Naturals Attract Skin Care Consumers

After years of slow but steady growth, the US facial skin care and anti-aging market experienced declining sales in 2015; however, new research from Mintel reveals that interest in natural formulations presents an opportunity for the saturated market, as trusted and easily recognizable ingredients alleviate concerns about chemicals, pollution and unfamiliar ingredients.

Natural formulations have become central to the facial skin care and anti-aging market, as major brands and niche brands alike now feature natural claims on product packaging. What’s more, consumers are interested in milder, more natural formulations and those that shield against pollution as one in seven (14 percent) agree that pollution impacts the appearance of their skin.

Consumers also view lifestyle as an important factor in their skin’s appearance, with many agreeing that factors such as hydration (44 percent) and diet (36 percent) impact skin’s appearance more than using skin care products (26 percent). Another 38 percent agree that stress impacts the appearance of their skin, and as such, 30 percent of consumers look for anti-aging products featuring anti-stress claims.

As highlighted by Mintel’s Global Beauty and Personal Care Trend Gastronomia, interest in natural beauty and personal care ingredients is on the rise, and natural product trends paired with the strong association between diet and skin is driving the emergence of food-based and probiotic facial skin care. Indeed, consumers are most likely to be using or interested in using products with vitamin C (85 percent), fruit based ingredients (78 percent), oatmeal (78 percent) and honey (76 percent). Further supporting this trend, 72 percent of consumers use or are interested in using products featuring probiotics.