What are Oleosomes?
Oleosomes are micron-sized droplets which are naturally present in some plant seeds; they act as reservoirs to hold the plant oil and vitamin E. The remarkable properties of these natural oleosomes have generated a lot of interest to extract and incorporate them in skincare products and take advantage of their sophisticated structure.ย
Oleosome Technology
Oleosome technology is the next-generation encapsulation system. Through a large scale process in the lab they extract and isolate intact oleosome structures from plant seeds. These oleosomes are potent with beneficial ingredients on their own, however the formulators can take advantage of their structure and load these spherical olesosomes with active ingredients as well.
Benefits of incorporating Oleosomes into emulsions
Oleosome emulsions are cosmetically elegant and offer multiple functions:
1.Time-release delivery
Upon application oleosomes begin to collapse and release their contents onto the skin surface. Not all oleosomes collapse at once, so the ingredients are gradually released over an extended period of time and they can provide long lasting benefits. The delayed release of active ingredients, also helps reducing potential irritation while improving performance of some actives such as retinoids.
2.ย Oleosomes facilitate formulation & enhance stability
In order toย make common oil-in-water emulsions, the oil/water interface is stabilized by low molecular weight surfactants. But when the emulsion is formulated with oleosomes, they already are in the form of emulsified droplets and stabilized by a unique protein membrane, so synthetic emulsifiers or surfactants are not needed to stabilize the formula; as a result, the cosmetic basic composition is more suitable for sensitive skins. Oleosomes have also shown the ability to maintain stability under a range of conditions over longer periods of time, allowing formulators to reduce active ingredients with no drop in efficacy.
3. Oleosomes are better at moisture retention
A clinical study shows that compared to the traditional barrier agents with traditional emulsifiers, oleosomes are more efficient at preventing water loss.
