A Review-Miracle of Nanotechnology in Cosmetics

The cosmetics industry is large, with sales over $200 billion. Personal care products are a growing part of the chemical industry worldwide. Compared to industries involved in nanotechnology, it is modest. Nanotechnology entered the field of comsetics and health products nearly 40 years ago with moisturing creams that used liposomes, a vesical of phospholipid layers with an aquaeus core. The applications of nanotechnology and nanomaterials can be found in many cosmetic products including moisturizers, hair care products, make up and sunscreen. Nanomaterials are now being used in leading cosmetic products, most commonly as chemicals used to give the protection in sunscreens. Encapsulation and carrier systems like liposomes, nanoemulsions, microemulsions or lipid nanoparticles serve to transport agents to deeper skin layers. Nanoparticles of titan dioxide and zinc oxide are used as UV filters in sunscreens. There is little evidence supporting the principle that smaller particles have greater effects on the skin or other tissues or produce novel toxicities relative to micro-sized materials. Overall, the current weight of evidence suggests that nano-materials such as nano-sized vesicles or TiO2 and ZnO nanoparticles currently used in cosmetic preparations or sunscreens pose no risk to human skin or human health, although other Nano particle may have properties that warrant safety evaluation on a case-by-case basis before human use. Recently, concerns over the safety of such nanocosmetics are raised and have forced the cosmetic industries to limit the use of nanotechnology in cosmetics and for enforcing laws to undergo a full-fledged safety assessment before they enter into the market. In this review, emphasis is made on the types of nanomaterials used in cosmetics by the various cosmetic brands, the potential risks caused by them both to human life and also to the environment and what all regulations have been undertaken or can be taken to overcome them.