Evolution and transformation of the Spanish cosmetic innovation: perspective of the last decades

Cosmetics is a scientific discipline, a branch of health sciences, dedicated to thoroughly investigating skin care, its appendages, and hands, improving the factors that contribute to ageing in the human body. Additionally, cosmetics aim to enhance our physical appearance through the use of specific cosmetic products. Furthermore, cosmetic science studies, evaluates, and quantifies the effects that cosmetic products have on our skin and body as a whole.However, this hasn't always been the case: throughout the centuries, the cosmetic sector has served different functions in society, and its natural evolution has progressively improved individuals' quality of life and self-esteem.The first documented use of cosmetic products can be traced back to the advanced civilisations of Antiquity: China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Since the birth of cosmetics, it has understandably been placed in the collective imagination as a science serving aesthetics and beauty. Cosmetic products, in turn, have been treated exclusively as articles—ointments, balms, creams, paints—that offer ways to enhance a person's appearance.However, in the mid-19th century, as a result of the Enlightenment and a complete restructuring of families and scientific disciplines, cosmetics began to be linked to pharmacy and health sciences. With this reclassification, cosmetics gained new values, uses, and effects that were no longer solely tied to beauty but were instead incorporated into the field of health.Among these changes, the significant contribution of cosmetics to human knowledge about the skin started to be acknowledged, personal care and hygiene were further defined, and these concepts were linked to an understanding of the products and ingredients used in formulations. Thus, cosmetics is a science concerned with human health, aiming to improve our quality of life.Consolidation of the cosmetic industry and its regulatory framework. innovation in cosmetic productsIn the mid-20th century, the cosmetic industry emerged under the umbrella of the pharmaceutical chemical sector.Shortly after, towards the end of the same century, cosmetics became one of the main business areas for the sector, leading to the industry's evolution. Companies began to prioritise developing products that were highly safe, increasingly effective in protecting and maintaining our skin, and that also ensured hygiene and fought against ageing. This required significant efforts from companies to promote innovation within the sector and improve existing products.Spanish health authorities recognised the need to start monitoring the cosmetic products on the market and created a legislative framework to regulate these products within national borders. Later, with Spain's incorporation into the EU, the legislative framework became common across all member countries.In 2009, the European Commission published Regulation (EU) 1223/2009 on cosmetic products, which is still in force today across all member states of the European Union. It regulates aspects such as composition, ensuring, above all, the safety of cosmetics, specifying which ingredients can be used in cosmetic product formulations and at what concentration. Furthermore, Regulation 1223/2009 establishes cosmetovigilance mechanisms for the entire EU.The emergence of the cosmetic industry, in short, brought about a significant evolution in the sector. Companies gave a substantial boost to their R&D departments and invested in cosmetic innovation. Experimentation with new formulas in laboratories became standardised, leading to constant improvement in the sector and its products, mitigating health risks from cosmetic ingredients. This paved the way for the continuous reinvention and innovation of the sector and its cosmetic products and ingredients, a journey we are still on today.Cosmetics: A science with a multidisciplinary approachSince the emergence of the cosmetic industry, progress has been made to better understand cosmetic ingredients involved in products, establish their properties, and define their risks to human health. However, innovation in cosmetics is not limited to improving products and ingredients. It can also involve packaging, product preservation strategies, manufacturing methods, and the marketing and distribution of cosmetic products.One of the main characteristics of cosmetics is that it is a scientific discipline with a multidisciplinary approach. It can incorporate innovations from other scientific fields and adapt them for its own purposes.In fact, some of the most significant improvements in the sector have been driven by discoveries in fields such as dermatology, chemistry, microbiology, and psychology, to name a few.A great deal of cosmetic innovation is due to the cross-transfer of knowledge among various actors, not necessarily linked to the cosmetic industry. Today, cosmetic companies follow a methodology known as 'open innovation' in their innovation processes, which encourages collaboration with external agents to generate new ideas. Cosmetic innovation does not only come from the R&D departments of pharmaceutical companies. Innovation also occurs in universities, research centres (both public and private), and hospitals.What does innovation in cosmetics bring?Innovation in cosmetics has led to significant advances that have translated into an increasingly deep and accurate shared understanding of: Various aspects of the skin: biological processes, molecular exchanges, functions, physiological regeneration systems, etc. The interaction of the skin with applied products from a chemical and physicochemical perspective, respecting the characteristics of healthy skin, ageing, and the microbiota that inhabit it. How cosmetics should be applied to the skin to achieve maximum efficacy without altering the skin's natural biological state. Verifying the effects of a cosmetic on the skin.The efficacy and safety of products, benefiting from solid scientific innovations from other fields of study, are well-known and recognised among professionals involved in the various links of the sector's value chain. Furthermore, specialists in skin treatments, whether clinical or surgical, are increasingly relying on cosmetics to prepare the skin for treatment and/or to maintain its effects.The Indisputable Evidence of 'Open Innovation'Nobel Prize Contributions to Cosmetic Innovation and the State of the Art in Science and TechnologyIf we analyse the Nobel Prizes in Medicine and Chemistry over recent decades, we can observe their substantial contribution to the advancement of Cosmetic Science: 1986: EGF-NGF Growth Factors 2000: Neurotransmitters, Neuroreceptors, Transduction, Neuroscience 2002: Apoptosis, Programmed Cell Death, Ageing 2003: Aquaporins, Cellular Hydration Channels 2004: Human Olfactory System 2009: Telomeres, Telomerases, Ageing 2012: Stem Cells, Pluripotent Cells 2015: DNA Repair Mechanisms 2016: Mechanisms of Autophagy 2016: Synthesis of Molecular Machines to Stabilise and Transport Actives: Retinol, Vitamin C, Peptides 2017: Circadian Rhythms, Molecular Mechanisms 2021: Receptors for Temperature and TouchGenerally, people are becoming accustomed to the increasing efficacy of cosmetics, often without realising it. However, this consolidation of innovative and increasingly effective cosmetic products faces a threat: a vast amount of information, not based on scientific knowledge, spread by 'influencers' saturating social media with their cosmetic recommendations, which unfortunately many young consumers follow without discernment. Indeed, there has been recent talk of a condition termed 'cosmeticorexia', a disease affecting young anti-ageing cosmetic users who, following the advice of their chosen 'influencer', use cosmetic products designed for much older age groups with specific skin conditions.It is important for organisations and associations representing manufacturers and professionals in the sector to prioritise promoting the innovative efforts in cosmetics.AI and Big Data could play a significant role in cosmetic innovation by offering more holistic and personalised solutions to meet consumers' needs and demands.

Evolution and transformation of the Spanish cosmetic innovation: perspective of the last decades

The cosmetic sector has fulfilled distinct functions in our society, and his natural evolution has allowed that improve progressively the quality of life and self-esteem of the individuals

Mercè Camps

Chemist, Academician of the RAFC, CEO in Technical Cabinet Chemist M. Camps