The rise of biotech in the cosmetic industry

Biotech is the new buzzword in cosmetic products, although the word has been around for a long time. Mostly associated in the early 80’ with a new way to produce drugs differently than the conventional way which use chemical synthesis or extraction/purification from plant material, biotech (or biotechnology) uses molecular biology tools to develop new substances. It also employs, as the “factory” to produce, biological and living systems such as yeast, fungi, bacteria and mammalian cells. Why is this technology making its way (and now) into the cosmetic industry, specifically to empower the design and production of new molecules/ingredients? I think there are a few considerations.

The increasing use of AI to develop new ingredients based on identified targets has enabled the design of specific systems to produce those ingredients. Once the ingredients are identified let’s figure out how to source and/or produce it.

Historically, ingredients scouting and/or production have been characterized by looking for a specific natural source and/or a synthetic route. Although both options are still practical, they do present increasing challenges. Supply chain for natural ingredients is shrinking and less sustainable than in the past. Isolation, scaling, purification and characterization of the target molecule from natural sources is a process not always cost effective. Chemical synthesis can be challenging, not always achievable and costly. Moreover, chemical synthesis has been recently scrutinized not being green due to the use of toxic solvents and therefore polluting the environment.

Biotech procedures involve biological systems in a laboratory and/or in fermentation vessels and when scaled, are very sustainable, not impacting on the environment, reproducible in their final product, and easily programmable. They have the advantage of accommodating a specific design for a specific molecule.

Fermentation is one of the oldest biotech procedures, where specific feedstocks are incubated with specific bacteria, yeast or fungi during an anaerobic process that would transform mostly glucose bound molecules into a novel ingredient (a good example is the transformation of ginseng glycosides into new molecular structures by fermentation of the ginseng roots (1) – these newly produced rare ginsenosides are associated with novel health benefits!). Fermentation derived drinks are common on the market, but it is now not so uncommon to start noticing cosmetic products and active ingredients developed through fermentation. Certainly, one of my favorites is biosurfactants. Not only green but having additional benefits than cleansing, they can play multiple roles in finished products. They can have natural antimicrobial property being antiseptic, but also being moderately hydrating (2,3). In the pharma industry they have been used as adjuvants for vaccines, and it is possible to imagine them as delivery systems in cosmetic formulations (4). Nevertheless, some challenges exist for the use of fermented material in cosmetic products, and it is not only associated with cost. Smell and color can limit the dose in use as well.

As mentioned earlier, it is interesting to see what biochemistry can bring fermentation to the feedstock and postbiotics are also becoming more common, especially when considering the complex interactions of the skin microbiome and the potential applications. Postbiotics as the end-product of skin microbiome, are rich in signaling molecules (such as fatty acids), anti-microbial peptides and growth factors to mention some. These fermented ingredients can rebalance an unbalanced microbiome and contribute to skin protection and homeostasis (5).

Moving on to other biotech driven technologies, we cannot forget genetic programming to produce specific molecules in yeast and bacteria. More than 30 years ago, the cosmetic industry wanted to find alternatives to animal derived hyaluronic acid (HA), an ingredient that, still today, is non-negotiable in anti-aging and hydrating formulations, probably one of the most used cosmetic ingredients. In the 80s the identification of bacteria naturally producing HA by fermentation such as Streptococcus zooepidemicus started to pick up, despite their nature of being pathogenic microorganisms. More recently, with the development of new genetic engineering technologies, the use of organisms that are non-natural producers of HA has also made it possible to obtain the polymer and to design its molecular weight (6).

Another example of precision programmed fermentation is collagen, also a non-negotiable in many anti-aging formulas. In the past, non-credible plant material was pushed as an alternative to animal derived collagen or amino acids hydrolysates with little efficacy compared to the original protein. Collagen is essential in the dermis and therefore when delivered efficiently it is very important for rebuilding the skin architecture. Recent advances, also using genetic programming assisted by AI, have allowed the production of different types of human recombinant collagen in bacteria and yeast, not only for beauty from within applications, but also for topical use (7, 8).

Many of these ingredients produced by biotechnology have been tested clinically with promising results. Main challenge remains the cost in use, but they have been proven to be very effective at very low concentrations. Another challenge would be skin bioavailability but novel version at lower molecular weight and/or their association with delivery systems can help support their use in cosmetic formulations.

Finally, it is interesting to call out the rise of cellular farming or cellular agriculture where many botanical ingredients can be produced effectively and precisely in plant cell colture by AI programming of specific pathways leading to specific molecules (9,10).

In conclusion, biotechnology is certainly a normal evolution of our industry in making new, effective ingredients and products, a great way to move away from animal derivatives (like in the case of HA and collagen). Certainly, the use of biotechnology is also a consequence of the enormous pressure put on the environment and the reduction of natural resources available to source ingredients from the wild or from cultivation. Biotech can help reduce the pressure, providing a cleaner and more precise way to produce ingredients and creating a sustainable supply chain for the future (11).