New cosmetic raw materials will have a clearer definition, and raw material innovation will also usher in a new breakthrough direction.China Cosmetics Magazine |He Xinyang
What kind of cosmetic ingredients are considered "new" ingredientsOn December 1, the official website of the China Institute for Food and Drug Control publicly solicited the "Guiding Principles for the Definition and Research of New Cosmetic Raw Materials (Draft for Comments)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guiding Principles"), which clearly defined "new cosmetic raw materials" for the first time.
Screenshot of the official website of China Institute for Food and Drug Control The "Guiding Principles" of China Cosmetics magazine divides new cosmetic raw materials into new raw materials used for the first time at home and abroad, new raw materials used for the first time in China, and new raw materials for improvement and innovation. In other words, raw materials that have made substantial innovations in the use of cosmetic ingredients are also classified as new raw materials. In the drafting instructions of the draft of the Guiding Principles, there are also two situations of "improvement and innovation of used cosmetic raw materials". First, for the used cosmetic raw materials with a clear purpose of use and safe use, adjust the purpose of use to preservatives, sunscreens, colorants, hair dyes, and freckle removal and whitening agents. Second, to improve and innovate the used raw materials with clear purpose and safe use, we can carry out substantive and innovative research by optimizing the raw material preparation technology and production process, and changing the material basis of raw materials, so as to improve the safety, efficacy, stability and quality controllability of raw materials.
The Guiding Rules encourage substantive innovationIn 2023, cosmetics companies will set off a fierce "arms race" on the filing of raw materials.
As of press time, there are 56 new cosmetic raw materials filed in China in 2023, more than the total number of filings in the previous two years. However, from the perspective of raw materials, in the past three years, chemical raw materials accounted for about 60% of the new raw materials recorded, and biotechnology raw materials and plant raw materials accounted for 30%. From the perspective of the purpose of use, the filing of new raw materials is mainly based on the basic efficacy of the use, and most of the purposes of the use of raw materials are protectants, moisturizers, emollients, etc. Therefore, it can be seen that the research and application of new raw materials by domestic enterprises is still in the initial stage. The "Guiding Principles" also classifies new raw materials for improvement and innovation into the category of new raw materials, which is the embodiment of encouraging substantive innovation of new raw materials. Simply transporting the available catalogue of foreign cosmetic raw materials can no longer meet the needs of the high-quality development of the domestic cosmetics industry.
The scene map of the 7th Cosmetics Industry Leaders Conference "Youth Appointment and Young Future" Recently, Zhang Jiaheng, professor and doctoral supervisor of Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) and founder of Shanhai Innovation, was invited to attend the "7th Cosmetics Industry Leaders Conference" planned and organized by China Cosmetics magazine. In an exclusive interview with China Cosmetics magazine, Zhang Jiaheng said that raw materials are chips in the cosmetics industry, and the quality and efficacy of cosmetics largely depend on the raw materials used. There are 20,000 or 30,000 active molecules that can be used in the global cosmetics industry, and the current catalog of Chinese cosmetic raw materials is less than 9,000, and the proportion of original Chinese molecules is very small. Even though the state now encourages the registration of new raw materials, there are still a few of the raw materials that have been recorded, and many of them are still carrying the available raw materials in the international catalog. The development platform of new raw materials, including new raw materials, is very important to the industry, and it is necessary to pay attention to investment in basic research and be a long-termist.
The direction of the "breakthrough" of new raw materials
As a start-up company founded in 2017, Shanhai Innovation focuses on the development and application of cutting-edge supramolecular chemistry, and its beauty and skin care business line has nearly 100 characteristic supramolecular raw materials for commercial application, and there are currently more than a dozen original new raw materials of supramolecular ionic salts, which has completed the registration of the international cosmetics catalog INCI, and is also in the process of filing new raw materials for domestic cosmetics at the same time. In September 2023, L'Oréal Group's Shanghai Meicifang Investment*** (hereinafter referred to as Meicifang) announced a minority investment in Shanhai Innovation. The two companies will jointly carry out supramolecular development research on a variety of active ingredients in the fields of ** care, color cosmetics, hair care and hair coloring.
Professor Zhang Jiaheng delivered a speech at the 7th Cosmetics Industry Leaders Conference of China Cosmetics MagazineSupramolecular technology is a kind of modification technology, and it is also the path for new raw materials to achieve substantial innovation, and scientists who have made breakthroughs in related fields have won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry twice. As a new idea of molecular development, supramolecular technology is to stitch existing molecules into target structures through intermolecular forces. Generally speaking, supramolecular technology is like "building Lego", which can recombine molecules with different functions into a new supramolecular structure through design, which not only retains the functions of the original molecules, but also realizes mutual synergy, so that the efficacy is upgraded by 1+1 2. This is a way to link molecules through non-covalent bonds, and the idea of developing new molecular materials through the combination of intermolecular forces has been applied to the development of drug molecules.
In this process, no new substances are produced, but there will be a lot of clinical data and confirmation of safe, effective and clear metabolic mechanism of ingredient modification, making them more stable, gentler, better applied and smaller. Professor Zhang Jiaheng explained: "Just like the original need to redesign a structure and cast a part to achieve a function, now I can achieve a similar structure by 'building Lego', and can also have the same function, so as to achieve a win-win situation." ”
Zhang Jiaheng also put forward an outlook for the filing of new raw materials in the interview: "In the short term, the filing trend of new raw materials will be dominated by ordinary raw materials. However, with the innovation and development of R&D technology and process, the production of raw materials will be optimized, and the performance will be improved. ”
Substantial innovation of raw materials and empowerment from the source will give the cosmetics industry the opportunity to usher in the next "best growth point".