NOVEL COSMECEUTICAL HERBAL EMULGEL FOR SKIN CARE

Cosmetics are developed to reduce wrinkles, fight acne and to control oil secretion. For various types of skin ailments formulations like skin protective, sunscreen, antiacne, antiwrinkle and antiaging are designed using varieties of materials, either natural or synthetic. The word herbal is a symbol of safety in contrast to the synthetic one which has adverse effects on human health. Herbal cosmetics are the preparations used to enhance the human appearance. The aim of the present research was to formulate the herbal Emulgel for the purpose of moistening and nourishing the skin. The Emulgel formulation was designed by using Carbopol- 940 in different ratio as gelling agent. Various formulation batches containing oil were prepared. The o/w emulsion was prepared and it was incorporated in gel base. All the prepared emulgel formulations were evaluated for physicochemical parameters including physical appearance, pH, viscosity, spreadability, extrudability, homogeneity, drug content and in vitro drug release. Drug diffusion across cellophane membrane was performed using modified franz diffusion cell with phosphate buffer solution with pH 7.4 as the receptor medium. The optimized herbal gel formulation of the drug was subjected to stability studies. All formulations showed acceptable physical properties, homogeneity, consistency, spreadability, viscosity, pH and stability study. However, the formulation containing Carbopol-940 and penetration enhancer showed better drug release across cellophane membrane. The present work focuses on the potential of herbal extracts from cosmetic purposes.