Shiseido develops “Water Sensing Technology” to achieve lightweight and lasting lipsticks

02 Oct 2023 --- Shiseido has developed “Water Sensing Technology” for lipsticks that pulls together pigment compounds within the product when applied to the lips, as the water evaporates, forming a “network of coloring materials.” According to the manufacturer, this newly formed “loop-like network” makes it difficult for individual coloring materials to separate from each other, allowing them to adhere closely to the lips to produce a long-lasting color.

Unlike traditional lipsticks that rely on highly adhesive oils or film-forming agents to keep the pigments in place, lipsticks using Water Sensing Technology do not create a stiff coating, Shiseido details. The resulting lipstick formula feels “smooth and lightweight.”

This technology will be used in the brand’s “MAQuillAGE Dramatic Essence Rouge” lipstick, launching on November 21, 2023.

Formulating according to user priorities
When surveyed about their ideal lipstick conditions, Shiseido’s customers prioritized attributes such as “moist,” “glossy” and “hard-to-come-off.”

“In recent years, what is required as a basic function of lipstick is a ‘hard-to-come-off/secondary adhesion-less’ effect that prevents the color from adhering to cups and face masks. [Consumers want a lipstick] that keeps the color after eating or drinking, or even after a long period of time,” the company details.

The new technology will be used in the brand’s “MAQuillAGE Dramatic Essence Rouge” lipstick, launching in November.The innovation stems from the realization that in previous lipstick product innovations, the act of rubbing lips against a face mask would not only remove the oil that anchors the color but also take away the color itself.

“This problem can be solved by using a film-forming agent that solidifies the coating film to eliminate its fluidity, but this solution makes a lipstick less comfortable to wear,” Shiseido states. “Therefore, we sought a new approach to achieve a higher level of color lasting and secondary adhesion-less effect while maintaining the fluidity of the coating film.”

Since the coloring material “loops” are compatible with water, the coloring material loops gather on a hydrophilic interface like lips and connect to each other to complete a strong network structure of coloring materials, which achieves a good lasting color effect.

“Furthermore, the study of the film properties of lipstick that uses this technology showed that it exhibited smooth and liquid-like fluidity when being applied,” explains Shiseido. “When it reacts with water to form a network after application, the fluidity weakened and the coating film changed to a gel-like property (elasticity) to the extent the film felt comfortable.”

Shiseido research pipeline
In other recent Shiseido R&D developments, the skin care giant recently linked up with traditional Japanese medicine (kampo) manufacturer Tsumura to investigate herbal wakan ingredients – natural substances derived from traditional Eastern medicine – to improve skin and cognition. The ingredients boost blood circulation, skin elasticity and collagen production while reducing mental slumps.

A separate Shiseido study published in the summer pinpointed the hardening of the stratum corneum, the outermost layer of skin, as a major cause of wrinkle formation. The company has developed a treatment for wrinkles that uses “pure retinol,” a compound that can soften the stratum corneum and prevent wrinkles from forming.

In July, Shiseido partnered with the biotechnology Group Chitose and invested ¥1 billion (US$7.1 million) in the group’s Matsuri project, which aims to establish and scale a sustainable microalgae-based beauty industry.

The Japanese beauty specialist also identified the biological mechanisms of special proteins affecting senescence – the biological measurement of aging at the cell level – alongside developing a technique to inhibit melanin production, which combines Panax ginseng root extract with radio frequency irradiation.

By Benjamin Ferrer

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