Commenting on the key trends in the natural ingredient segment in 2018, David Boudier, Scientific Communication Manager at Silab shared his thoughts on what is driving these demands: “Consumers are looking for efficacy but also safety and sustainability when buying skin care products. Thus, cosmetics brands need to demonstrate their involvement in ethics, naturality and traceability.”
While these are “strongly integrated into Silab’s strategy, all these expectations must be taken into consideration as pre-requisites for the industry”, Boudier emphasised.
When launching Neurofense, which entered the market in January 2018, the French-based company carried out tests in real conditions relating to temperature and pollution to ascertain the product's relevance and positioning.
Life on skin
“Regarding trends, sensitive skin must be considered as a key topic. Pollution, hectic life and many other factors lead to skin sensitivity,” Boudier added.
Exploring the next big thing in skin care, Boudier enthused: "The latest craze for skin microbiota represents a new era. For any age, any ethnicity, it makes sense to study the impact of the skin ecology. This field is an open door to innovation in terms of evaluation and care."
As customers are searching for “transparency, wellbeing, health and comfort”, brands are seeing more opportunities for multifunctional skin care solutions that prioritise these needs over more conventional demands for aesthetic beauty. Consumers are paying more attention to the impact that cosmetics and personal care items can have below the skin as much as what visually is on the surface.
Sensitive skin
When it comes to the sensitive skin care market, in particular, many beauty shoppers wonder whether the effects of pollution are more severe for people with sensitive skin.
“Among environmental factors, cold and pollution are some of the major stressors having the higher impact on sensitive skin,” Boudier shared. “They disrupt the skin’s equilibrium by acting directly on the three biological components of sensitive skin (neuronal hyper-reactivity, altered barrier function and exacerbated inflammation), thereby augmenting unpleasant sensations.”
Pollutant effect
Increasingly, consumers are concerned about the short-term and long-term impact of environmental stressors such as pollution on the skin.
“Pollution is responsible for an oxidative stress in the skin and a defective barrier function, contributing to the appearance of a duller and less radiant complexion,” Boudier stated. “In the long term, a polluted environment results in a remodelling of the extracellular matrix, the cause of premature skin ageing, with the appearance of wrinkles and pigment spots.”
Silab has proposed biological cosmetic solutions targeting the AhR (Aryl-hydrocarbon Receptor) and the sophisticated communication system based on mitokines to counteract these effects of pollution.
“A second-skin film that forms a physical shield against pollution can complete the efficacy of these active ingredients,” the company held.