About Us
Active Cosmetic Ingredients develops and supplies natural multifunctional blends to cosmetic manufacturers.
Our focused team is able to respond quickly to requests for specific extracts. We have experience in sourcing active extracts for cosmetics from Europe, the US and Asia Pacific for the global cosmetics market, whether that involves optimising the availability of one extract or setting up production of another that wasn’t available at all.
The biggest problem facing the cosmetic industry today is product preservation. This is not because we do not have preservatives, but because of they have been overused. The frontline preservatives on which the industry has relied, have created problems and fallen out of favour with either the regulators or the public, or both.
When one preservative has been dropped because of regulatory pressure or bad press, it has increased the exposure to remaining preservatives to the extent that they have become the next problem.
Alternative preservatives have been offered, but their cost when considered purely as a preservative renders them uncompetitive.
Active Cosmetic Ingredients advocates a different approach. We develop cosmetic active ingredients that also have antimicrobial activity. In this way the cost of preservation is off-set by the additional functional benefits that the product provides.
Chris Nichols, President & CEO, Active Cosmetic Ingredients
Chris Nichols has worked in the personal care industry for over thirty-five years. He has worked in product development, sales and marketing, regulatory and environmental risk assessment.
He has worked with the European Commission, The United Nations, US EPA, Environment Australia and WWF among others. Chris was the Secretary of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists from 1993 to 1998 and on the steering committee of the 2002 IFSCC Congress.
He has worked on both the International Journal of Cosmetic Science and the magazine of the International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Scientists.
Tell us what you want and we’ll go out and find it!
He was President of The British Society of Cosmetic Scientists in 2006/2007.
In March 2011 he set up Active Cosmetic Ingredients to concentrate on the development of multifunctional cosmetic ingredients and add real brand value.