IBR-Snowflake is an active derived from the summer snowflake bulb that has Botox-like effect of smoothing wrinkles in a safe, non-invasive way.
Aside from having an anti-wrinkle effect, the firm was inspired by Botox treatments used to stop sweat glands from producing excessive sweat and discovered the active could also be used to reduce sweat activity on the skin.
The company conducted clinical testing on women aged 35 to 50 by asking them to apply a product with 1% of the active once a day before they exercised. A decrease in sweat activity was observed, with the sweat excretion rate falling by 15% and 28% at day 7 and day 14 respectively.
“This is an anti-ageing ingredient but its fits in perfectly with the active beauty trend. You can go to the gym and look good after,” said Isabelle Lacasse, global marketing director of Lucas Meyers Cosmetics.
She added that she believed IBR-Snowflake will do especially well in the South East Asian market.
“You can put it in a day cream with anti-wrinkle effects with the addition of reducing sweat production. It’s truly a perfect fit for SEA, where you can’t go out without sweating.”
IBR-Snowflake is one of the new active ingredients that have come under the Lucas Meyers Cosmetics portfolio after the acquisition of Frutarom by IFF, its parent company. Frutarom had previously acquired Israeli-based ingredient company IBR prior to IFF’s acquisition.
“Since then, we have fully integrated IBR to Lucas Meyers Cosmetics and we have invested a lot in revamping the ingredients, so to speak. That means, re-doing clinical tests or running additional testing in order to come up with new and improved ingredients,” said Lacasse.
Power of florals
At this year’s in-cosmetics Asia, Lucas Meyers Cosmetics were showcasing a range of active ingredients, most were derived from flowers.
“Sometimes, with peptides or very complicated molecules, it's hard for the consumer to relate or understand. But with flowers, there is a feeling of safety and comfort,” explained Lacasse.
Another flower-derived active the firm showcased was SKINectura, which bagged the silver award for The Innovation Zone Best Ingredient Award (Actives) at in-cosmetics Asia.
“We say it’s a nectar, not an extract, of the kangaroo paw flower, which is native to Australia and you can only find it in a specific region of Australia.
“Lucas Meyers Cosmetics believes in clinical tests, that is very important… but we also need our ingredients to have a very appealing story, something very unique. [Kangaroo paw flower] is totally unique and we are the only one supplying this flower nectar,” said Lacasse.
The firm is supplying this ingredient through its subsidiary, Southern Cross Botanicals, which is based two hours from Brisbane and specialises in the native flowers and botanicals from Australia.
“We acquired Southern Cross Botanicals in 2013, so it's been six years. Now A-beauty is the in thing and we were there many years before, so we have many ingredients more ingredients coming out of Australia.”
The ingredient is an anti-ageing active which acts on tenascin-X, a marker of ageing, explained Lacasse.
“This specific marker is involved in the architecture of the extracellular matrix, so it is responsible for the spacing between collagen and elastin. So, by stimulating Tenacin-X, we will stimulate the whole extracellular matrix.”
Through two clinical tests, the firm found that SKINectura could reduce the appearance of wrinkles in as quickly as an hour. The study showed a 5% reduction in wrinkle depth around the eye area and neckline in an hour.
“The eyes and the neck are the two main visible signs of ageing when you look at women. And for the neck, we don't see a lot of ingredients targeting the neckline. Yes, everyone sees the wrinkles around the eye area and not much of the neck, but it is a true need among consumers,” said Lacasse.