Skin-Compatible Biobased Beauty Masks Prepared by Extrusion

Abstract

In the cosmetic sector, natural and sustainable products with a high compatibility with skin, thus conjugating wellness with a green-oriented consumerism, are required by the market. Poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA)/starch blends represent a promising alternative to prepare flexible films as support for innovative beauty masks, wearable after wetting and releasing starch and other selected molecules. Nevertheless, preparing these films by extrusion is difficult due to the high viscosity of the polymer melt at the temperature suitable for processing starch. The preparation of blends including poly(butylene succinate-co-adipate) (PBSA) or poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) was investigated as a strategy to better modulate melt viscosity in view of a possible industrial production of beauty mask films. The release properties of films in water, connected to their morphology, was also investigated by extraction trials, infrared spectroscopy and stereo and electron microscopy. Then, the biocompatibility with cells was assessed by considering both mesenchymal stromal cells and keratinocytes. All the results were discussed considering the morphology of the films. This study evidenced the possibility of modulating thanks to the selection of composition and the materials processing of the properties necessary for producing films with tailored properties and processability for beauty masks.

Post-COVID-19: An Opportunity to Produce Biodegradable Goods & Surgical Masks to Save the Environment

“…In conclusion, by the actual technologies, it seems possible to produce many goods and biodegradable tissues by the use of natural polysaccharides, according to also to our research results [10,24,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35]. By the use of these natural polymers, it exists the possibility to realize innovative goods and biodegradable surgical masks, actually largely produced by pollutant petrolderived polymers.…”

“…It seems possible, in fact, to make surgical masks by the assembly of four or more biodegradable layers, alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers with films able to avoid the passage of microorganisms and viruses (unpublished studies). On the other hand, by modifying polymers and active ingredients, it is also possible to produce face beauty masks free from preservatives, emulsifiers, fragrances, and other chemicals [10,24,[33][34][35]. These innovative masks, in fact, produced and distributed at the dry state, have the ability to release their active ingredients on the skin, only when activated by water solutions during their use.…”

“…Health and the environment, in fact, would represent our future priorities, as well as beauty from the inside out represented a necessity for all the cultures, first of all, the Chinese ones, as part of their traditional medicine [5]. Thus, living a healthy lifestyle is listed today as the top key priority, specifically for Millennials (aged [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34] and Gen-Z (aged 18-24) Chinese consumers [6,7]. However, all the consumers from 22 to 73 years old both in West and in East take particular attention to health and wellbeing, suffering also from stress due to the actual life-style and the post-COVID-19 consequences [4,6,7].…”

“…By these polymers, it will be possible to create biodegradable non-woven tissues with biological functions, useful to produce advanced medications and surgical masks as well as beauty face masks [23,24].…”

“…However, both chitin and lignin, obtained at their nano dimensions for increasing their unique and specific activities, were used to encapsulate different active ingredients such as niacinamide or glycyrrhetinic acid, controlled for their concentration and size by FTIR (Fig-7) and SEM (Fig-8) [28]. Moreover, studies have been realized both in vitro and in vivo to control the anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, immunomodulating, and skin-repairing effectiveness of the realized advanced medications [10,[29][30][31][32] or to verify the hydrating and anti-aging activity of face beauty masks [10,24,[33][34][35]. In conclusion, these nonwoven tissues seem to be interesting vehicles for cosmetics, food, or drug delivery in dependence of the polymers and the active ingredients selected [25].…”