scholarly journals Smart and Sustainable Hair Products Based on Chitin-Derived Compounds

Cosmetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Pierfrancesco Morganti ◽  
Gianluca Morganti ◽  
Maria-Beatrice Coltelli

According to previous research studies, consumers worldwide are searching for new natural-oriented hair products that are both skin and environmentally friendly. Worldwide waste and air pollution, with the consequent environmental disasters, represent the greatest risk to human health and economy, further increased by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among others, non-biodegradable molecules are present in hair products (fossil-based additives, surfactants, etc.) and macromolecules (plastics). Plastics waste is considered the most serious problem, representing a forecast amount of 460 million tons per year by 2030, 12% of which is reused or recycled. Most plastics consumed, therefore, go to landfills and incineration, also if their recycling is considered an important driver of industrial profitability. Thus, the use of biopolymers represents an interesting alternative to produce biodegradable goods and tissues. After an introduction to the worldwide waste problem and the hair structure, the present review proposes the possibility to make biodegradable tissues that, realized by chitin nanofibrils and nano-lignin as natural polymers, may be used to produce an innovative and smart cosmetic hairline. Chitin-derived compounds are considered interesting polymers to produce non-woven tissues able to repair the hair damages provoked by the aggressiveness of both the environment and some aggressive cosmetic treatments, such as setting, bleaching, permanent waving, and oxidative coloring. The possible activity, that positively charged polymers such as chitin could have, has been speculated, interfering with the constitution and organization of the hair fibrils’ structure, which is negatively charged. The possibility of selecting biopolymers for their packaging is also discussed. Moreover, the use of these biopolymers, obtained from forestry-agro-food waste, may be of help to safeguard the further consumption of natural raw materials, necessary for future generations, also maintaining the earth’s biodiversity.

The current fashion system uses high volumes of non-renewable resources to produce clothes, being responsible for 10% of the global greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere every year and 20%of the global water wasted. At the same time people are buying 60%more clothing than 15 Years ago, which going in the landfills, causes 92 million tons of waste each year. This waste has been further increased by the surgical masks used for COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, a new way of designing and producing clothing needs to be incorporated into the current system to facilitate its recycling making it more circular. New tissues, therefore, are proposed made by natural polysaccharides, embedded by micro- Nano capsules of chitin Nano fibrils and Nano lignin all obtained as by- products from food and forestry waste respectively. Thus, pollution and waste will be reduced and the natural raw materials will be maintained for the future generations.


2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-165
Author(s):  
Morganti P ◽  
Morganti G

Consumption of natural raw materials is causing climate changing, by an acceleration of glaciers, oceans, and forests’ depletions with the contemporary accumulation of waste materials. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic has further incremented the waste material of plastics because of the obligatory use of surgery masks, made prevalently by the non-biodegradable polypropylene. Thus, the necessity to change the way of producing and consuming transforming the linear economy based on the taking, make, and waste in the circular economy of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Changing the actual way of living, it will be also possible to drastically reduce the increasing plastics waste that, invading lands and oceans are entering into the food chain with negative effects on fauna flora and the human’s wellbeing. Just to remember the global production of plastics exploded from 1.5 million metric tons in 1950 to nearly 350 million metric tons in 2017 and, disposed to the landfill as waste, are producing global greenhouse gas emissions of 2.8 billion tons per year. Being the technology ready, it is proposed to produce natural polymers, such as chitin and lignin which, obtainable from waste materials, may be used to produce biodegradable goods and surgical and beauty masks. By this way it will be possible to maintain the natural raw materials for future generations, saving human wellbeing and the world’s biodiversity.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Patrick Mei ◽  
Vaishali Malik ◽  
Richard W. Harper ◽  
Juan M. Jiménez
Keyword(s):  

Cosmetics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 62
Author(s):  
Giovanni Tafuro ◽  
Alessia Costantini ◽  
Giovanni Baratto ◽  
Stefano Francescato ◽  
Laura Busata ◽  
...  

As public attention on sustainability is increasing, the use of polysaccharides as rheological modifiers in skin-care products is becoming the first choice. Polysaccharide associations can be used to increase the spreading properties of products and to optimize their sensorial profile. Since the choice of natural raw materials for cosmetics is wide, instrumental methodologies are useful for formulators to easily characterize the materials and to create mixtures with specific applicative properties. In this work, we performed rheological and texture analyses on samples formulated with binary and ternary associations of polysaccharides to investigate their structural and mechanical features as a function of the concentration ratios. The rheological measurements were conducted under continuous and oscillatory flow conditions using a rotational rheometer. An immersion/de-immersion test conducted with a texture analyzer allowed us to measure some textural parameters. Sclerotium gum and iota-carrageenan imparted high viscosity, elasticity, and firmness in the system; carob gum and pectin influenced the viscoelastic properties and determined high adhesiveness and cohesiveness. The results indicated that these natural polymers combined in appropriate ratios can provide a wide range of different textures and that the use of these two complementary techniques represents a valid pre-screening tool for the formulation of green products.


Author(s):  
Titik Istirokhatun ◽  
Ita Tetriana Agustini ◽  
Sudarno Sudarno

The  presence  of  air  pollution  in  ambient  air  is  closely  related  to  the incidence  of  adverse reactions affecting human health. One of harmful pollutants and potentially major cause health problems is sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ). The number of vehicles that are passing and queuing on the crossroads  because  of  traffic light can  affect  the  concentration  of  SO 2 .  Besides,  in  these locations  there  are a lot of road users  which  are  potentially  exposed  by  contaminants, so information about the concentration of SO 2  is important to know. This study aimed to investigate the  impact  of  meteorological  factors  and  the  number  of vehicles  on  SO 2   concentrations. Impinger was used for air sampling, and pararosaniline method was used for determining SO 2  concentration. Sampling and calculation  of the number of passing vehicles were performed 3 times ie in the morning, afternoon and evening. Based on the results of the study, the highest concentrations of SO 2  were on the range of 15-21 mg/Nm3.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-176
Author(s):  
Joanna Stryjek

Nowadays, air pollution constitutes one of the most serious threats to human health and life. Poland belongs to the group of countries with the highest level of air pollution in the EU and OECD. The scale of the threat posed by air pollution shows its importance when it comes to the health security of the Polish citizens. However, the ongoing (political and scientific) debate on health security in Poland often ignores the problem of air pollution. The aim of the article is to 1) assess the threat currently posed by air pollution to health security in Poland, 2) locate the threat in the area of health security, and 3) analyse the process of transferring the problem of air pollution from the sphere of politics to the area of security, in accordance with the theory of securitization, developed by the Copenhagen School of Security Studies. Qualitative analysis of documents together with the application of the theory of securitization show that, in Poland, the state has started to play the role of an actor securitizing air pollution as an existential threat. Nevertheless, this process is at an early stage, and its further success depends, inter alia, on decisions and possibilities related to taking extraordinary measures to eliminate the threat posed by air pollution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 200 ◽  
pp. 693-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jos Lelieveld

In atmospheric chemistry, interactions between air pollution, the biosphere and human health, often through reaction mixtures from both natural and anthropogenic sources, are of growing interest. Massive pollution emissions in the Anthropocene have transformed atmospheric composition to the extent that biogeochemical cycles, air quality and climate have changed globally and partly profoundly. It is estimated that mortality attributable to outdoor air pollution amounts to 4.33 million individuals per year, associated with 123 million years of life lost. Worldwide, air pollution is the major environmental risk factor to human health, and strict air quality standards have the potential to strongly reduce morbidity and mortality. Preserving clean air should be considered a human right, and is fundamental to many sustainable development goals of the United Nations, such as good health, climate action, sustainable cities, clean energy, and protecting life on land and in the water. It would be appropriate to adopt “clean air” as a sustainable development goal.


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