Dear Colleagues,

The growing concern about the environmental impact and human health risk related to the excessive use of synthetic ingredients in cosmetics and topical formulations calls for the exploration of safe and sustainable natural alternatives. Research on the diverse functional and bioactive properties of lignin polymer has recently led to increased interest in this available natural compound for cosmetic applications.

However, the high chemical variability of lignin still makes the understanding of structure–properties relationships challenging. Elucidation of possible interaction mechanisms could open new insights to control and enhance lignin efficiency and performance in such particular applications. Moreover, safety assurance of lignin application in human health care products is crucial in order to overcome the regulatory frame and consumer acceptance. Therefore, research on the biological activity of lignin polymer is required to ensure the safe application of lignin-based products on the human skin as well as for its industrial exploitation.

You are kindly invited to contribute interdisciplinary and original research articles and review articles focused on novel aspects and strategies related to lignin and lignin-derived compounds/materials application in the cosmetic field. Furthermore, articles including the challenges of lignin polymer to cover the current requirements linked to regulatory aspects, perception, and marketing of lignin-based cosmetics as well as developments of reliable, fast, and cost-effective quality control methods for lignin properties will be welcome for inclusion.

Potential topics include but are not limited to:

• Sunscreen performance
• Lignin color
• Chemical modification
• Particle size and morphology
• Interaction mechanisms
• Structure–bioactivity relationships
• Antioxidant activity
• Cytotoxicity
• Synergic effects
• Emulsion stabilizer
• Multivariate data analysis

Dr. Oihana Gordobil
Dr. Olena Sevastyanova
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cosmetics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.