Feature image copyright belongs to cosmeticsandtoiletries.com

Exhibit aisles were jam-packed with cosmetics and personal care innovators at in-cosmetics Global 2023. Some 11,000 attendees were pre-registered to attend and in Cosmetics & Toiletries’ view, they were all there — and then some.

Exhibitors were consistently busy and out in full force with a multitude innovative solutions. Here’s a brief recap of 15+ trends/terms in innovations we spotted there. (Note: This is by no means comprehensive.)

Check out all our photos in Cosmetics & Toiletries’ LinkedIn and Facebook posts, and Global Cosmetic Industry’s LinkedIn post!

1. Sustainability, Greener Processes, Circularity

• Sustainable, eco-friendly and biodegradable, natural
• Claims for vegan, nature-derived, COSMOS certified, ISO approved
• Refillable (even product samples)
• Upcycled ingredients
• Greener production processes and platforms (e.g., fermentation), especially to produce purer molecules
• Circular beauty and collaborative efforts to achieve such = future direction for this space
• CSR efforts/focus of companies
• Eco responsibility
• Local sourcing and traceability, blockchain tracing
• Plant stem cells as ingredient source
• “White biotech”
• Teaching consumers about renewability
• Designed enzyme biopolymer technology
• Carbon footprint

2. Senescence

• Autophagy to remove senescent cells
• Intercepting the signaling of harmful chemicals
• Preventing senescence/”dermohacking” senescence

See related: Activating Autophagy to Energize Hair and Eyelash Growth

3. Fermented Beauty

• Plant sugar-derived natural retinol alternative
• Fermented soy milk for anti-aging effects
• Fermented biotin as skin and hair “beauty vitamin”
• Fermented honey for gentle skin peel
• Fermented oils for antioxidant and moisturizing effects and as emulsifiers
• Fermented enzymes for odor control
• Fungus ferment to stimulate autophagy, reduce signs of aging

4. Skin Immunity/Immunology, Anti-inflammation

• Regulating skin’s defenses
• Circumventing immuno-evasion to restart senolysis
• Fermented flavonoid anti-inflammation
• Addressing inflammaging
• Addressing TEWL and redness

5. Beauty as Therapy, Wellness

• Reducing stress in skin to improve mood
• Acupuncture-inspired effects, mood lift
• Novel approach to measure user emotional response (based on abstract imagery – A.I. is involved)
• Emotion boost
• Feel-good molecules and pleasure
• “Positive beauty,” taking care of oneself without guilt
• Merging of beauty and therapy

6. Hidden Damage

• Repairing damage in hair and skin before it becomes more visible

7. Sebum and Pore Minimization

• Sebum control through new receptor
• Reducing pore size
• Diminishing pore color

8. Neurocosmetics and Sensitive Skin

• Soothing skin
• Reducing stress
• Dermocosmetics to reduce sensitive skin symptoms (e.g., improve TEWL)

9. Anti-aging, ‘Baby Botox’ and Protein Folding

• HA boost or supplement to revive skin
• Senescence approaches
• Retinol alternatives; e.g., algae-derived ingredient that works on all the same receptors except those that cause irritation
• Alternatives to “baby Botox” (Millennial trend of getting Botox treatments to stave off wrinkles, not “look like your mom”
• Peptides/cyclic peptide
• Measuring smile lines dynamically as subjects smile to assess product efficacy
• Protein folding to organize “skintropy” (i.e., sagging that occurs throughout the day making fine lines and wrinkles more pronounced late in the day)
• Collagen boost/plumping of skin
• Facial sculpting
• Addressing “tech neck” (wrinkles on the front of the neck caused by looking down at our devices)
• Preventing breakdown of native retinoic acid
• Imparting blurring effects
• Acting on advanced glycation end products (AGEs)
• Cellular beauty (acting on ATP)
• Timeless beauty
• Addressing age spots
• Pairing repair with prevention
• Phytosqualane

10. Sleep for Beauty and Skin Health

• Boosting night time skin recovery through olfactory molecules
• Boosting melatonin production to help sleep and, in turn, skin recovery
• Sleep is viewed as a “luxury” today

11. Microbiome and Holobiont

• Microbiome friendly certifications
• Microbes to address acne and pock marks
• Controlling UV-induced microbe byproducts to reduce negative effects in skin

12. Hair and Scalp Care

• Absorbing metals from water to prevent hair/scalp damage (anti-pollution)
• UV protection for hair
• Natural dandruff care
• Scalp ais the new skin care

13. Natural Thickening, Viscosity Modifying

14. Marine Sourcing

15. Optimizing Delivery for Greater Efficacy

• Pharma-grade liposomes to deliver actives

16. Honorable Mentions

• Inclusion (e.g., non-whitening products for pigmented skin), genderless products, disability-tailored solutions (formulas too, not just packaging)
• Metaverse/digital tech and research platforms/apps
• Customization
• Sensory pairing (scent and taste, music and texture), powders in sunscreen to sequester (not absorb) oil and boost efficacy, novel and unexpected textures, phase-change formulas, uniform texture and sensory performance across climates
• Promoting concepts not ingredients
• Silicones still relevant, natural/synthetic hybrids, making them more eco-friendly
• Efficacy before naturality (accept some synthetic-ness)
• Multifunctionality
• Product protection, multifunctional “preservatives,” replacing phenoxyethanol
• Regulations shaping the industry, Green Deal/European standards, sunscreen limits in U.S.
• Silicone-like ingredients
• Mineral/chemical sunscreen hybrid
• Reformatted products removing PEGs and other unwanted materials