Scalp care in Asia, plant-based feedstock alternative development and makeup NFT.

A new digital natural formulation-focused tool, a digital asset-led campaign and a new multi-million project looks for plant-based feedstock alternatives to progress innovations in beauty and personal care. Scalp care and personal care repellent launches focus on protecting consumers’ skin.

In our bi-weekly cosmetics round-up, we delve into the beauty and personal care space to explore the latest news, updates, launches and developments around the globe.

Clariant launches online tool for natural beauty manufacturing.

Personal care company, Clariant, conceptualises and releases a new digital tool to give beauty and personal care brands information on the naturality of their proposed formulations.

In creating its personal care tool, BeautyForward 6, Clariant seeks to enable consumers to access natural knowledge about ingredients and products. The tool is designed to calculate the percentage of natural ingredients and the naturality of personal care formulations.

The tool was produced in alignment with the industry-standardised framework, ISO 16128 methodology, which defines and quantifies criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products.

With over 800 Clariant and non-Clariant ingredients on its platform, the personal care name aims to provide information on the ingredient’s naturality. Clariant aims to help manufacturers explore the contents of individual ingredients and formulations listed on the platform. Users can access the information to create their formulation from scratch or follow guidance to help produce their desired end-product.

“There is evident increasing consumer preference for natural, specifically plant-based ingredients, as well as a growing expectation for brands to understand and communicate on naturality with transparency,” said Hermann Bach, Global Head of Strategic Marketing and Innovation at Clariant.

Clinique and Daz 3D partner to create beauty brand’s first makeup NFT.

US multinational beauty producer, Clinique, joins forces with non-fungible community developer, Daz 3D, to release the beauty brand’s first-ever makeup non-fungible token (NFT) campaign.

Clinique is the first of the Estée Lauder brands to move into the NFT space (an increasingly popular move by beauty brands) by producing and showcasing its first advanced technology-led makeup campaign, called “Metaverse More Like Us”.

By utilising the digital asset, Clinique gears up to develop its profile on the 3D internet, otherwise known as the metaverse, as it aims to build a better and more inclusive online beauty world.

In collaboration with Daz 3D, Clinique worked with makeup artists and creators, including Tess Daly, Sheika Daley and Emira D’Spain and leading authority in NFT, Cathy Hackl, to produce its inaugural makeup campaign using the increasingly-prevalent unit of data.

The makeup artists and creators each produced two beauty aesthetics, forming a total of six makeup creations. In developing its looks, Clinique wanted to embrace a diverse range of NFPs to reflect all skin tones, face shapes and hairstyles.

“Our mission to be in the service of all skin means that we’re dedicated to increasing inclusivity everywhere our brand connects with consumers, and that commitment is no different in the Metaverse,” said Carolyn Dawkins, SVP of Global Marketing, Analytics and Online at Clinique. “As the Metaverse is blossoming, we know that what we create today can positively impact the beauty standards of the future,” added Dawkins.

Unilever and Genomatica embark on $120 million venture to scale plant-based feedstocks.

Personal care supplier Unilever and biotechnology company Genomatica (Geno) announce a $120 million (€114 mn) joint venture to develop alternatives to palm oil and fossil fuels for personal care products.

By collaborating, the new partnership will allow both companies to access new sustainable ingredients and technologies to create more environmentally-friendly everyday personal care products by finding plant-based feedstock varieties.

The new partnership marks Unilever’s largest venture in exploring possible biotechnology alternatives to palm oil. Together, the duo will focus on commercialising and scaling options to palm oil and fossil fuel-derived cleansing ingredients.

Geno will draw on its platform to find plant-based feedstocks. Currently, it is moving towards scaling its sustainable feedstock-focused process to enable its advanced technology to produce ingredients. The company is using plant- or waste-based feedstock to create fossil fuel alternative materials that can be scaled and commercialised for use in the personal care sector.

Early indications suggest that by utilising biotech, brands in the personal care sector can reduce the carbon footprint of palm-derived ingredients by 50% with the adoption of plant-based varieties.

“We’ve developed our technology in response to our planet’s urgent climate crisis and we’ve proven that biotechnology can replace traditional production methods to produce ingredients with bio-based sources that deliver both high-performance and sustainability, at scale,” relayed Christophe Schilling, CEO of Geno.

“Biotechnology has the potential to revolutionise the sourcing of our cleansing ingredients,” said Richard Slater, Chief Research and Development (R&D) Officer at Unilever. “We are building this innovative new venture to have the scale to drive real impact and change in our industry, helping to reinvent the chemistry of home and personal care products for the 21st Century,” Slater added.

Kao develops new mosquito repellent product.

Japanese personal care brand, Kao, unveils its newly-developed mosquito repellent for consumers in Thailand. The product, Bioré GUARD Mos Block Serum, utilises the Asian skincare and personal care brand’s technology to provide a serum that blocks mosquitos by having widespread protection over the skin.

Developing its new technology saw Kao research how best to protect consumers from mosquitoes. The brand subsequently devised its latest product, a formula that acts as a protection shield, with the aim of offering skin protection. The technology’s mechanism is geared to differ from conventional insect repellents on the market, which it states “rely on mainly volatile active agents”.

Kao has set up its Guard Our Future global project to help save lives from mosquitoes by working to control dengue fever and other infectious diseases spread by mosquitoes. It is initially releasing its product in Thailand and then plans to extend to the wider Southeast Asia region to build awareness-raising activities, field testing and research activities.

The formulation contains natural citronella oil, floral blossom fragrance and lavender valley fragrances and is deet-free. Kao designed the formulation to have a non-sticky texture and to provide widespread coverage on the skin.

Nutrafol unveils patent-pending scalp system.

Hair health brand, Nutrafol, releases a new product line that draws on understanding of hair biology. The unveiling of its patent-pending Scalp Microbiome Support comes after research into the scalp barrier and the impact of both internal and external environmental impacts on the scalp microbiome.

The physician-formulated products have been created to balance the scalp microbiome and offer opportunities for optimal hair growth by using nutraceuticals contained within the product.

Nutrafol’s new collection of scalp care products includes an exfoliating mask, a cleansing shampoo and a scalp microbiome essence. The product line also contains the Microbiome Friendly Seal certification, which is used by personal care brands to indicate those products that follow specific clinical testing to ensure products look after and encourage positive microbial diversity.

“The scalp microbiome is not just another trendy health topic being talked about on social media—it is an important element to overall hair health that should be cared for just as much as people care about their skin routines,” said Giorgos Tsetis, CEO and co-founder of Nutrafol.

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