SopharTops – Using cosmetic ingredients effectively and efficiently with innovative nanoemulsions

In general, three types of cosmetic actives can be differentiated due to their chemical properties: hydrophile (water-soluble), lipophile (oil-/fat-soluble), and amphiphile (soluble in water and in oil). Water and fats or oils, however, typically are almost unable to penetrate into deeper skin. That means that active ingredients dissolved in water or oil get lost on their way into the skin. A higher concentration to compensate for the loss during the transport cannot offer an adequate solution, not only because of economic reasons but mainly because of potential skin reactivity to the high dosages.

For those reasons, medicine and cosmetics, already for some decades, have been using liposomes and nanosomes for a so-called encapsulation mobilization. They build a membrane to enclose water-soluble and/or fat-soluble active agents and carry them, without any losses, through the skin barrier into deeper skin layers. This way, they prevent cosmetic ingredients from being washed out or being deposited on the skin.

With SopharTops, Polytrade Global GmbH, specialized in the international trade with raw materials for the cosmetics market, presents a new type of system for the encapsulation mobilization in the form of a multiple nanoemulsion. In the emulsion, on the basis of a special emulsifier derived from sunflowers and sugar beet, tiny, flexible vesicles develop; they are similar to traditional liposomes or nanosomes and encapsulate actives within the emulsion. The natural, gentle-to-skin and even edible emulsifier „Glyceryl Citrate/Lactate/Linoleate/Oleate“ is free of genetically manipulated organisms (GMO) and, dependent on the use of other emulsifiers/oil and stabilizing compounds, is used for the production of two different skin care emulsions.

HydroTops, as a version of the described vesicles in a dual-emulsion, consists of the active ingredients dispersed in water, in an oily medium that in turn is dispersed in a watery medium (W/O/W = water-in-oil-in-water).

LipoTops uses the 100% natural emulsifier for the dispersion of lipophile active agents in oil and the inclusion in a water-based medium (O/W = oil-in-water).

„Both emulsions show a noticeably improved polydispersity index (PDI), presented by a homogeneous size distribution“, Eduard Albrecht, CEO of Polytrade Global GmbH, explains. „Simultaneously, a better encapsulation coefficient and a higher stability of encapsulation allow a more efficient use of active ingredients.”

Above all, the clearly enhanced penetration rate of SopharTops has been impressively demonstrated in several studies. As a result, Sophar Tops has the advantage of a significant cost reduction thanks to the lower concentration of cosmetic active ingredients without any impairment of their effectiveness.

Polytrade GmbH already offers a large scale of products practically implementing the use of nanoemulsions with the active agents GTE (Green Tea Extract), Koffein plus (Caffein + Biotin), Niacinamide, Co-Enzym Q10, Alpha Tocopherol, and Collagen.

„Also, other active ingredients can be used in combination with SopharTops. We are looking forward to putting them into practice for our customers’ individual projects”, Eduard Albrecht emphasizes.

SopharTops is suitable for oil-in-water emulsions (O/W), such as watery solutions, tonics, serums for skin and hair, hydro-gels or creams. It is suitable for water-in-oil emulsions (W/O) or pure oils, such as massage oils, lip balms, hair shampoos, or shower gels.

Due to the minimum size of SopharTops of 110 nm, it is not subject to the restrictions for nanomaterials in accordance with the regulation (EC) No. 1223/2009 of the European Parliament and Council as of November 30, 2009, on cosmetics.