Microbial Surfactants As Green Emulsifiers for Skincare Cosmetic Nano-Formulations

Nanoemulsions have gained special attention in the cosmetic industry. In recent years, there has been a paradigm shift from synthetic to natural-based products because of changing lifestyles, increasing awareness and incomes, and accessibility. One of the natural motivations for this quest is finding suitable emulsifier candidates with negligible side-effects that are sourced from plants or microbes, which can serve as viable replacements to the erstwhile used synthetic surfactants.

This research draws attention towards the preparation of new cosmetic surfactants with safer, biocompatible, biodegradable, and natural‐based properties The collective knowledge churned out through a comprehensive literature survey revealed that certain microbial surfactants such as Mannosyleryththritol lipids (MEL), surfactin, Rhamnolipids, sophorolipids, trehalolipids, biosurfactants produced using Bacillus subtilis, illustrate important properties, which consequently, can be efficiently used in cosmetic formulations such as eyeshades, lipsticks, soap, powders, etc. Rhamnolipid stands as a potential competitor when essentially compared to an existing widely used surfactant, quillaja saponin which has been used before in the delivery of Vitamin E, an important bioactive compound in cosmetic products.

But it is rather whimsical to call the natural alternatives completely safe and more sustainable. High production cost and confined structural variety are some limitations in further applications of biosurfactants. Therefore, exploring the molecules from renewable sources in order to supplant the raw materials derived from petroleum, has become the need of the hour.