Use of fullerenes in cosmetics

As cosmetic technology advances, there is an increasing need to use new active ingredients in the development of cosmetic products. In the last few years application of fullerene C(60) and its derivates in cosmetics has been intensively tested. Fullerenes display a wide range of biological activities. Potent scavenging capacities against radical oxygen species (ROS) and excellent potential as biological antioxidants made fullerenes suitable active compounds in the preparation of skin rejuvenation cosmetic formulations. Currently published evidence on biological activities of fullerenes relevant for their cosmetic use and examples of published patents to illustrate application of fullerenes in cosmetic technology are presented. Future trends in the development of cosmetic formulations including fullerenes are discussed.