- Diagnosis: understanding the impact of the current process
- Animal-free testing: alternative methods to demonstrate efficacy and safety
- Optimising critical parameters: temperature, time and oxygen
- Solvent replacement: moving towards physical or natural methods
The shift towards cleaner technologies in cosmetics is not a one-off change, but a gradual process that combines technical review, plant adjustments and the development of new in-house capabilities. In parallel, upcycling is gaining traction as a practical route to source bioactive ingredients from plant by-products, helping reduce waste while strengthening the sustainability story. For many companies, the challenge is to rethink how actives are obtained, how processes affect their stability and bioactivity, and how to reduce the environmental footprint without compromising performance, safety or reproducibility.
Below is a practical guide to move in this direction.
1. Diagnosis: understanding the impact of the current process
The first step is to have a clear view of the starting point. For cosmetic ingredients, the diagnosis should include:
- Identifying which stages cause losses of volatile compounds, degradation of antioxidants or colour changes.
- Assessing solvent use (type, volume, frequency) and its impact on safety, waste management and regulatory compliance.
- Quantifying energy consumption linked to heating, concentration, drying or distillation.
- Analysing batch-to-batch variability (purity, potency, odour, colour) and how it relates to process conditions.
- Reviewing microbial load and the critical points where risk may increase.
This analysis helps prioritise which stages have the greatest impact on the cosmetic quality of the active and on the overall sustainability of the process.
2. Animal-free testing: alternative methods to demonstrate efficacy and safety
A real transition to cleaner processes cannot rely on plant improvements alone: it also requires robust evidence that the ingredient works and is safe, without resorting to animal testing. This approach aligns with the sector’s ethical and regulatory expectations and also strengthens claim credibility in a more technical market.
In practice, brands are raising the bar: it is no longer enough to “be natural”; real and measurable benefit must be demonstrated. For this, alternative methods are used to study biofunctionality and mechanism of action under controlled conditions, such as:
- In vitro cell cultures
- 3D reconstructed skin models
- 3D bioprinting
- Instrumental tests and biomarkers
3. Optimising critical parameters: temperature, time and oxygen
In cosmetics, most compounds of interest (polyphenols, terpenes, vitamins, functional lipids) are sensitive to temperature and oxidation. Therefore, it is key to:
- Reduce temperatures to the minimum effective levels for extraction or processing.
- Shorten process cycles, limiting the time the active is exposed to harsh conditions.
- Control oxygen presence, using closed systems, inert atmospheres or vacuum when necessary.
- Protect against light and moisture in stages where the active is particularly exposed.
4. Solvent replacement: moving towards physical or natural methods
A large share of traditional cosmetic extract production relies on organic solvents (ethanol, glycols, light hydrocarbons). Although they are extraction-efficient, they bring several challenges: the need for downstream removal, residual traces, higher regulatory complexity and a greater risk of degrading sensitive compounds.
Transitioning to cleaner processes means favouring:
- Physico-mechanical methods, such as pressing, fractional distillation or selective phase fractionation.
- Technologies based on natural fluids, such as supercritical CO₂ or subcritical water, which can extract bioactives without leaving organic solvent residues.
- Hybrid processes, combining gentle technologies to maximise yield while avoiding aggressive conditions.
Clean Beauty 2.0 cosmetics are therefore evolving towards a model in which naturality and performance are complementary parts of the same approach: creating responsible, technically robust ingredients that can prove their value in safe, effective and sustainable formulations.
