Formulation and Evaluation of Herbal Face Cream

Herbal Cosmetics

“Natural cosmetics” is another term for herbal cosmetics. Since the dawn of civilization, people have been drawn to making an impression on others by their appearance. There were no sophisticated fairness creams or cosmetic procedures available at the time. Their only resource was the natural knowledge contained in the Ayurveda. Many plants and herbs were used to create effective Ayurvedic cosmetics using the science of Ayurveda. Ayurvedic makeup not only made the skin seem beautiful, but it also protected the body from outside influences. The excellent qualities of Ayurvedic cosmetics, also referred to as herbal cosmetics, are still present in the contemporary period. Herbal cosmetics come in a variety of forms and are frequently used in everyday life.

The public is very fond of herbal cosmetics, including herbal face wash, conditioner, soaps, shampoos, and many more. The fact that herbal cosmetics are produced entirely of herbs and shrubs is their best feature. The natural ingredients in the herbs provide the body with nutrients and other beneficial minerals without having any negative effects on it. Plants like as ashwagandha, sandal (chandan), saffron (kesar), and many others are used in herbal cosmetics, and they are enhanced with nutrient-rich sand.

Herbs are utilized in cosmetics, either in their raw or extracted form. The fundamental principles of skin care cosmetics are deeply ingrained in the medical systems of the Rigveda, Yajurveda, Ayurveda, Unani, and homeopathy. In the present day, the expertise and experience of using herbs are being combined with cutting edge cosmetic technology to create a sophisticated and safe beauty product that is more acceptable to a larger spectrum of people. In essence, beauty is created by nature and refined by technology [5].

Herbs offer the benefit of having a broad range of consumer compliance and negligible to no negative effects.

Out of an estimated Rs 2000 crores, the herbal cosmetic sector represents around Rs200crores of the nation’s entire cosmetic business. The entire cosmetics market is expanding between 20 and 25 percent a year. About 60% of this growth is in the herbal cosmetics market. Liquid and other kinds of herbal extracts have shown to be a panacea for a number of ailments, including heart issues, digestive issues, and mental exhaustion. Herbal extracts have occasionally been shown to be more accurate than English medications, which are typically made up of complicated chemicals. Compared to other medications, herbal extracts have incredibly low potential for adverse reactions.

For this reason, it is believed that herbal extracts are just as frequent as medications and pharmaceuticals. Herbal extracts have demonstrated business potential as well. Worldwide cultivation of herbal extracts has made them well-known in the horticultural industry. Nowadays, a lot of people are drawn to nature, and many cosmetics, trendy goods, and other products are made from it. Subsequently, the liquid juice is combined with other ingredients to create the herbal extracts. A vast array of herbal extracts is available; some examples are Andrographis Paniculata (Kalmegh), Asparagus Racemosus (Shatawari), Boswellia serrata (Salai Guggal), Asphalt (Shilajit), and so on. Other commonly utilized herbal extracts include Camellia Sinensis (green tea), Bacopa Monnieri (brahmi), and Azadirachta Indica (neem). Moreover, some of the most popular herbal extracts used are Chlorophytum Borivilianum (Safed Musli), Cassia Angustifolia (Seena), and Centella Asiatica (Mandukparni) [6].

Herbal cosmetics are maintained in effective manner with following benefits

• Being natural, least harmful effect on the skin or other body part
• Relatively more safe
• More placebo effect to the consumers due to its use in tradition and culture
• Flexibility in formulation
• Population proves effects from ancient time
• Present status The global market for cosmetics and toiletries reached nearly $150billion (€125m) in 2004, up by more than 4 percent from 2003, according to a new study that also highlights major growth in key developing markets.

The herbal market has been boosted by increasing demand for natural alternative medicines world demand for herbal product has been growing at the rate of 10%-15% per annum. The medicinal plant related trade in India alone is approximately Rs.5.5billion. World Health Organization (WHO) has forecasted that the global market for herbal product would be worth trillion by the year 2050. Global

sales of herbal product are expected to reach 2 billion dollars in 2007. Europe and the United States are the two major herbal product markets in the world, with a market share of 41 percent and 20 percent respectively.

According to World Bank the global market of medicinal plant and their products includes the potential sectors of Pharmaceuticals, Nutraceuticals, Cosmeceuticals to be estimated of worth US billion, offers a plethora of opportunities for the Indian pharma and cosmetics companies. Today a new hot topic in the cosmetic industry is ‘cosmeceuticals’, which is the fastest growing segment of the natural personal care industry. Cosmeceuticals are topical cosmetic pharmaceutical hybrids intended to enhance the beauty through ingredients that provide additional health- related function or benefit. They are applied topically as cosmetics, but contain ingredients that influence the skin’s biological function.

These Cosmeceuticals, serving as a bridge between personal care products and pharmaceuticals, have been developed specifically for their medicinal and cosmetic benefits. Tracing the origin of cosmetics, the first recorded use of cosmetics is attributed to Egyptians, circa 4000BC. The ancient Sumerians, Babylonians and Hebrews also applied cosmetics.

In other cases, such as European cosmetic known as Ceruse was used from the second century to the 19th century. Cosmeceutically active ingredients are constantly being developed by big and small corporations engaged in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, natural products, and cosmetics, while advances in the field and knowledge of skin biology and pharmacology have facilitated the cosmetic industry’s development of novel active compounds more rapidly.

These cosmeceuticals serve as a bridge between personal care product, pharmaceutical and phyto-material. Cosmeceutically active ingredient are now being used by large and small manufacturers engaged in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and natural extracts in cosmetics formulation. The advantage in the field of cosmetics and knowledge of skin biology and pharmacology haves facilitated the formulation of cosmetics [7].

Consumer Trends

Changes the gender divide the market share of men’s cosmeceutical products is starting to be significant but they have long way to go before they rival those for women. A report published by the natural marketing institute NMI in 2007 showed that fastest growing segment today is the men’s cosmeceuticals range. The demand for looking good and maintaining youthful healthy skin has no longer just for women. The first major wave of men’s skin care product appeared in the mid 1990’s and has since grown steadily to a projected billion in sales for 2008 [8].

Herbal Extracts Used in Cosmetics

Herbal extracts are primarily added to the cosmetic preparations due to several associated properties such as antioxidant properties. These antioxidant botanicals are generally classified into three categories depending upon the nature of their constituents as carotenoids, flavonoids and polyphenols. The carotenoids are structurally related to vitamin A and constitute various retinols like retinoic acid. Flavonoids, in addition to the antioxidant action, impart the UV protection and metal chelating properties. The polyphenolics is a large class and contains various molecules like rosemarinic acid, hypericin [9].

Turmeric: Turmeric (Curcuma longa, Zingiberaceae) is best known as a spice used primarily in Asian cuisine, particularly curry, and in prepared mustard. It is also used in some traditional Indian communities as topical burn treatment. Curcumi (Diferuloylmethane), the key biologically active component of turmeric, has shown great potency against acute inflammation and has been shown to exhibit significant wound healing and antioxidant properties. The paste of turmeric powder has been used as antiseptic and for skin nourishment. Curcumin the active compound of turmeric is a polyphenol used in skin care preparations.

Aloevera: It is also known as Lily of the desert or the Plant of Immortality. It is recommended for sunburn, minor burns, wrinkles, insect bites, skin irritations minor cuts and scratches. Research has shown that the clear gel has a dramatic ability to heal wounds, ulcers and burns by putting a protective coating on the affected areas. It also clears away blemishes protects the skin against infections and reduces wrinkles. It is also cited as being a prophylactic for dry skin, which is prone to inflammation, bacteriostatic.

Neem: Neem oil has a wide history of use as a folk remedy around the world and has been used to treat many conditions. Although it has a harsh odor, it’s high in fatty acids and other nutrients and it’s used in a variety of beauty products like skin creams, body lotions, hair products, and cosmetics. Not only in Ayurvedic medicines, neem tree extracts have been a part of many home remedies that Indians have been following since time immemorial. We use neem to treat hair and skin issues. Neem leaves are used to treat fungal and bacterial infections. They are used to treat warts as well as chicken pox [10].

Materials

The plant material like Aloevera, Neem, and Turmeric was collected and the formulation was prepared.

Methodology

The cream was prepared by melting required quantity of beeswax and stearic acid on a water bath. Then liquid paraffin was added to the mixture. Heat the mixture heated was to 70°C. Add aloevera gel, turmeric, neem powder, almond oil and fragrance in it with continuous stirring. Cool the mixture with stirring to 40°C. Then fill the formulation in suitable container and label it [11].

Evaluation Parameters for Herbal Cream

PH Determination: The pH meter was calibrated using standard buffer solution about 0.5g of the cream was weighed and dissolved in 50.0ml distilled water and its pH was measured.

Colour and odor: The physical parameters like Colour and odor are examine by visual examinations. Type of emulation under the dye test: The scarlet red dye is mixed with the herbal cream. A drop of the cream was cited on microscopic slide, then enclosed with cover slip and observed under the microscope. If the disappear globules appears red and ground is colorless, the cream is O/W type, the reversed condition occurs W/O type cream i.e. the disappear globules appears colourless in the red ground [11]. Type of smear: After the application of herbal cream type of film or smear formed in skin was checked. Irritancy test: Marked an area (1sq.cm) on the left-hand dorsal surface. The cream was applied to the specific area and time was noted irritancy was checked if any for regular intervals up to 24hrs and noted [12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20].