Sustainable ingredients, social media influencers and beauty-from-within popularity are fueling the natural skin care ingredient market.
An educated guess may lead many to hypothesize that the skin is a crucial component of the body, and this could not be any truer.
In fact, LiveScience notes that it is the body’s largest organ, accounting for approximately 16 percent of total body weight and covering a surface area of about 22-square-feet. But besides coverage an incredible surface area, it also serves several vital functions.
According to the American Skin Association, “The skin, along with hair and nails, is the protective covering of the body. In addition, the skin prevents germs from entering the body and damaging internal organs. Skin supports the life of all other body parts and plays a role in maintaining the immune system. Skin also helps to regulate body temperature through the sweat glands. When the body becomes overheated, sweat glands give off moisture (perspiration), which cools the body as it evaporates. As the body part responsible for the sense of touch, the skin works with the nervous system to alert the body to potential dangers by detecting pressure, pain, heat and cold.”
And it also can’t be forgotten that the skin produces vitamin D when exposed to UV (ultraviolet) light.
With the significant role that it plays in everyday life, ingredient manufacturers and suppliers are constantly developing their items and further expanding upon already-established ingredients, in order to help consumers obtain optimum skin health.
Ingredients of Beauty
With some people deciding to change their lifestyle and become more environmentally conscientious, this choice has resulted in a shift to a more natural way of life.
“Being environmentally friendly is becoming the norm, and as a consequence, there is a growing demand for sustainable ingredients,” said Núria Jiménez Ruiz, marketing specialist, Spain-based Lubrizol Life Science—Nutraceuticals Division, who specializes in the development and production of functional and health food ingredients. “The tides have changed; therefore, natural ingredients are more commonly consumed. Some of the ingredients that are gaining popularity are caffeine, algae products, turmeric, CBD, vitamins, etc. Instead, many of the chemicals that have been used so far are creating a lot of controversy, such as parabens, polyethylene glycols and sulfates.”
Interestingly enough, Guy Woodman, general manager with Pennsylvania EuroMed USA, Inc., pointed out that customers actually gravitate toward products containing ingredients that are already part of their diet. Euromed offers Pomanox, a natural extract that is obtained from pomegranate (Punica granatum) that’s grown in Spain.
“Consumers are drawn to supplements with ingredients they can recognize as part of their normal diet,” said Woodman. “Euromed has focused on producing a line of Mediterranean origin fruit and vegetable extracts, like Pomanox that avoid unfamiliar chemical-sounding names.”
Washington-based Bergstrom Nutrition manufactures OptiMSM, its own branded form of MSM (methylsulfonylmethane) that offers healthy skin benefits.
“OptiMSM, has maintained its status as the top-selling MSM product and is not just a trend by being easy to formulate with, stable at high temperatures, water-soluble, odorless and without pH restrictions,” said Tim Hammond, the company’s vice president of sales & marketing. “And its thorough and extensive safety testing has earned its GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status with a letter of non-objection from the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration).
“OptiMSM has also shown synergy with other ingredients and is a very cost-effective way of adding a proven safe, recognized branded and proven effective ingredient to a beauty formulation.” He also noted that the company’s ingredient supports the extra-cellular matrix (ECM), the meshwork of collagen and elastin that keeps the skin looking healthy.
It might come as no surprise that collagen, one that is often the first that comes to mind when thinking of skin health, is relevant in this sector—now, it is being paired with carotenoids.
“One exciting area is the potential for synergy between different ingredients, for example collagen and carotenoids,” said Laurentia Guesman, product manager, carotenoid formulations, New Jersey-based Lycored. “Consumers understand collagen’s benefits and have long integrated it into their beauty routines. Now, they’re looking for new ingredients that can support it. Carotenoids, which help influence overall skin appearance and balance skin’s natural collagen levels, are the perfect partner.”
Beyond that pairing, collagen derived from fish has also gained popularity.
“Collagen is still a big deal, so is biotin, vitamin C, E and hyaluronic acid. I think the core skin health ingredients have remained pretty consistent, but in the collagen sector, marine/fish-derived collagen is definitely trending more powerfully than the bovine convention,” noted Shavon Jackson-Michel, ND, director of medical & scientific affairs, New Jersey-based DolCas Biotech, LLC.
In High Demand
Overall, the general consensus for the healthy skin market is positive, but its success can be attributed to a variety of different factors, including brands more catered to personal care.
“I see consistent growth in the beauty-from-within category,” Hammond predicted. “That said, I believe the drivers of innovation and growth within the beauty space will be beauty/personal care marketers and manufacturers, as opposed to traditional dietary supplement brands. They will likely utilize online marketing, social media and influencers to reach and extend the audience.”
Consumer knowledge and understanding of product ingredients has also been a contributing factor to establishing ingredient popularity.
“Awareness of the skin health benefits of ingredients such as carotenoids has increased hugely in recent years,” Guesman said. “This is true for consumers (as well as the scientific community), and it’s helped make the concept of ingestible skin care mainstream. Growing demand in beauty-from-within applications is one of the reasons we’ve just announced a major increase in our lycopene production.”
But when it comes to supplements specifically, beauty and skin products are leaving quite a footprint.
“Euromonitor International data from 2017 to 2018 reported a 61 percent increase in U.S. beauty supplement sales—this exceeded that of France and placed the U.S. in the sixth biggest market globally,” Woodman said. “In evaluating new product claims, another market research firm, Mintel stated that beauty-enhancing claims of ‘anti-aging’ comprised 4 percent of all supplement new product launches. Products claiming to improve skin, hair and nails consisted of 12 percent of all supplement new product launches. Ingredients for skin health are growing in demand globally; this is driven by consumer interest in overall health as a reflection of their physical appearance. Euromonitor’s Global Beauty Survey found that more than 50 percent of Millennials believe looking healthy is an important attribute of beauty. Only 32 percent of them reported that a youthful appearance is essential to look attractive.”
Woodman also added that customers do not expect these improvements to happen overnight, saying, “Consumer expectations are that skin health supplements will not provide instantaneous results but rather must be consumed over time. The condition of the skin, the largest organ in the human body, is ultimately the first indicator of one’s age. It is essential to thermoregulation, sensation, storage of fats and water, and a barrier against infection. It is also important to self-esteem as an important component of one’s physical appearance. Chronologic aging and associated skin changes motivate consumers to seek out nutritional solutions to improve the appearance of their skin. Supplement users are aspirational and expect to feel and observe an improvement in the physical appearance of their skin when investing in nutritional supplements. Supplements containing research verified efficacious ingredients can be expected to increase in demand in the coming years due to this ‘see the difference’ correlation.”
The global market for the skin care ingredients is expected to grow, partially due to the popularity of the ingestible market, as Guesman referenced.
“According to the latest report by IMARC Group,” Jiménez Ruiz said, “the global skin care products market size reached $134 billion (U.S.) in 2019. The market is projected to reach a value of $168 billion (U.S.) by 2025, growing at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 3.8 percent during the forecast period (2020-2025). One of the biggest trends in the natural health sector is ‘edible beauty’ (dietary supplements, nutrition and foods for anti-aging, skin health and beauty).”
However, with the current challenges surrounding COVID-19, the ultimate test will be seeing how the sector handles the task of preparing for what the post pandemic can bring.
“Prior to the pandemic, the ‘inside-out beauty’/healthy skin category was being carried by collagen,” Jackson-Michel said. “The projections for collagen growth going into the 2020 were quite high, with fish collagen in particular being named as the No. 1 trend by www.CosmeticsBusiness.com. However, it seems that transparency will become the biggest driver of this category post-COVID, given the rippling effects of the pandemic on the economy. Beauty/healthy skin has always been a niche sector, accounting for a meager 1 to 2 percent in any major dietary supplement market because it is considered exceptionally discretional spending. This said, as consumers are projected to cut back on more preferential spending, if they remain consumers of the skin health category, they are expected to be more unwilling than ever to be deceived by influencer-driven promotions. They will demand transparency, value, convenience and proof of efficacy. Formulators will really have to work hard to find that sweet spot and brands will have to speak to this demand loud and clear.”
Supporting Research
For more than two decades, Lycored has invested time in conducting trials that help demonstrate all that carotenoids have to offer.
“We’ve spent over 20 years researching the benefits of carotenoids,” Guesman said. “Our most recent clinical study showed that Lycoderm, our proprietary blend of tomato phytonutrients and rosemary leaf, can bring about significant improvements to skin health and appearance. The study found that it benefits overall skin condition as well as visibly boosting radiance and reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles. At the end of the study, the Lycoderm group saw a 5.6 percent reduction in wrinkle severity, while those taking a placebo saw no significant effect. A similar trend was observed for fine lines. The vast majority (80.6 percent) of subjects taking Lycoderm also reported that their skin felt smoother.”1
According to Woodman, Euromed has completed several independent studies to test its whole fruit pomegranate extract, Pomanox. These studies include prevention and regeneration after skin photoaging.
He noted, “Initial tests on skin cells suggest preventative treatment with Pomanox can modulate collagen and hyaluronic acid metabolism and provide a protective effect from UV-induced oxidative damage.” Woodman explained that research has evolved in the sense that “There has been significant research in the area of photoaging and photo-carcinogenesis and the important role of dietary constituents like polyphenols. Pomegranate extracts like Pomanox contain one of the largest polyphenols, punicalagins, and may counteract the effect of UV irradiation on DNA, the level of skin antioxidant activity and immune activity.”
DolCas has seen positive results with Morikol, its branded form of tripeptide marine collagen.
“Our 15 percent tripeptide fish collagen hydrolysate is supported by two clinical studies, one for beauty/skin health and the other for joint support,” Jackson-Michel said. “Our double-blind placebo-controlled skin health study found 10X reduced wrinkles over placebo upon clinical inspection by dermatologists over 12 weeks, three times increased hydration, six times reduced roughness and a doubling of elasticity over the same time. Some results were significant as early as six weeks and this is with only 1 g/day.”
Research has also allowed Bergstrom Nutrition’s OptiMSM to show how multifaceted it can be.
“Researchers studying the effects of nutritional supplements on skin health confirmed OptiMSM reduces visible signs of aging on the skin. In the recent study published in the February issue of the International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research, authors used a two-phase approach to show how OptiMSM—Bergstrom Nutrition’s branded methylsulfonylmethane (MSM)—reduced visible signs of skin aging. The research highlighted that an oral dose of as low as 1 gram of OptiMSM per day is effective in reducing visual signs of skin aging, including wrinkles and skin texture, plus MSM demonstrated improvements in skin hydration, firmness and elasticity.
“Dietary supplement brands have been successfully and safely formulating with MSM for years. Hair, skin and nail products benefit from OptiMSM’s ability to support the structural integrity of the skin, plus MSM and its sulfur content have long been considered a valued ingredient in dermatology. Bergstrom Nutrition and OptiMSM have also received several health claims from Health Canada’s ‘Natural and Non-prescription Health Products Directorate.’ Two of the notable claims regarding OptiMSM include: ‘helps to maintain skin health’ and ‘helps to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.’”
And this array of conducted research has expanded the scope of what skin health entails—it has allowed other beneficial compounds for skin to come to light, such as curcumin.
“A growing focus on the microbiome’s relationship to broader skin health, which has led to an explosion of probiotic skincare brands, also supports research and investment in custom skin care applications and systems,” Jiménez Ruiz concluded. “In addition, cosmetic preferences have switched over the past decade from classic to botanical ingredients such as curcumin, which can be used to treat a variety of dermatological diseases and for the prevention and treatment of damage caused by UV rays. Antioxidant properties of curcumin have shown to reduce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cells and eliminate the effects of advanced glycation species (AGEs) on the divergent regulation of gene expression of receptors of AGEs by several mechanisms. Furthermore, curcumin has been shown to delay the skin aging by protecting its structures and proteins such as collagen and elastin from oxidative and inflammatory damages.” NIE
Reference:
1 Tarshish, E., Hermoni, K. & Schwartz, S.R. Effect of Oral Supplement “Lycopene” On Reducing the Signs of Skin Ageing. Clinical Pharmacology and Biopharmaceutics, 2020.
For More Information:
Bergstrom Nutrition., https://bergstromnutrition.com/
DolCas Biotech, LLC., http://dolcas-biotech.com/
Euromed USA, Inc., www.euromedusa.com/
Lubrizol Life Science—Nutraceuticals Division, www.lipofoods.com
Lycored, www.lycored.com
