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Whether you want to measure skin elasticity, hair fiber orientation, heat transfer, stability or any of a host of other formulation characteristics or product performance variables, there is a wide variety of equipment available. We asked George Deckner to provide his feedback on cutting edge instruments for personal care product development. Check out his top 20 picks below…

One – Five.

Delfin Technologies (EU) is a manufacturer of innovative, scientifically validated, portable instruments for measuring different skin properties and product effects on skin. Commercialized units include:

• ElastiMeter (EU) – Rapid measurement of skin elasticity that does not alter skin structure during the measurement process.
• Vapometer (EU) – Measures TEWL up to 200g/m2 with no daily calibration required. Can also capture readings in approximately 10 seconds.
• MoistureMeterSC (EU) – Capacitive measurement of skin surface hydration. Has a built-in pressure sensor for consistent, reproducible results.
• SkinGlossMeter (EU) – Measures skin shine.
• SebumScale (EU) – Quantitatively measures sebum in micrograms/cm2 with a resolution of .1 microgram.

Six.

Kobo (EU) has developed a simple in vitro method using a haze meter to measure the light scattering properties of particles dispersed in a film on a glass plate. The results were shown to correlate well with in vivo panel results. A very useful screening method for anyone developing soft focus technology.

Seven.

Skin PAMPA (Pion) is a disposable 96 well plate that can be used to predict skin penetration. The plate contains a membrane impregnated with fatty acid, cholesterol, and ceramides to mimic skin epidermal lipids. An R2 of .85 was seen comparing skin penetration data with Franz diffusion cell data.

Eight.

Rumba (EU) (Bossa Nova Technologies (EU)) is a unique tool dedicated to the in vivo measurement of the orientation of hair fibers. The measurement can be made on hair tresses or directly on a consumer’s head, thanks to an acquisition time of less than 1s. Rumba works for any type of hair, from straight to curly and black to blond/white.

Nine.

Colortec-PCM (Colortec) is a low cost, hand held colorimeter that can directly measure color on skin.

Ten.

Fluid Imaging Technologies has developed an economical imaging particle size analyzer called the FlowCam Model V-1000. A small sample flows by a combination microscope and particle sizer which gives you a picture and data on every particle measured. A comprehensive automated pattern recognition software enables rapid and automatic characterization of different particle types contained in heterogeneous samples.

Eleven – Fifteen.

KES Kato Tech Co. Ltd. (keskato.co.jp) sells a broad variety of lab performance testing equipment.

• Compact hair tensile tester. This was used by Unilever Japan for promoting its Lux product line.
• KES-F7 is a small, lightweight instrument for measuring heat transfer.
• HFT-04S is a portable tester for measuring the surface roughness of an object.
• HFT-03C is a portable compression tester that may have application for skin testing.
• KES-SE friction tester measures surface smoothness and roughness.

Sixteen.

The Vasco (Cordouan Technologies) is a portable particle size analyzer based on dynamic light scattering that can measure particles from 1nm to 6 microns. It can also measure concentrated dispersions containing up to 40% solids.

Seventeen.

Rheolaser Lab (Formulaction) is a novel microrheology-based instrument that measures the visco-elastic properties of materials through the movement of particles due to thermal energy (Brownian motion). Microrheology can provide microscopic change structure, which can be used to predict stability. The unit can also measure up to 6 samples at a time and can do multiple measures on a sample over time, since the measurement is non-contact / nondestructive.

Eighteen.

Turboscan Classic MA 2000 (Formulaction) is an instrument that measures the near IR backscatter of dispersions, which can be used to predict stability. Changes in back scatter across a sample from top to bottom can be indicative of coalescence, creaming, sedimentation, or flocculation.

Nineteen & Twenty.

Readco Kurimoto has developed several interesting lab processing aids.

• The RK Labmaster is a dry powder processing system that claims to reduce mixing time by 50% or more. It also has the ability to add liquids up to 20% by weight of the total batch while mixing. It can handle 1 to 12 quart capacities.
• The Readco Continuous Processor is a twin screw, highly flexible processor that allows for the rapid uniform mixing of medium to high viscosity dispersion n of liquids and powders.

 

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