Ban on Shark-Derived Squalene {Beauty News}
Major beauty companies have now decided to go green and spare the live(r)s of sharks. Squalene, a natural organic compound with much vaunted beauty properties found in shark liver, but also in Amaranth seed, rice brean, wheat germ, and olives (Wikipedia) was so extensively harvested from deep-sea sharks that it had started to threaten their survival.
You may have come across it in health supplements or Palmer's Scar Serum found at CVS. The anti-oxydant properties of Shark-derived Squalene are so popular with the Hollywood set that Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman reported in The Black Book of Hollywood Secrets that it had become a strange yet recognizable smell found in the vicinity of many a star (it smells like fish and algae -- frankly a quite sickening odor). Apparently, a number of actors wear shark liver oil like a permanent mask or primer....
Major beauty groups, including L'Oréal are now going to stop using shark-derived Squalene and replace it with plant-derived Squalene, like this facial serum based on Squalene found in olives.
According to Cosmetic News,
"L’Oréal sustainable development director Pierre Simoncelli tells CosmeticNews. “For our skincare products the substitution plan has now been completed for 100% of our formulas, and for the few remaining makeup formulas the plan will be completed by the end of the year,” he detailed. Simoncelli also underlined that since the legal regulatory name for both plant and animal-derived versions of the emollient is identical, it will be difficult to communicate the switch to consumers on packaging."
Unilever will also implement the same changes for its Pond's and Dove brands.
Image: Deep Sea News
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Comments
Ugh. I wouldn't want shark-squeezin's in my beauty products anyway. And "Squalene" sounds too much like "squalid" or an urban first name.
Posted by: Kathy | January 31, 2008