Conscious Beauty: COSSMA

The demands customers have on their skin care products have changed. Those who buy anti-aging products are getting younger and younger. Francesca Pascucci and Volker Rosenberger also talk about other trends and innovative solutions.

Interview with:

Francesca Pascucci
global marketing manager
Skin Care

Volker Rosenberger
global marketing manager
Skin Care, both DSM,
Kaiseraugst, Switzerland,

https://www.dsm.com/personalcare

COSSMA: What are the most significant consumer trends in skincare now?

Francesca Pascucci: We’ve carried out a couple of in-depth market studies in the past 18 months and can now see strands from two key trends coming together. There’s the trend for medical beauty, with people willing to embrace cutting-edge science and technology to achieve the looks they desire. This covers cosmetic procedures, such as injectables, but also cosmeceuticals – non-invasive but high efficacy, premium skincare solutions. At the same time, though, demand for cleaner, natural, and socially and environmentally responsible skincare is also growing. Look at the momentum of vegan beauty for example. In a nutshell, thanks to digital technology, people are becoming more knowledgeable and more discerning about what goes into their skincare products. Today’s consumers wantto understand exactly how and why individual actives and ingredients work on the skin. On top of this, broader environmental, health, and societal concerns are also influencing decision making. They require transparent information about how sustainably and ethically different ingredients are sourced or produced, too. We call this phenomenon “Conscious Beauty”.

What kind of skincare solutions or technologies could respond to these trends?

Francesca Pascucci: Synthetic, small molecular weight peptides tick most of the “Conscious Beauty” boxes. These active compounds have a known mode of action and deliver proven results by working within the skin and mimicking its natural processes. This makes them an excellent response to the medical beauty trend, and they are recognised as a “clean” option. What’s more, their design and production process is highly sustainable, and they also meet the criteria for vegan products. At DSM we use molecular modelling, a tool new to cosmetics. Initially from the world of pharma, molecular modeling identifies the potential structural features behind a molecule’s biological activity and takes this as the basis for creating effective skin care actives. We begin by designing and modelling biologically relevant molecules in silico, synthesize them, then test small libraries of compounds to identify the most effective. This technique reduces costs and development time.

It also helps us understand how products perform at the molecular level, giving us further insights into how different skin actives work within the skin.

figure 1. The comparison between expression

Do you see any new potential for peptides in the anti-ageing market?

Francesca Pascucci: One manifestation of the medical beauty trend is that information-savvy younger generations are proactively seeking preventive anti-ageing solutions, much earlier stage. Baby boomers used to start using anti-ageing products around the age of 47; today, the average age is 26. Having noticed this trend, we spoke with consumers via our Consumer Insights Hub and it became clear that many younger women assume they will age facially in a similar way to their mothers. Some even told us that where they could see mimic and expression lines on their own faces, their mothers had developed more defined wrinkles. We found this interesting so decided to carry out a new study involving both women in the 50-65 age group and in the 21-35 age group, some who were actual mothers and daughters, using a tripeptide¹. This active is proven to reduce the appearance of mimic wrinkles by helping the skin to relax from within.

Our latest findings show that it can also help delay the progression of mimic wrinkles if used at an earlier stage in life.

figure 2. Result after four weeks in-vivo study with a tripep-tide

What have been your most exciting developments in the field of skincare?

Volker Rosenberger: We all know that dealing with dry skin can be an uphill battle. It’s important to use good facial and body moisturizers, but it’s equally important to find a proper cleansing product. The problem is that cleansing can strip moisture from your skin, impair skin barrier function and impact the skin microbiome balance, leaving skin rough and tight, or maybe even reddened, scaly and itchy. In one of our recent surveys, consumers said they want to find a way to overcome these issues and that they are looking for effective skin cleansers that also provide instant and long-lasting moisturization after use. We have carried out some new studies with a natural moisturizer renowned for its moisture-magnet properties. Our findings prove that common skin cleansing formulations containing this Moisturizer¹ immediately increase skin hydration for 24 hours. We also found that, even with frequent showering, it helps reinforce the skin’s barrier while protecting against dryness.

Francesca Pascucci: We see that peptides are appealing to consumers because they work with skin’s natural processes and boost them from within. The results they bring are very effective too, so we’ve been looking for new applications beyond the anti-ageing market. From speaking to consumers via our Consumer Insights Hub, and based on a survey of more than 6,000 respondents men and women across the globe, we’ve learned that the ‘natural glow’ that comes with a suntan, and the appearance of freshness and well-being you have just after a holiday, is something people prize highly. It gives them a confidence boost, so they feel they can go without make up, and also has strong associations with looking healthy.

Consumers would like to have this look all year round. Although self-tanning products and make-up are options, the results tend to be superficial and don’t look always authentic. Tanned skin is an outcome of melanin synthesis, which is a line of defence against photo-ageing. So, we decided to see if a peptide could stimulate the tanning process at the same time as protecting the skin. Our new Pentapeptide³, has a special amino acid sequence and is a highly selective agonist of Melanocortin Receptor-1 (MC1R). We chose it from a library of more than ne hundred peptides both for its MC1R activation efficacy and ability to strengthen skin’s natural defences from within, which it does by reducing oxidative stress and boosting DNA repair.It has been proven ex-vivo and in-vivo, with clinical tests showing that it promotes a visible glow and provides a healhty complexion in just five days. These results are long-lasting too, with the benefits still visible at ten and twenty days.

figure 3. In vivo the pentapeptide delivers visible healthy tone in just five days with long-lasting effect.

What are your latest findings in the field of the facial microbiome?

Volker Rosenberger: The skin microbiome has a lot of resonance with consumers interested in more natural approaches to skin care. As a beauty concept it’s certainly gaining traction; you only need to look at the growing number of cosmetic products making specific reference to it, and the many launches of prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic ingredients. There are still many questions to explore, though, about how the skin interacts with its microbiota and which aspects of these interactions are most relevant to the world of skin care. At DSM, we’ve combined our knowledge and expertise in skin microbiology and skin science in a unique epidermal microbiome beauty approach⁴ which focuses on the interplay between the epidermis and the skin microbiome in order to explore new ways to preserve, reinforce, and restore healthy skin at its root. In 2018, for the first time in a single clinical study, our scientists demonstrated a link between changes in the composition of the skin microbiome and changes in normal, dry and oily skin. This research focused on three bacterial species which have an important impact on these skin conditions (Cutibacterium Acnes, Staphylococcus Epidermidis and Corynebacterium Kroppenstedii) and their distribution on skin before and after application of one of three actives in our current portfolio5. Our study found that treatment with these actives could have a beneficial effect on the skin barrier in normal, dry and oily skin. These effects were associated

with changes in levels of one or more of the three bacteria.

What potential do you see in the skin microbiome for the development of new ingredients?

Volker Rosenberger: It is a real opportunity for innovation. Our findings so far certainly point to promising potential for next generation skin care. We also see potential in probiotic skincare solutions. Last year DSM took an investment in and began collaborating with S-Biomedic, working with live bacteria to develop products and treatments for skin disorders and has developed a programme focusing on acneprone skin. In terms of the market, all the evidence from our trends research suggests that the microbiome will become a skincare segment in its own right. Several of DSM’s actives have been tested against these criteria and awarded this quality mark. We’re delighted with this, because as well as providing formal recognition of our innovation in this field, “Microbiome Friendly” is a label end consumers will be able to relate to. As this segment becomes more established, it’s also reassuring for our customers that DSM is ready, with microbiome skincare solutions.