, we've been using ingredients derived from green chemistry "forever ", as Pascale Ruberti, Innovation and Product Director, explains. The emulsifiers, surfactants and emollients in our formulas come exclusively from green chemistry.
In fact, we have opted for the Cosmos standard, developed and implemented to promote respect for the environment. The Cosmos standard authorises only green chemistry processes and prohibits other petrochemical processes because of their harmful impact on the environment and/or the non-biodegradability of the active ingredients.
Many of our plant-based emulsifiers are produced by an esterification reaction between plant-based fatty acids and plant glycerine or plant-based fatty alcohols. For example, glyceryl stearate is an ester between stearic acid and glycerol (plant glycerine). Cetearyl olivate from Olivem 1000 is obtained by esterification between cetearyl alcohol (derived from carrier oils) and the fatty acids in olive oil. These COSMOS-approved processes are based on plant-based raw materials and use only simple reactions (hydrolysis, esterification, etc.) that do not require petrochemical reagents.
Emollients such as coco-caprylate (Coco silicone) or dicaprylyl carbonate are obtained by esterification reactions on substrates of plant origin (fatty acids and fatty alcohols).
Eco-extraction: extracting the purest active plant ingredients without polluting the environment
An innovative approach to green chemistry, eco-extraction makes it possible to extract bio-active compounds from plant raw materials without using harmful solvents, optimising energy expenditure and reducing waste. Eco-extraction methods also maximise the quality of the extracts obtained by obtaining extracts of greater purity, with a higher concentration of active ingredients and optimal conservation of their biochemical properties.
Eco-extraction uses alternative solvents such as supercritical carbon dioxide (supercritical CO2), a process we have been using for many years at Aroma-Zone for all our CO2 extracts as well as for other active ingredients.
Our active plant ingredients obtained by eco-extraction
In our 10% Vitamin C And Astaxanthin Serum Concentrate, we use an extract of astaxanthin, a seaweed with unrivalled antioxidant properties.
Astaxanthin is extracted from the seaweed using supercritical CO2, an eco-friendly technology that uses no chemical solvents and produces an extremely pure active ingredient.
The CO2 used comes from 100% biogenic sources and is completely recycled in the process.
The spilanthes and astragale extracts in our plant-based Spilanthes Botox-Effect Serum Concentrate are obtained using a patented oil-based eco-extraction technology to extract spilanthol from Spilanthes acmella and flavonoids and saponins from astragalus.
The butterfly lavender extract in this serum, rich in fenchone, is obtained by supercritical CO2 extraction.
Our Eye Contour cosmetic active ingredient in our 5% Caffeine & Helichrysum Eye Contour Concentrated Serum is extracted from Zingiber zerumbet by supercritical CO2 extraction and placed on a butylene glycol carrier produced by biotechnology (fermentation).
Beyond cosmetics, will green chemistry be able to overcome the major environmental challenges of tomorrow?
Green chemistry is reinventing all the chemical processes we use on a daily basis, and gives us new prospects for the future. Researchers in this field are talking about the possibilities of using green chemistry for the city of tomorrow in processes for producing drinking water, treating waste so that it can be recycled, producing energy and medicines, and more besides.
