The contribution of food chemistry to the world of cosmetics

The use of food supplements to avoid any deficiency and sub-deficiency states of valuable nutrients and to take bioactive molecules which permit the well-being of the skin, nail, and hair care are a new trend in the beauty market. Food supplements are food products able to improve the everyday diet. They are a concentrated source of nutrients, such as minerals and vitamins, or other substances having a nutritional or physiological effect ( i.e., amino acids, fibers, essential fatty acids, and extracts of vegetable origin). The food supplements can be sold in single, multi-compound, and pre-dosed forms. The great demand for nutricosmetics products across the world has been driven by consumers who are more attentive than in the past to skin changes (i.e., wrinkles, aging), and hair loss problems due to stress and age, the growth of health costs which have prompted consumers to prevent diseases to avoid treating, and the desire for natural ingredients believed to be safer than synthetic ones. Food chemistry can significantly contribute to the growth of this market not only by supplying nutrients and bioactive molecules obtained from extracts from food, agricultural waste, household, and food chain waste. This attractive new market sector could see food chemists and cosmetic chemicals united in transforming waste into resources for an increasingly circular economy.