Antioxidant
The natural antioxidant actives used in cosmetics products are vitamins that have free radical scavenging and anti-aging functions to epidermal skin. The most common antioxidants used in the skin care products are 1) Vitamin A, such as retinol and beta carotene, 2) Vitamin C, such as ascorbic acid and ascorbyl palmitate, and 3) Vitamin E ,such as tocopherol and related compounds and co-enzymes Q10. Synthetic antioxidants such as BHT, BHA and TBHQ are sometimes used in cosmetics in very low or trace concentrations. These chemicals are usually added as stabilizers to Vitamin A and E, and prevent vitamin degradation and auto-oxidation.
AAL’s cosmetic lab has validated methods such as computerized automated HPLC for analysis of most antioxidant ingredients. AAL also has methods that analyze trace contents of antioxidants for cleaning validation studies.
Partial List of the Natural and Synthetic Antioxidants Commonly Used in Cosmetics:
Method |
|
Ascorbic Acid as Vitamin C |
HPLC |
Butylated Hydroxy Anisole (BHA) |
HPLC |
Butylated Hydroxy Toluene (BHT) |
HPLC |
Coenzymes Q10 (co-Q10) |
HPLC |
Retinyl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate and Beta Carotene (Vitamin A) |
HPLC |
Tocopherol (Vitamin E) |
HPLC |
Trisodium and tetra sodium edetate (EDTA) |
HPLC |