Air pollution levels in Asia are very serious, particularly in China and PM2.5, auto emission, cigarette and industrial smoke has opened up a new segment for cosmetic brands to develop skin care that works to keep the skin healthy in such conditions.
PM2.5 are tiny particles in the air that reduce visibility and cause the air to appear hazy when levels are elevated. Although the micro-particle won’t penetrate the skin, it can influence surface barrier functions, causing dryness or even acne.
Thus, Mintel revealed to a packed room at the marketing trends session yesterday that brands are catering to this demand, specifically bath products which are at the top of the claims list, while hair product launches accounted for 61%.
Skin care followed in closely behind with a 46% rise over the same time period.
"With an increasing number of consumers living more urbanised lifestyles, there has been a rising number of beauty products launched carrying anti-pollution terminology that specify the sources and composition of the pollutants," the firm's analyst Emmanuelle Moeglin reported.
Breakdown of big sellers in anti-pollution
Although demonstrating smaller growth in comparison to other categories, the market researcher says skin care products are still the most likely category to carry an anti-pollution claim, with 3.7% of global launches in 2013 holding this, up from 3.2% in 2011.
Moreover, there are a growing number of eye care products being launched carrying an anti-pollution claim with 7.2% of eye-care products launched so far in 2014 carrying this, up from 3.9% in 2012.
Serious pollution levels prompting formulators to shift focus
The shift in focus from UV protection to pollution has been triggered by widespread news coverage on PM2.5 matter in China of late.
Products recently developed to protect against these air pollutants include properties like UV protector, detoxifying, BB elements, deep cleansing and isolating, by forming an invisible film on skin surface that prevents pollutants from staying on & entering in skin.
Unilever launched 'Pond's Pure White Cleansing Line', a cleansing line that claims to eliminate PM2.5 from the skin.
The global personal care player claims secondary carbonization technology combined with Kaolin formula deeply cleans accumulated dirt and PM2.5 in pores 5 times stronger than most cleansers.