Adjunctive solutions: How medical aesthetics are inspiring ‘breakthroughs’ in skin care – Kenvue R&D lead

The skin care category has evolved in Asia Pacific significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of the big shifts the industry is seeing is that medical aesthetic treatments like laser therapy, microneedling, or thread lifting, have become part of the beauty regime.

“This has been a huge shift. We’re now seeing skin care products being used in these medical aesthetic areas as adjunctive care – pre-treatment, during treatment and post-treatment. Skin care is becoming much bigger,”​ said Keshan Gunasinghe, Head of R&D APAC, Kenvue.

Kenvue is a spin-off from American consumer health company Johnson & Johnson (J&J). It owns some of the most iconic brands in beauty including Neutrogena, Aveeno, Dr. Ci:Labo, Clean & Clear, as well as Johnson’s Baby.

Speaking on the Beauty 4.0 Podcast,​ Keshan expressed his excitement over how the medical aesthetics space can potentially fuel innovations in skin care.

“I think medical aesthetics, and the combination of skin care and dermatology into one area is extremely interesting. It's definitely going to be something that's going to grow…From an R&D perspective, it means that you can provide very different kinds of solutions to consumers, that that are different from a very traditional cream or a serum.”​

In 2023, Dr. Ci:Labo debuted its Enrich Microneedle Serum. The product contains microneedles made of hyaluronic acid and can enhance retinol absorption by 1.5 times while the hyaluronic acid dissolves to form a moisture barrier on the skin.

“We would not have thought about this kind of product a few years ago because we weren’t thinking about it from a medical aesthetics space. Now we’re drawing inspiration from there, working with different kind of dermatologists which leads to different solutions. I think this is going to lead to more breakthroughs across the industry,” ​said Keshan.

Another major change in skin care is the adoption of skin ageing products among younger consumers. This group is more concerned about prevention rather than problem-solving.

“The growth in pre-ageing is huge. It's growing much faster – eight times faster than the total facial care category and three times faster than anti-ageing,” ​said Keshan.

“As an industry, it does put pressure on us to find solutions that are more preventative because prevention is harder. You have to make sure people constantly use products and keep up with it.”​

To hear more of Keshan’s skin care insights and learn more about Kenvue’s R&D, check out the full podcast above.