As soft as a strawberry? Seed extract moisturising properties proved

18-Dec-2015 - Last updated on 18-Dec-2015 at 08:31 GMT

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A team of researchers from Poland have shown that the supercritical CO2 extract from strawberry seeds, which are a rich source of unsaturated fatty acid, could be successfully used in the formulation of body washing compositions as a moisturising and skin-softening agent.

Publishing their work in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, the scientists decided to analyse mild cleansing compositions, containing supercritical CO2 extract from strawberry seeds (SC-CO2 strawberry seed oil), as a moisturizing and skin-softening agent.

The influence of concentration of the oil on user properties of shower/bath products was studied.

Varying formulations

As part of the study, a series of shower and bath products composed mainly of mild surfactants (amphoacetates, sulfosuccinates, betaines) and containing different amounts of the oil (0.5 up to 5.0%) were prepared.

The tests found that the oil concentration influences the stability of the products and that only the formulations containing 0.5–2% of the extract showed high stability.

Used in the amount up to 2% the SC-CO2, the study showed that strawberry seed oil does not significantly affect the cleansing and foaming properties of the products.

The obtained shower and bath products also showed good user properties and additionally displayed a good skin-moisturising effect.

Testing

In the tests, once the formulations were prepared, the influence of the SC-CO2 strawberry seed oil addition on the products’ stability, foam ability, surface tension, pH and rheological properties was studied.

On top of this, the skin compatibility and moisturizing efficiency of the cleansing products were recorded in a group of 15 volunteers, made up of 10 women and five men aged 20–30 years, using skin diagnosis system AramoTS, Aram Huvis Co.

The research team then characterised theCO2 extract from the strawberry seeds and measured its acid value and saponification number, according to Polish Standard PN-EN ISO 660:2010 and PN-EN ISO 3657:2013, respectively.