FEATURE ARTICLES

The skin lightening industry is showing no signs of slowing down globally. For a number of reasons there is an ongoing desire to lighten and even complexion, and it is important for the personal care industry to ensure consumers have access to safe and effective methods to achieve this.

China reported its fastest economic growth in seven years last year, with a gross domestic product increase of 6.9 per cent in 2017.

The 2018 in-cosmetics Asia took place at the BITEC on the outskirts of Bangkok from 30 October to 1 November and once again showed the Asian cosmetics and personal care industry in excellent health.

“He who knows others is clever, but he who knows himself is enlightened.”- Lao Tzu (taken from ‘365 Days of Wonder’ by R. J. Palacio).

The desire for a healthy and balanced lifestyle has led to the rising popularity of chia seeds, goji berries and kale in recent years.

Jo Jacobius spoke with fragrance trends experts Selena Thomas, Jessica Chor and Hera Siah from the fragrance house CPL Aromas, about the scent trends in personal care products that will be surging in 2019.

The scent of a product speaks to the unconscious mind, and as a result can be enormously powerful. As well as providing emotional references to products, the scent can also act as an olfactory advertisement, promoting the product to people within close proximity to the user who can then provide that most sought after buying prompt: personal recommendation.

Body imperfections are ‘evergreen aesthetic problems’ that affect both women and men of different ages.

The human skin is a complex ecosystem that plays the role of a barrier against environmental aggressions. In this system, microorganisms colonise our skin and are essential to skin immunity and physiology

The cosmetics market is awash with moisturising and anti-ageing creams, and as a consumer it can be hard to navigate in the jungle. Q for Skin has introduced a series of unique products based on ingredients indigenous to the Nordic countries aimed at addressing the skin’s nutritional needs and combatting dryness.

The skin, as the protective barrier that separates and isolates the inner from the outer environment, suffers the consequences of the intrinsic factors of ageing (oxidative stress, glycation, inflammation etc), as well as those produced by the so-called extrinsic factors (ionizing radiation, UV-B, pollution, tobacco, eating style etc) all of which may alter its condition and function.

Cleaning the skin is a must and a basic step of all skin care regimes, but especially of Korean beauty. In the K-beauty routine, cleaning is an essential point to thoroughly remove all the impurities from the skin due to makeup, dust or pollutants. The aim of this ancient routine is a healthy, glow and clear skin.

Preservation of the integrity of hair fibres requires an understanding of the structural and chemical composition of hair and the chemistry involved to counteract the damaging effects of the bleaching and color treatment processes.

The human hair fibre is comprised of the external cuticle covering the cortex and the medulla that is confined to the center of the fibre. To some extent, the hair has a structure that resembles that of the epidermis.

Consumer awareness and appeal of natural concepts is increasing. Good natural ingredients need to combine several factors to meet market demands.

Hair, as with skin, ages over time. As time progresses, one’s hair whitens, thins, waves, and reduces in lustre. In addition to the natural mechanisms of ageing, hair also ages as a result of damage caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS) due to repeated exposure to ultraviolet light or metallic ions and chlorine present in tap water.

For many women, hair colour is an important part of their beauty routine. Women have been using a variety of approaches to cover up their greys. Today, hair colour is used to generate a myriad of results … from achieving flawless coverage from root-to-tip to creating vibrant rainbow tresses.

Today’s hair care industry is a highly competitive and segmented market place wherein formulators need to respond to a range of hair types, cultures, regions and ethnicities. A savvy youth market, emerging economies and an expanding group of sophisticated consumers need to be accommodated.

Butters are very commonly used in personal care formulations. Butters are divided into two classes, those that exist in nature, including shea butter,1 cocoa butter2, mango butter3, lilpe butter4 and several others or those that are man-made such as olive butter. Butters are structured gels that provide not only a unique skin-feel but also have a great rheology thinning under pressure.5

There has been an increasing number of ingredients claiming to offer an alternative to silicones in formulations. While they undoubtedly offer some excellent attributes there is still debate as to whether any ingredient can truly match silicones in terms of sensory quality. Walking around a trade show, it will be possible to hear heartfelt, genuine arguments on both sides of the debate.