The first key linking Fujifilm and cosmetics is antioxidant power. The company has conducted extensive research on technologies to prevent oxidation by ultraviolet rays, a cause of color fading, in order to preserve vivid colors in printed photographs. In this effort, the company focused on the natural antioxidant astaxanthin, which is now a key ingredient of Astalift products.
This antioxidant can be used for both film and skincare because the same oxidation from ultraviolet rays that causes color photographs to fade also leads to the aging of a person’s skin. Ultraviolet rays increase melanin in the skin, producing spots, and cleave the fibrous proteins collagen and elastin that serve to maintain skin tautness, thereby causing wrinkles and sagging.
There were challenges in using astaxanthin in skincare products, however. The substance is fat soluble and does not readily dissolve in water, making stable formulation in cosmetics difficult. The key to overcoming this was once again found in film technology. In manufacturing photographic film, more than 100 types of fine functional particles, such as those that sense light and produce color, are emulsified and dispersed on ultrathin collagen membranes about 20 micrometers thick. These membranes are then layered about 20 times. This nano-level emulsification and dispersion technology made it possible to stabilize the astaxanthin in cosmetics products, at the same time greatly enhancing its ability to penetrate the skin. Moreover, collagen, which accounts for about half of the materials in film, is also a main component of skin. Fujifilm used its long experience dealing with collagen to determine the best collagen for skin moisture and tautness.