Hair Care

What B2B cosmetics companies need to know about e-commerce

08-Nov-2023 By Cassandra Stern

Amazon and Walmart’s digital storefronts comprise almost half US e-Commerce sales for beauty and personal care products, making it increasingly important that B2B manufacturers and suppliers to these industries understand how to navigate ingredient formulation...

Apply now: The Workshop at Macy’s accelerator program

08-Nov-2023 By Cassandra Stern

Brands accepted into The Workshop at Macy’s program will receive retail mentorship support, the opportunity to open a pop-up shop on Macy’s digital retail store, a $5,000 business grant, and the chance to enter the Macy’s pitch competition and win a $100,000...

Estée Lauder results underlines weakness in key Asian businesses

07-Nov-2023 By Simon Pitman

Prestige beauty player Estée Lauder has revealed the extent of its current challenges after posting fourth-quarter results showing that net sales declined by 10%, sending stock prices to a six-year low.

UEBT targets the North American beauty supply chain

02-Nov-2023 By Simon Pitman

Based in Switzerland, the Union of Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) has traditionally worked with European beauty supply chain businesses and brands, but that is now changing.

Estée Lauder Companies Q1 global sales down -10%; lowered forecast

02-Nov-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Estée Lauder Companies global sales fell by -10% for Q1 2024, reaching $3.52bn for its opening quarter.

SCC announces 2023 prestigious award winners

31-Oct-2023 By Simon Pitman

The Society of Cosmetics Chemists has announced it annual prestigious awards for cosmetic chemist professionals, ahead of the 77th Annual Scientific Meeting, to be held in New York City.

Clariant set to acquire Lucas Meyer Cosmetics

30-Oct-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

The Swiss multinational plans to buy Lucas Meyer Cosmetics from IFF and the deal is expected to close in early 2024.

Unilever reveals "action plan" amid underperforming Q3 results & sells Dollar Shave Club

26-Oct-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Although Beauty & Personal Care sectors saw strong results, Unilever will change its strategy with a new focus, new appointments, plus sale of the Dollar Shave Club.

"Carbon is only part of the story": biodiversity loss takes the spotlight

24-Oct-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Biodiversity loss is a key environmental issue for the planet and one that the cosmetics industry will need to pay more attention to going forward…

FDA proposes ban on cancer-causing chemicals in hair relaxers

24-Oct-2023 By Olivia DeSmit

Certain hair relaxers and smoothers contain formaldehyde or other harmful chemicals, a press release by Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley states*. The FDA has announced a potential ban on these chemicals.

The Sustainable Beauty Awards finalists are...

18-Oct-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Ahead of the upcoming show, Weleda’s head of sustainability talks eco issues. Plus, we reveal the Sustainable Beauty Awards finalists.

Antimicrobial enzyme first step in replacing petrochemicals: Q&A

18-Oct-2023 By Olivia DeSmit

Curie Co, an industrial biotech company, is on a mission to replace petrochemicals with biomaterials that are affordable and effective. The first step of that is the launch of an antimicrobial enzyme, which functions as a catalytic preservative. It’s...

Amazon Prime consumers are eyeing discounted holiday season beauty gifts

18-Oct-2023 By Simon Pitman

Ahead of Amazon’s Autumn Prime Big Deal Day event, Nielsen IQ survey results showed that consumers had skincare and haircare products at the top of their lists, while many respondents were considering beauty products as gifts ahead of the holiday season.

Hydrolyzed pea protein offers softer, stronger hair: Sensient Beauty Q&A

17-Oct-2023 By Olivia DeSmit

A new hydrolyzed pea protein ingredient, Sensibiopro Pea Protein, helps improve moisture retention in hair strands, resulting in stronger and softer hair.

Madison Reed builds on successful omni-channel approach

17-Oct-2023 By Cassandra Stern & Simon Pitman

Direct-to-consumer beauty players ruled the waves during the COVID-19 Pandemic, but as consumers flocked back to physical stores after lockdown many players in this category found themselves racing to realign their retail strategies.

3 insider insights: expert trends for the future of beauty

16-Oct-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

The trends and movements that beauty and personal care brands should watch closely...

Plant Surfactants may offer alternatives to synthetic shampoo ingredients

12-Oct-2023 By Olivia DeSmit

Surfactant-rich extracts from quinoa, soybean, and acerola cherry may not only be alternatives to synthetic surfactants in shampoo, but also offer better cleaning power, says a new study.

Redesigning a household name: behind Avon’s rebrand

11-Oct-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Why did the heritage brand decide to overhaul its visual identity? We spoke to Nick Vaus, the creative director at the agency behind the new look…

What it takes to get gender neutral beauty right

11-Oct-2023 By Cassandra Stern & Simon Pitman

The gender-neutral skincare market has been one of fastest growing sub categories in recent years, but a flood of sophisticated and well curated brands means that competition is now tough in this space.

Non-medicated shampoo can help promote healthy scalp: Henkel study

11-Oct-2023 By Olivia DeSmit

Shampoos without antimicrobials can contribute to a healthy scalp, a study in the International Journal of Cosmetic Science found. The study showed two different commercial shampoos resulted in increased structural bacterial diversity on the scalp, showing...

Locus Ingredients targets sustainable palm oil alternatives

05-Oct-2023 By Cassandra Stern & Simon Pitman

As a 100% biobased biosurfactant ingredient provider, Locus Ingredients is gearing up to make a big splash in the beauty and personal care space by targeting the massive market for surfactants.

Microbiome misinformation: Tame down on excessive use of hype or risk consumer burnout – expert

05-Oct-2023 By Hui Ling Dang

Skin microbiome may be the talk of the town in recent times, but founder of Aussie cosmetics brand Mary Grace, has warned against excessive use of “hype words”, as consumers could grow fatigue of the trend before it fully takes off.

Formulating next-generation feminine care with a microbiome focus

04-Oct-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Carole Gherardi, Market Segment Lead for Personal Care at IFF, and Maider Gutierrez, Global Health Category Leader at IFF, reveal more about the evolution of this market and new opportunities for brands.

Gallinée founder: ‘The microbiome space is perfect for the deep trends in beauty’

04-Oct-2023 By Stephen Daniells

Advances in our understanding of the skin microbiome and the gut-skin axis are opening up “a lot of possibilities in a market that can sometimes feel saturated”, says Marie Drago, founder of Gallinée.

Retinol with no BHA and BHT fills consumer 'well-aging' demand

03-Oct-2023 By Olivia DeSmit

BASF launched a new grade of retinol, Retinol 50, that complies with industry clean lists and fits current consumer needs. The product has a high active load of about 50% retinol, similar to other retinol offerings, but without harmful ingredients BHA...

Beauty shoppers paying more attention to ingredients than price: Study

28-Sep-2023 By Olivia DeSmit

Online beauty shoppers care more about ingredients than price, according to a new e-commerce study by logistics and transportation company Ryder System, Inc.

Decoding Gen Z: what’s driving this consumer cohort now?

27-Sep-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Generation Z can be vocal, but their words don’t always align with their actions when it comes to buying beauty products. We spoke to EY’s Marcie Merriman to find out more…

What it takes to bring a Greek haircare brand to the US

27-Sep-2023 By Simon Pitman

Mitigating the impact of climate-related challenges for natural ingredients supply

26-Sep-2023 By Simon Pitman

With climate-related incidences causing havoc worldwide on a seemingly daily basis, we decided to take a closer look at what impact weather extreme is having on plant-derived ingredients supply.

How AI software is helping DTC beauty brands to shine

26-Sep-2023 By Cassandra Stern & Simon Pitman

As the Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) beauty market continues to carve out a bigger share of the retail landscape, using the right tools to fine tune digital retail platforms has become make or break.

“I'm hoping for greater diversity in innovation.” Eco-specialist futurologist shares insights

25-Sep-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

Innovation consultant Monique Large shared her views on the future of sustainability and gave a sneak peek of what she’ll be discussing at the upcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit.

Cosmetics companies set to finance additional treatment costs for micro-pollutants in water

22-Sep-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

As the European Parliament’s ENVI committee voted for a report that will attribute extra costs to the cosmetics industry, the trade organisation Cosmetics Europe said it had "a number of concerns”.

PowerReviews survey underscores the importance of product reviews and sampling

20-Sep-2023 By Cassandra Stern & Simon Pitman

A new survey focusing on beauty consumer trends from PowerReviews underscores the importance of securing good online product ratings and reviews, while also pointing to the importance of hitting the right spot with sampling, including finding the right...

PowerReviews survey highlights strong pockets of consumer spending

19-Sep-2023 By Cassandra Stern & Simon Pitman

A new PowerReviews survey focusing on beauty consumer trends underscores how the spending patterns of some consumers groups are still showing an upward trajectory, despite many household budgets continuing to be squeezed in the last couple of years.

India insights: Estée Lauder, L’Oréal on trends and developments in India’s beauty market

19-Sep-2023 By Amanda Lim

We round up the most recent developments in India featuring news from Estée Lauder, L’Oreal, Nykaa, SUGAR Cosmetics and more.

Free webinar explores the opportunity of Inclusive Beauty

18-Sep-2023 By Stephen Daniells

An upcoming webinar will explore how far the beauty and cosmetics industry has come in inclusive beauty, as well as what still needs to be done.

ESW study stresses how Millennial and Gen Z’s curiosity is determined by value

14-Sep-2023 By Cassandra Stern and Simon Pitman

A recent study by DTC ecommerce data company ESW stresses how Millennial and Gen Z consumers are willing to explore international destinations, but will still stop short if the price tag is considered to be too high or a brand is not being truly authentic.

New frontier: Why ‘quality’ Asian beauty brands are seeing signs of success in the US

13-Sep-2023 By Amanda Lim

The US beauty market could potentially be fertile ground for Asian cosmetic brands which are valued for their efficacy, innovation, and unique approaches to beauty.

Brazil paves the way to end animal testing throughout LATAM

12-Sep-2023 By Cassandra Stern & Simon Pitman

To find out more about the state of animal testing in Brazil, Cosmetics Design USA spoke with Dr. Gavin Maxwell, safety science advocacy lead at Unilever’s Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre, who discusses how progress is being made towards non-animal...

Brand story: Updates from Aveda, Coty, Yatsen and more top beauty brands

12-Sep-2023 By Amanda Lim

We round up our most-read stories on the top beauty brands, featuring news updates from Aveda, Coty, Yatsen and more.

Ancient beauty ingredients that are seeing a comeback

08-Sep-2023 By Kirsty Doolan

With more consumer focus on the revival of ancient beauty rituals, we share some of the latest offerings from ingredients companies based around these age-old beauty favourites.

Cosmetic and PBC distributors ChemSolv and Chemisphere announce IPG joint distribution platform

31-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

Integrity Partners Group will expand operations for distribution companies to serve cosmetics and PBC product manufacturers better across the US and internationally.

International cosmetic ingredient supplier Provital launches North America subsidiary

30-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

Provital’s latest subsidiary, Provital USA, is a key part of the company’s plan to ‘expand its global presence’ by focusing on the US and Canada as ‘strategic priorities’ with ‘tremendous growth opportunities.’

Prestige beauty brand Madison Reed launches into Walmart stores

29-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

The decade old brand, known for its diverse range of hair color options, has just announced it will now be available in over 1,500 Walmart stores and online.

Joon Haircare says entry into SEA salon channels important to cement ‘legitimacy’

29-Aug-2023 By Amanda Lim

US-based Joon Haircare is seeking distribution among South East Asian hair salons to reinforce its position as a professional-level hair care brand.

Coils, Cash, and Culture: New podcast examines economic & cultural impact of textured hair care space

23-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

The new podcast seeks to provide insights on all aspects of the textured hair care industry from hair care professionals to product creators and consumers.

Dow Personal Care debuts inclusive, accessible cosmetic & PBC product collection

22-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

The ECOllaboration 2.0 Concepts Collection includes an accessible mascara, gender neutral hair spray, and hair serum for grey hair types to offer more inclusive products for consumers who need them most.

Beauty & wellness consumer tech company projects net revenue increase following strong Q2 2023 growth

22-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

Following an investment in AI-driven molecule discovery firm Revela and a strong initial public stock offering earlier this year, Tel-Aviv based Oddity Tech Ltd. is now projecting a 6-8% increase in net profit over its initial 2023 forecast.

ClearForMe platform bridges ingredient transparency gap between cosmetic & PBC product manufacturers and consumers

15-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

The company’s technology provides ‘personalized sales enablement’ to bring ingredient transparency directly to the consumer in a ‘consumable, easy, and actionable way’ which benefits manufacturers seeking to better reach consumers and directly address...

Synthetic biotech company Amyris files Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid organizational & financial restructuring

15-Aug-2023 By Cassandra Stern

The company, which has made significant industry impact through its Lab-to-Market technology leveraging 'state-of-the-art machine learning, robotics and artificial intelligence, enabling the company to rapidly bring new innovation to market at commercial...