Well-being is an essential concept in cosmetics, but its complexity makes it very difficult to measure. The goal of the present study was to use electroencephalography (EEG) to compare the emotions induced by the application of two cosmetic products, and to offer to the experimenter a real-time representation of the participants’ emotional state. Fifteen female subjects participated in a cross-over study. Two cosmetic products of similar consistency were compared and applied from the dominant hand to the non-dominant hand. During the application, the neural activity of each participant was recorded with EEG. We found that the most appreciated product was the one that induced emotions with the most positive valence and the higher arousal, as recorded by EEG. Moreover, the videos recorded of each participant allowed us to attest to the differences in emotion processing for each product in real-time. This exploratory study shows that EEG can be successfully used to assess the emotions induced by the application of a cosmetic product, and in real-time. This technique could be a useful adjunct to other methods of examining emotions, such as observational experiments, surveys, and questionnaires.

Moisturization is a primary need in skin care. This study aimed to investigate whether the C12-C20 glucolipid emulsifier could provide minimalist water-in-oil emulsions (i.e., a minimum number of ingredients, in reasonable quantities) with a significant moisturizing effect across multiple geographies even if the emulsion structure needed to be adapted to meet local expectations. Four structures were tested containing a stabilizer and an oily phase that were adapted to address consumers’ skin feel expectations in each location. In vivo corneometry and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) measurements were carried out on volunteers with dry skin up to 24 h after application (leg or forearm; phototypes I to VI). The first investigation was completed in France comparing corneometry measurements to the control without the emulsifier and an untreated area. Studies were then performed in Brazil, India and Mauritius, combining corneometry and TEWL assessments. Significant increase in skin capacitance was observed in the four countries, compared to the untreated area, at 5/6/8 h after application and up to 24 h. The effect was also significant versus the control in the French study at 5 h. A significant decrease in TEWL compared to the untreated area was observed concurrently in Brazil, India and Mauritius.

This work investigated the impact of energy-efficient and water-saving manufacturing procedures—specifically one-pot and hot-cold processes—on the rheological and microstructural stability of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions (emulgels) stabilized by four distinct biopolymers and benchmarked against a synthetic polymer. Emulgels produced using these sustainable methods were directly compared against a traditional hot process. Results demonstrated that for most biopolymers, including tara gum, glucomannan, and cross-linked xanthan gum, the sustainable manufacturing procedures did not compromise overall stability and often provided beneficial polymer-specific flow profiles, such as reduced thixotropy or enhanced shear-thinning. A notable exception was the co-processed acacia/xanthan gum, where rheological data indicated that the one-pot process should be avoided due to structural degradation. Collectively, these findings broaden the applicability of sustainable manufacturing methods beyond traditional stabilizers like xanthan gum and provide additional data for process optimization, with tentative suggestions for transferability to food emulgel production.