Back to the Roots: Natural Cosmetics and their Future Applications

Numerous concerns have been raised on the side effects of the prolonged usage of synthetic compounds in cosmetics production, including skin damage due to inflammations, rashes, and itching, just to mention a few. These skin side effects have been reported to be linked to the break-down of homeostasis of the repair system against deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and tissue destruction. These can lead to accelerated aging, melanogenesis, and cell growth senescence or even cause cancer of the skin. Efforts to overcome these problems associated with synthetic cosmetics have led to the use of natural cosmetics of plant and animal origin. Natural cosmetics have been found to contain essential oils and other extracts that can alleviate or inhibit skin-associated problems, such as eczema, allergy, acne, dryness, and discoloration, while also containing anti-aging, anti-tyrosinase, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory substances. In this chapter, some cosmetics products from plants (herbs) and animal extraction are highlighted alongside their applications in skin care. At the same time, also, the future perspectives and recommendations of these natural extracts are proffered. 

Keywords: Cosmetics , Anti-microbials, Antioxidants, Anti-ageing, Collagen, Cosmeceutics, Microalgae, Natural clay, Plant, UV-protection.