New beauty partnerships see global beauty, perfumery, personalization and skin diagnostics take centre stage.
A multi-million investment in period and intimate care sees one brand work towards realizing its global vision.
New findings in hair loss and skincare ingredients strive to progress the options available to meet consumers’ needs and concerns.
In our bi-weekly cosmetics round-up, we explore the need-to-know cosmetics industry news, beauty trends and personal care launches worldwide.
DSM and Firmenich merge.
Two global personal care giants, DSM and Firmenich, have come together to pull their resources and knowledge in leading scientific understanding and capabilities in beauty and wellbeing. Entering into a business combination agreement, the duo strives to build the leading creation and innovation partner in beauty and wellbeing through its newly-created DSM-Firmenich.
By teaming up, global science company DSM, and fragrance and flavour business Firmenich, strive to maximize their ability to anticipate and address evolving consumer needs. The duo will leverage leading science and capabilities in the beauty and wellbeing spaces, including fragrance, to boost innovation in identified high-growth and resilient segments.
With combined revenues of $3.5 billion (€3.3 bn) in the perfumery and beauty sector, Firmenich will see its global perfumery and ingredients business expand further by uniting with DSM’s personal care and aroma business.
The newly-named DSM-Firmenich will house its dual headquarters in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland and Maastricht, the Netherlands. DSM-Firmenich’s perfumery and beauty arm will be led from Geneva, Switzerland. Following the merger, DSM’s shareholders will own a total of 65.5% of the company and Firmenich shareholders will take 34.5%.
New clinical findings in hair loss bring new treatment opportunities.
Aesthetic medical technology company, Revian, revealed the results of a recent clinical study by Wake Forest University School of Medicine, US. The study explored how Revian’s hair loss focused system may be able to help treat patients with Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia (CCCA).
The company expressed that CCCA is a form of scarring hair loss with no known cure that largely impacts women of African descent, and the condition is considered to have environmental, genetic and inflammatory elements.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the use of low-level light therapy for CCCA management and we were excited to partner with the Revian team to evaluate a treatment for this devastating condition,” said Dr Amy McMichael, Chair and Professor of Dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. “In my opinion, the Revian Red system is showing promising results for a complex disease for which we have no treatment options.”
Revian explains that its Red System uses a patented combination of two LED light wavelengths of 620 nanometers (nm) and 660 nm. The two wavelengths stimulate nitric oxide production and release, increase local blood flow, lower inflammation and inhibit the steroid, dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
In the study, patients used the all-LED treatment cap for ten minutes per day. Patients’ hair loss was assessed with follow-up visits at two, four and six months by examining digital photography, patients’ self-assessment of their symptoms and clinical evaluations into their severity.
The clinical findings reported that 75% of patients saw a decreased loss of follicular openings and breakage. They also detailed that follow-up imaging showed short, re-growing vellus hairs and minimal inter and perifollicular scale. Further, 75% of patients had improved Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) at the end of the study. Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine shared the results of its recent clinical study at the Society for Investigative Dermatology 2022 Annual Meeting.
L’Oréal snaps up stake in Japanese startup, Sparty.
Global cosmetic company L’Oréal has announced it has acquired a minority investment in personalized beauty startup Sparty. The acquisition of Sparty marks the global beauty brand’s first beauty purchase in Japan. L’Oréal’s corporate venture capital fund BOLD (Business Opportunities for L’Oréal Development) managed the purchase.
Tokyo-based e-commerce name, Sparty, entered the beauty technology scene in 2017. Developing its direct-to-consumer business model focusing on personalized beauty, Sparty houses haircare brands such as Medulla and skincare names, including Hotaru.
With its mission to “create a sensual era”, Sparty strives to appeal to consumers looking for personalized beauty collections and personalized consumer experiences.
“Japan is one of the most sophisticated and influential beauty markets,” said Jean-Pierre Charriton, CEO of L’Oréal Japan. “In Japan, personalized consumer experience is highly valued, and we are seeing new trends and innovations when it comes to personalization, especially in beauty.”
Rael raises $35 million for period and intimate care expansion.
Holistic personal care name, Rael, which centres on period care, intimate care and skincare, has closed a $35 million Series B round of investment.
Launched in 2017 by three Korean American women in Los Angeles, US, Rael is the personal care brand made by women for all people who bleed. Since its inception, Rael has raised a total of $59 million and expanded to South Korea. The brand has hopes to expand to a further 12 international countries.
Following its investment, Rael plans to pursue its ongoing product development led by its development team in South Korea, expand its approach to women’s wellness, progress growth in retail by developing partnerships, invest in brand and trade marketing, and advance its global expansion. The brand is also building upon its executive leadership team, with Lauren Consiglio becoming its President, who was previously a senior marketing executive at Unilever and L’Oreal.
“We started Rael with a mission to improve women’s wellness by leveraging novel technology from Korea, bringing organic, high-performing, comfortable products to the marketplace,” said Yanghee Paik, CEO and co-founder of Rael. “Now, five years later, the company has evolved greatly, but our commitment to bringing women cleaner and more effective personal care solutions throughout their hormonal cycle has stayed the same.”
i-On Skincare unveils new skincare launches.
Beauty tech brand, i-On skincare, launches two new products to the beauty market: its Age Disrupting Skin Emulsion and AI-powered Skin Diagnostic Tool.
i-On Skincare relays that biological aging is significantly impacted by the key factor of excess iron build-up on the skin. It states that this element, which occurs with the cessation of menstruation, is most responsible for forming oxygen free radicals that are known to cause visible signs of skin aging.
With a focus on formulating cosmetics, the brand uses its patented DII technology with vitamin C and pearl powder, designed to remove excess iron from the skin’s surface, allowing the skin to focus on repairing and rebuilding.
With a focus on targeting excess iron that forms on the skin’s surface, i-On skincare has unveiled its skin-aging product, Age Disrupting Skin Emulsion, utilizing DII technology. The brand also teamed up with fellow beauty tech name, Perfect Corp, to develop its AI-powered Skin Diagnostic Tool. i-On Skincare saw this partnership as a natural next step as it seeks to expand its educational communication on the relationship between biological aging, lifestyles and routines.
“Our goal is to shift the conversation about how we think and talk about aging,” said Dr. Xi Huang, founder of i-On Skincare.
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