Applied Cosmetic Science and Technology Applied Cosmetic Science and Technology

The 1977 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded for the concept of dissipative structures, which describes self-organization in far-from-equilibrium systems. This concept explains how open chemical systems, maintained in far-from-equilibrium conditions, become unstable to fluctuations, allowing them to grow into self-organized states via irreversible entropy-producing dissipative processes. Not only living systems but also artificial chemical systems spontaneously generate dynamic behavior without violating the second law of thermodynamics, provided they are open to the outer environment and maintained in a far-from-equilibrium condition. Representative examples include chemical oscillations and chemical waves in the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction system and Turing pattern formations in the chlorite–iodide–malonic acid reaction system. Chiral symmetry breaking transition is also a phenomenon categorized as a dissipative structure. The growth of fluctuations in far-from-equilibrium conditions occurs not only for the concentration of chemical species in chemical reaction systems but also for the morphology of the interface. Examples include viscous fingering and spinodal dewetting. When cosmetics are applied to the skin, volatile ingredients evaporate from the applied layer. Additionally, the cosmetic layer is occasionally exposed to water. These processes frequently place the cosmetics in a far-from-equilibrium condition. Therefore, unexpected patterns from the viewpoint of equilibrium and near-equilibrium thermodynamics are frequently generated in the applied cosmetic layer. Thus, the development of techniques to control the dynamic behavior generated under far-from-equilibrium conditions has become an important technological innovation in cosmetic science and technology.