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Inside the Beauty Ingredient Shakeup

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Biobased Ingredients Usher in the Era of High-performance Clean Beauty

Bio-based solutions meet consumer demand for safe, effective and eco-friendly products and offer a path forward for conventional clean brands in a dermocosmetic-dominated era.

BASF has launched a new synthetic peptide for skin care that aligns with the slow aging trend.

New Beauty Ingredients: from Pro-aging to Ingestible Sun Defense

To keep beauty innovators up on the latest technologies, Global Cosmetic Industry and Cosmetics & Toiletries prepare ingredient trend bulletins breaking down the latest emerging technologies, clinicals and more.

Per Gattefossé, the sunscreens have been tested in real-use conditions and utilized a UV camera to visualize the formula once applied to the skin, as well as how it evolves over time.

Gattefossé Launches Sun Care Kit for Sensory, Performance and Stability

Per Gattefossé, the sunscreens have been tested in real-use conditions utilizing a UV camera to visualize the formulas upon application to the skin, as well as how they evolve over time.

Among the trends emerging in 2024, increasing numbers of firms are leveraging plants as bio-factories for new beauty ingredients.

Top 2024 Beauty Ingredient Trends

This is just a fragment of the trends we witnessed at the shows this year.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (ELC) has boosted its high-performance and sustainable technologies via new research partnerships and by bringing some production in-house.

Inside The Estée Lauder Companies' Ingredient Innovation Race

The MIT work has focused on the "development of biodegradable materials for cosmetic applications and [the exploration of] new solutions to combat the effects of visible light from the sun."

“Sunscreen is poised to see a sensorial shakeup,” says Michelle Chavez, vice president of innovation, Accupac. “Rather than traditional sunscreens, we will start to see the entrance of 'fun-screens,' UV protectants that drive engagement and that consumers want to use every day.”

The 2024 Sun Care Agenda

From fun-screen to multifuctional claims and enhanced performance, sun defense has entered a more dynamic era.

New ingredient technologies are improving the spreadability and transparency of sun care products.

SPF Everything

Sun care's skinification has led to a boom in multifunctional SPF products, even as sunscreen formulations become better than ever.

From AI-driven discoveries to plant-based ingredients and preservative-free solutions, the beauty industry is innovating sustainability and product performance.

Advanced Beauty Ingredients & Cutting Edge Claims

The beauty industry is at the forefront of innovation, advancing both sustainability and product performance through cutting-edge solutions. Key developments include AI-driven discoveries, plant-based ingredients, and preservative-free formulations.

In 2022, Lignopure commissioned the first GMP-compliant plant for lignin conversion, reportedly achieving the ability to recycle 90,000 kg of lignin annually.

Lignopure Secures New Investment to Expand Upcycled Lignin Ingredient Portfolio

LignoBase's "unique polyphenolic molecular structure" reportedly supports its ability to defend the skin from free radicals and antioxidant activity. It is therefore applicable as an SPF booster in formulations.

Beauty Accelerate will tap into emerging ingredients and claims, with a focus on efficacy and substantiation.

💧Beauty Ingredients & Claims in the Spotlight: Experts Speak Out🧪

Validated Claim Support will be on hand to assist brands in making their marketing claims stick. The clinical research company helps to back marketing claims through scientific data collection and custom tailored studies.

Supplier Innovations Wanted: Enter the 2026 C&T Allēs to Showcase Your Beauty Breakthroughs

Calling all beauty and personal care suppliers! Enter the 2026 C&T Allē Awards to spotlight your latest innovation. From actives to prototypes, test methods to ingredient blends — show the industry how you're shaping the future. Submissions now open!

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Future-Ready Skin

Precision actives, sustainable performance, visible results—skincare engineered at its core.

'We are so thrilled to partner with Ulta to bring to life our world-first Australian SPF innovation,' says Sam Brett, Naked Sunday's CEO and founder. 'Our consumers have long been asking us for a destination where they can buy our products locally.'

Naked Sundays Rides Beauty's Sunification Wave into Ulta

Sam Brett, Naked Sundays' CEO and founder, notes, "The Ulta shopper is extremely sophisticated when it comes to beauty choices and specifically around sun protection, so we thought it the perfect home for Naked Sundays."

Savor skincare products: amber glass jar, dropper bottle, and clear glass spheres

Carbon-to-Cream: Savor Leverages Food-Tech Platform to Enter Beauty Ingredients

Using proprietary thermochemical processes and inputs like captured CO₂, green hydrogen and methane, Savor can tune fatty acid profiles for consistency and performance, a persistent pain point for plant-derived oils.

The 'beautyspan' refers to the duration of one’s skin and hair health/wellness, centering the discussion on holistic, preventive and regenerative strategies, rather than solely aesthetic solutions.

The Beautyspan: Biohacking Longevity (Ingredient Trend Tracker)

“Today’s longevity-boosting ingredients are designed to tackle the root causes of aging at a cellular level.”

According to a May 2024 Exploding Topics Report, “Search volume for ‘sustainable beauty’ is up more than 200% since 2019.” At the same time, clinical beauty has begun to eclipse pure-play “clean” beauty.

Future-forward Sustainable Beauty Ingredients: What's Next?

New innovation is merging performance and eco-friendly credentials to generate consumer-winning claims across categories.

Consumer demands for holistic SPF-infused beauty are shifting rapidly, encompassing new formats, emerging claims and much more. How can brands tap into these trends and capture market share?

The Sunification of Beauty: Top Innovation Opportunities for 2024-2025

New ingredients, claims and consumer preferences are shaping multifunctional product innovation for UV defense.