Cosmetics & Personal Care | Monthly bulletin | January 2023

Eurofins monthly bulletin Cosmetics and Personal Care

Checking the authenticity of your raw materials

Today's consumers are paying more attention to the quality and especially the origins and traceability of the ingredients in cosmetic products. Given the complexity of the sources of supply, it is not always easy to meet these consumer demands.

Isotope ratios, the relative contents of the heavy and light forms of an element in a given sample, can be accurately measured in natural abundance by SNIF-NMR® (1) or by IRMS (2). Since these ratios are influenced by factors related to the environment or the synthesis of a product, they can provide information on the origin of compounds and allow for the detection of substitutions by chemically identical molecules from a different source.

The Eurofins network of laboratories is known for its development of the SNIF-NMR® method. This technique, in combination with IRMS, can provide a scientific guarantee of the authenticity of raw materials and ingredients.

Eurofins Cosmetics and Personal Care network of companies offers isotopic analysis to:

determine the natural or synthetic origin of a flavouring substance (e.g. vanillin).
differentiate between animal and vegetal origin (e.g. glycerol), terrestrial or marine origin (e.g. Chondroitin sulfate), and plant or animal origin (squalene/squalene)
verify vegetable sources of organic acids (Citric, malic tartaric, ascorbic, propionic etc.)

Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care can also develop bespoke solutions to meet your needs.

New volunteer and recruitment management software for all Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care cosmetic studies

New volunteer and recruitment management software for all our cosmetic studies is currently being deployed in all our cosmetic centers.

A website linked to an internal back-office simplifies the process for our volunteers and increases our visibility.

An online description of the studies as well as available pre-screening questionnaires simplify recruitment of volunteers and the quality of these candidates.

As a result, we have seen a rapid increase in the flow of new volunteer registrants since the launch of the website.

By 2024, the software will be deployed in Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care’s 24 clinical laboratories worldwide.

Because the privacy of our volunteers and the security of our clients' data is our number one priority, our sites guarantee:

total security of the data, utilising latest technologies and monitoring tools
“privacy by design" - all the tools necessary for the proper information of users and the application of the principles of the right to forget, withdrawal of consent, etc are embedded in the design of the software solution
total compliance with RGPD, HIPAA, Data Security Law China, and HDS secure hosting
development and quality validation carried out in accordance with the principles of GAMP 5 and good pharmaceutical practices for software development

Discover one of our new websites here.

Focus on anti-hair loss products testing

Many people are concerned about hair loss and, in more serious cases, alopecia. Hair loss can significantly impact self-esteem, however some targeted products may help.

The hair growth cycle is comprised of 3 successive phases, the anagen phase (growth), the catagen phase (rest), and the telogen phase (loss). Physiological loss is estimated at 30 to 100 hairs per day.
The two main causes of hair loss are androgenetic alopecia and telogen effluvium:

Androgenetic alopecia

The onset of clinical symptoms differ according to sex: symmetrical recession of the temporal edges in men, oval thinning of the vertex hair in women. Androgenetic alopecia chronic hair loss, starting quite early in forehead and temple area. Causes of Androgenetic alopecia may include genetic predisposition, especially in men, and hormonal effects.

Telogen effluvium

Telogen effluvium is a type of alopecia without any particular topography.

This is accute hair loss occurring 2 or 3 months after a triggering event (childbirth, cessation of breastfeeding… for women, acute infection, stress… for men and women).

Through its network of 19 laboratories specialised in hair testing, the Eurofins Cosmetics & Personal Care network can help you to develop performance products targeting the effects and causes of alopecia.

The duration of the test is between 1 to 3 months, with application of the product on the whole head at home, or controlled application in investigating centers on targeted areas.

Evaluation is based on clinical scoring (hair mass, volume…), self-evaluation by the subjects (hair loss, hair mass…), phototrichogram (photos of shaved minizones, counting of anagen, telogen and total hair density) and illustrative pictures.