BASF anti-ageing ingredient focuses on glow-enhancing technology

01-Sep-2010 - Last updated on 02-Sep-2010 at 11:33 GMT

BASF Beauty Care Solutions has launched an anti-ageing ingredient X-pressin based on papaya extract, which is designed to make the skin more luminous and radiant.

In recent years the evolution of the anti-ageing skin care market has led to more and more products that concentrate on different aspects of skin ageing.

In turn this has led to products that focus on specific areas of the skin - under the eyes, forehead, neck and chest – together with products that focus on specific aspects of the skin, from anti-wrinkle, skin whitening, pores and anti-cellulite.

Focusing on glow-enhancing technology

All of these products have been driven by a boom in active ingredients that target these specific aspects. BASF’s latest ingredient launch tackles an area that has, until now, received less attention.

BASF claims that X-pressin can improve skin luminosity within 21 days, helping to bring the type of healthier glow to the skin that improves the overall appearance.

Key to the development of the technology was BASF’s work to optimise and stabilise the papain enzyme, which is derived from papaya fruit and known for its exfoliating and glow-enhancing qualities.

Stabilising the papain enzyme

The process included the selection of the highest grade papain, which was then tested for toxicity, as well as for use with safe cross-linking agents and a natural stabilizer to ensure optimized performance.

The preservative system also played a crucial part in the formulation of the product, and was chosen to retain maximum efficacy of the glow-enhancing technology, BASF stated.

The company claims its clinical trials prove X-pressin to be highly stable in activity, showing that it retained 60 per cent activity at 45 ºC for six weeks, while in an oil-in-water formulation it proved to have 75 per cent activity at 45 ºC for 12 weeks.

Likewise toxicology and safety tests showed that the technology was less irritating than a standard glycolic acid treatment, BASF claims.

Further to this, consumer tests showed that X-pressin visibly improves the overall appearance of the skin, with a ‘large percentage’ of volunteers reporting that they found their complexion was softer and smoother.