Lanolin: fatty substance isolated from sheep wool grease. Make-up: semi-solid makeup product destined to provide color or a touch of gold, mainly on the eyelids (eye shadow) or the cheeks (blusher). Optical isomerism: refers to the fact that two molecules are the image of one another in a plane mirror and are non-superimposable. In 1848, Pasteur was the first to separate two optical isomers. Opotherapy: treatment of diseases using (extracts from) cells, tissues, glands or organs of animal origin. Polymer: substances comprised of independent elements (monomers) linked to each other. Rheology: science of the flow and deformation of matter (viscosity, consistence). RNA: or ribonucleic acid. An intermediate biological substance issued from DNA, working as an intermediary in the fabrication of a protein. Saponification: chemical reaction of hydrolysis of an ester in a base medium, resulting in the reaction between an acid function and an alcohol function. This chemical reaction produces soap. Sensoriality: impact of a given cosmetic formulation on our senses. Sperm whale oil (or spermaceti): complex, lipidic, waxy white substance found in the head cavity of the sperm whale. It is liquid above 30°, and progressively solidifies as the temperature decreases. Surface tension: force existing at the interface of two different milieus and governing their adhesion. Surfactant agent: substance that stabilizes the dispersion of two immiscible substances. Triglyceride: glycerol molecule combining three fatty acids; the main constituent of vegetable oils and animal fats. UV: abbreviation used for ultraviolet rays. Vacuum pump: device that removes a gas such as air from a sealed volume and thus diminishes the internal pressure. Vegetal fraction: cluster of molecules isolated from a vegetal by extraction. Wetting: refers to the shape a more or less liquid substance adopts on a surface. |
