Chemistry

Many of our cosmeceuticals boast the inclusion of peptides, but what the heck are these things? Peptides “are short polymers of amino acids linked by peptide bonds” (from Wikipedia, picture to the left). Polypeptides are “single linear chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds”, and are generally no more than 50 amino acids...

I need to break for an aside here on the chemistry of polysaccharides as this is coming up more and more as I research our cosmeceuticals. What are polysaccharides? They are “polymeric carbohydrate structures formed of repeating units joined together by glycosidic bonds” (from Wikipedia). We can find quite basic ones like two monosaccharides like...

Will writes….I’d love to learn more about the whole _____ionic thing and how it applies to lotions/cream, etc. I’ve read about it, and the more I read the more confused I become. How about dumbing it down and explaining it in your excellent fashion? Just wishing… Wish no more, Will! When it comes to chemistry, you ask and...

As people refer me to things they consider to be natural products, I keep seeing the words “coconut derived” beside surfactants, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, and other ingredients that are, in fact, coconut derived. But what does this mean? Coconut oil is often the starting point for surfactants because it has a fatty acid profile...