Reporting from the 2013 Cosmoprof North America, Kline & Company's Carrie Mellage, director of consumer products, wrote a blog post, "Bee is for Beauty: Buzz from Cosmoprof North America," citing trends from the event, including one that seem to stick out—bees.
Mellage writes, "Within the hive of activity at Cosmoprof North America held in Las Vegas July 14–16 was a florid melody of bold nail shades, a swarm of keratin-inspired products, and international brands hailing from Brazil to Turkey.
"There were many enticing opportunities to catch one’s attention. However, something different caught the eye of the Kline team. In the Discover Beauty pavilion, which is devoted to distinctive and emerging brands from around the world and featured brands such as African Botanics, Greenland, Jenetiqa, Manuka Doctor, Marilou Bio, MD Solar Sciences, Million Dollar Hair, Mirabella, Skin&Co Roma and VitaMan, we spotted a particularly bee-utiful trend without the sting! Essentially, bee-sourced products made us wonder whether this trend is re-emerging as a key skin care ingredient.
"Roxanne Quimby and Burt Shavitz of Burt’s Bees fame may have long ago introduced the power of these fuzzy insect friends to the world of beauty, but what we saw at Cosmoprof had some new and interesting twists:
"Manuka Doctor, a brand hailing from clean-living New Zealand, uses purified bee venom, or so called “Nature’s Botox,” to purportedly offer a variety of anti-aging benefits in its vast array of products. They have developed a range of formulations based on two key ingredients: Certified Manuka Honey, known for healing and moisturizing, and its own patented Purified Bee Venom—a refined, concentrated and 100% bee-friendly ingredient that claims to nurture cell regeneration and encourage collagen production.
"Rodial, a U.K. brand, likewise featured a bee venom collection, which is said to include active ingredients to instantly plump and rejuvenate skin of all ages. The key ingredient purports to improve skin by setting off an elaborate chain reaction. 'Your brain thinks that [you've been] bitten and it sends back a signal that the skin needs to heal itself,' elaborates Maria Hatzistefanis, Rodial’s founder.
"Honey bee venom is used to fool the skin into thinking it has been lightly stung by the toxin melittin. This causes the body to direct blood toward the area, stimulating the production of collagen and elastin. According to Rodial’s website, in its trials involving 14 women aged between 50 and 59, all the volunteers said the bee venom cream improved the texture of their skin, reduced lines and wrinkles, and left them appearing 'visibly more youthful.'
"Iden International featured a range of hair and scalp therapy products featuring bee propolis. This unique ingredient is collected by honey bees from tree buds, sap flowers, and other botanical sources, and is said to offer a multitude of benefits for hair, scalp and skin. Iden combines bee propolis with pure botanical extracts to offer a comprehensive range of hair and scalp therapies.
"Bee venom, honey and propolis—beauty has new wings, and these innovative companies have certainly been busy bees and are taking the sting out of hair and skin beauty enhancement," Mellage concluded.
