When last we met - which was a while ago, sorry! - we were looking at modifying a basic toner recipe using humectants, hydrolyzed proteins, cationic polymers, and more. This week I'd like to take a look at modifying the recipe further using what we call cosmeceuticals.

What's a cosmeceutical" They're "cosmetic products with properties very similar to a pharmaceutical product (drug-like benefits)". (p. 295, Handbook of Cosmetic Science and Technology.) In other words, they are active ingredients we add to our products to offer a specific benefit, like anti-aging, creating a more uniform skin tone, alleviating acne, and so on. You can never make a claim that the product you make with those ingredients will fix, heal, or repair anything, but that doesn't mean you can't include ingredients in your products that might be of benefit. Ingredients like co-enzyme Q10, niacinamide, or MSM would be considered cosmeceuticals.
You already know of my love of allantoin, and we've already been working with it in our toners, but it's a great example of a cosmeceutical or a cosmetic ingredient that offers all kinds of benefits, like protecting our skin from the elements or increasing the water content.

How can we add these kinds of ingredients" First check to see if they're water or oil soluble. Toners are all about the water, so our ingredients have to be water soluble. If they aren't, then check to see if you can use something else or if you ...