New process produces ingredients to promote even skin tone

The Tennessee-based company has come up with a process that results in high yields of esters designed for use in anti-aging and skin illumination products. Esters for an even skin tone ​ A number of the ester compounds that can be produced by Eastman Chemical's process may have skin illuminating properties including the derivatives of known natural skin illuminator kojic acid. Kojic acid is often used in cosmetics as a skin lightening ingredient as it is thought to inhibit tyrosine, a precursor to melanin. Dr Neil Boaz, one of the scientists behind the technology, told CosmeticsDesign.com that the ester derivatives of kojic acid produced by the enzymatic process are significantly more effective than those produced chemically. He said: "The esters manufactured through an enzymatic process demonstrate 100 to 1000 times greater tyrosine inhibition compared to the same derivatives manufactured chemically."​ The esters themselves are lipophilic which means they can easily penetrate the skin and deliver the desired benefits whilst potentially reducing irritation, he added. ​Enzymatic process more gentle than chemical ​​According to Boaz, Eastman's enzymatic process is gentler than the chemical alternative whilst resulting in high yields of a pure product. Furthermore, the process is robust and can be used with many starting compounds to produce a wide variety of functional esters. "Eastman has demonstrated success with many compounds including retinyl, kojic acid and idebone esters,"​ said Boaz.