Why is the cosmetics industry interested in freeze-drying?

As science improves our quality of life, we become more demanding and have higher expectations of products and medicines. We don’t make an exception for cosmetics. We really want to see results when we use creams, masks and serums.

The problem is that conventional cosmetic preparations often contain unstable ingredients and are prone to secondary contamination. As a result, the effect of these compounds tends to weaken and to lose effect and results.

The freeze-drying process, in contrast, allows the activity of the chemicals to be adequately stored and thus increases their durability. Let’s look at its applications in the field of cosmetics.

Freeze-drying makes it possible to obtain biological preparations at ultra-low temperatures that favour the development of purely natural and functional cosmetics. In short, it produces novel, potent, safe and stable cosmetics that preserve the activity of the ingredients and the quality of the biological agents.

Leveraging the technological qualities of freeze-drying for the manufacture of biological preparations has enabled the large-scale manufacture and production of preparations that are stable over time and fresh when applied!

• Freeze-dried powder is manufactured by freezing the product at a very low temperature and then subjecting it to a vacuum pump aseptic test (applying heat at low temperature), where the water in the product changes from a solid to a gaseous state. The result is a product with very little leftover water, which is very stable and powerful.

• The most effective active ingredients in certain whitening and brightening products are unstable in liquid form. Eventually, over time, they are no longer present at the time of use.
• Freeze-drying achieves more potent products because concentrates the key active ingredients and allows for the use of ingredients whose instability make them unsuitable for use in liquid form.
• The freeze-drying process is ideal for products that would alter the properties of their ingredients in liquid form.
• The aim of freeze-drying is to obtain a product that is always fresh at the time of use, with no alteration of the properties of the active ingredients, which begin to degrade immediately when in liquid form.
• As a result, doctors and aesthetics professionals have at their disposal products with a high quality standard and a substantial technological basis that ensures the efficacy and safety of their treatments.

• Freeze-dried powder is used for skin repair, skin whitening, wrinkle removal, anti-ageing effectsand more.
• Such products are gaining market recognition as they achieve an extraordinary preservation of the biological activity of cosmetics and greatly reduce the risk of decomposition of biologically active chemicals.
• Also, the low moisture content inhibits the growth of microbial strains without requiring the use additives in the cosmetic products.

1. STABILITY: due to the low temperature of freeze-drying, loss of volatile constituents is minimal, enzyme preparations are not altered and the risk of microbial contamination is lower.

2. PROTECTION: since it is vacuum-operated and vacuum-packed, oxidation phenomena are eliminated.

3. EASY SOLUBILITY: Similarly, the high porosity of the product facilitates rapid reconstitution with water or an appropriate solvent.

4. UNLIMITED STORAGE: these products can be stored for an unlimited period of time and offer a long shelf life thanks to the products’ low humidity.

5. AVAILABILITY AND FRESHNESS: notable is the rapid availability for use of a product that is always perceived as fresh and freshly manufactured.

INTERESTING FACTS BARNALAB freeze-dried products:

You may never have thought that freeze-drying could be used in non-food industries. But it is estimated that within the next few years, more than half of all injectable medicines will have to be freeze-dried. Today, 16% of pharmaceutical products and up to 35% of biological medicines are freeze-dried.

In the last two or three years, the availability of these products on the market has become a reality, although they still maintain a certain degree of exclusivity. This is both because of the lack of knowledge about them and because of the price at which they can be found on the market.

In Spain, an outstanding example of such products can be found in the company Messoessence, a benchmark in innovation in high cosmetics and specialised Mesotherapy, with freeze-dried anti-ageing, body repair and body shaping products, and other revitalising and moisturising formulas.

IT Pharma’s Inbiotec specialises in aesthetic medicine, with specific freeze-dried products for anti-cellulite, lipoenzymatic, illuminating, whitening and anti-ageing treatments.

In the English language markets, highly successful products have become available, such as the first Pure Molecule freeze-dried serums  by Georgia Louise, a renowned British specialist who offers high-end facial treatments in her New York atelier.

Made in Japan, freeze-dried ampoules of vitamin C by Beauty Pie are marketed as a potent anti-ageing product that helps improve uneven skin and pigmentation. The product presentation stresses that it is a fresh, freeze-dried product, that has to be activated directly for use.

Other brands such as the Korean brand Saro de Rúe also offer anti-aging solutions such as their freeze-dried hyaluronic acid, specifically for the face and neck night-time routine, promising immediate results in reducing fine lines and wrinkles, and improving skin’s firmness and elasticity.

China’s Weibo Hi-Tech presents 15 beauty products that take advantage of these technologies, including seven freeze-dried serums, seven freeze-dried masks and one freeze-dried eye mask. This eye mask keeps the serum in a solid state. When mixed with water it is absorbed, promising to firm up and rejuvenate the skin.