Many facets of sun protection: COSSMA

Interview with:
Dr Reto Peirano, Lab Manager Global
Formula Development Nivea Sun,
Beiersdorf Hamburg, Germany
www.beiersdorf.com

COSSMA: What are the most important product trends in the field of sun care?

Dr Reto Peirano, Lab Manager Global Formula Development Nivea Sun, Beiersdorf: The most important quality a sun care product has to offer is still reliable protection from harmful solar rays, namely UVA and UVB rays. This is, and remains, the number 1 priority for such a product. Besides that, there are many different consumer preferences that need to be taken into account when developing new products. The most important aspects are the formula galenics, especially spreadability, as well as easy and fast absorption, water resistance, and the packaging application format, which is highly consumer-relevant as well. All of this needs to be ideally combined with appealing formula claim properties that offer an additional and perceivable benefit for the consumer and that resonate with the consumers own preferences.

Beiersdorf spent over 5 years researching what happens to the skin during the tanning process. Photo: Irina Bg/Shutterstock.com

What is currently the strongest trend?

The strongest trend we are witnessing now is certainly the sustainability. There is a growing awareness among consumers with regard to responsible resource usage and the environment-related features of products. Regarding product packaging, for instance, the reduction of packaging material, as well as the use of recyclable and recycled materials is key. For sun care formulas, any new developments need to take into account the impacts that might be caused by individual raw materials, especially UV filters, on our environment. As sun care products are used to a very high extent in a holiday and beach environment, the potential impact on the marine environment needs to be closely assessed. More and more, there are first legislative efforts to take these factors into account, with the most prominent example being the Hawaiian reef bill on the usage restriction of the UV filters octinoxate and oxybenzone. This contributes to the increased general awareness of consumers towards this topic.

Sustainability is a complex issue and requires interdisciplinary approaches. At our company with our global sun care brand Nivea, we work with the latest findings to successfully drive more sustainable innovations. We are in intensive exchanges with scientists, sustainability experts and our suppliers to help improve and ensure the environmental compatibility of our sun products. Research into UV filters and their environmental impact is still in its early stages, however, and has so far mainly been conducted in laboratories. Therefore, there is no scientific clarity as yet on the extent to which UV filters impact coral reefs and the wider marine environment under real life conditions. We are assessing our portfolio of ingredients for their possible effects on the environment. Of course, human safety and skin tolerability have priority, but when developing our formulas, we not only take the product performance but also our environmental concerns into consideration.

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