Unlocking the beauty benefits: Exploring biosurfactants from Scheffersomyces shehatae for cosmetics

As the cosmetic market continues to transform, innovative ingredients such as biosurfactants (BS) emerge as a fundamental step towards a generation of cosmetic products characterized by efficacy, safety, and environmental responsibility. In alignment with the global push towards natural, renewable, and non-toxic materials, BS stands out as an interesting alternative to conventional synthetic surfactants. BS are a type of green surfactants and compared to synthetic surfactants derived from petroleum they are more biodegradable and have low or no toxicity. This work aimed to investigate the suitability of a biosurfactant extracted from the yeast Scheffersomyces shehatae (BS-SS) to be used in cosmetic applications. The cytotoxicity of the BS-SS was tested in fibroblast (L929) and keratinocyte (HaCaT) cell lines and the potential for ocular irritation was assessed by the hen's egg chorioallantoic membrane test (HET-CAM). The cleaning efficiency of the BS-SS was measured as the ability of make-up removal in pig skin. Our results showed that the IC 50 values were 10.49 mg/mL for fibroblasts and 11.77 mg/mL for keratinocytes, and the biosurfactant did not result in hemorrhage, lysis, and coagulation damages in the chorioallantoic membrane, which classifies the biosurfactant solution as non-irritant. Therefore, ocular toxicity and in vitro skin cell toxicity results showed that BS-SS can be tolerable and safe for cosmetic purposes. BS-SS featured promising cleaning properties, similar to the cleansing activity of the 1% SDS solution and of micellar water for lipstick and foundation products. In conclusion, the results indicate its potential use in cosmetic applications.