Formulation and Evaluation of Alcohol-Free Peel-Off Facial Mask Gel Containing Red Torch Ginger Flower Extract

Abstract

The extract of torch ginger flower (Etlingera elatior (Jack) R.M. Smith) showed excellent antioxidant activity. This study utilized freeze-dried powder derived from red torch ginger flower (TFE) as the active component in the formulation of an alcohol-free peel-off facial mask gel. The formulation employed PVA (12% w/w) as a film-forming agent, HPMC (1.5% w/w) as a gelling agent, and polyethylene glycol 400 (20% w/w) as a plasticizer. This combination resulted in an alcohol-free peel-off facial mask gel base with desirable characteristics, including high viscosity, short drying time, and easy removal of the film without breakage. Consequently, this formulation was employed as a gel base for loading TFE. The TFE was loaded at varying concentrations of 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2% w/w. This produced a decrease in the pH of the formulation, which can be attributed to the acidic composition present in TFE. After storing the formulation containing TFE at room temperature and 40°C for 28 days, it was observed that the formulation's color became darker while its physical characteristics remained largely constant. Nevertheless, the antioxidant activity of all formulations shown a tendency to decrease upon storage. This suggests that TFE can be incorporated in an alcohol-free peel-off facial mask formulation as an anti-aging skincare product, although further research is required to improve chemical stability of TFE.