Benign by design: A paradigm shift in cosmetic ingredient development.
Mota S, Kümmerer K, de Almeida IM, Sousa E
Phytoremediation
Persistent chemicals from everyday cosmetics — including PFAS and silicones — are accumulating in the streams, wetlands, and soil ecosystems where your garden plants draw water and where native species depend on clean habitat.
Most cosmetic ingredients wash down the drain and end up in rivers, lakes, and soil, where many of them linger for years because nature can't break them down. Scientists are now calling for a new approach: design these ingredients from scratch to fall apart safely in the environment, the way natural compounds do. Ingredients with simple chain-like structures and oxygen-containing groups biodegrade well, while ring-shaped, heavily branched, or fluorinated molecules tend to stick around.
Key Findings
Many cosmetic ingredients survive sewage treatment and persist in the environment, with PFAS and silicones cited as particularly problematic examples.
Molecular features that help biodegradation include linear alkyl chains and groups like hydroxyl, ester, and carboxylic acid; features that hinder it include halogen atoms, azo groups, and branched or ring-shaped carbon structures.
Benign by design strategies — already used in pharmaceutical and industrial chemistry — can be applied to cosmetics either by creating new molecules from scratch or by modifying existing ones to improve breakdown without losing effectiveness.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers reviewed 'benign by design' strategies for creating cosmetic ingredients that break down naturally in the environment, rather than persisting in waterways and soil. The goal is to build biodegradability into ingredients from the start, reducing pollution from products like shampoos and lotions.
Abstract Preview
Concerns about the environmental impact of cosmetic ingredients are growing among consumers worldwide. These substances, that is, the constituents of cosmetics, are entering wastewater as well as h...
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