IECSC: Escaping A Wrinkle In Time, MARCH, 2018

BE attended the International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conference (IECSC) held at the Javits Center in New York City on March 5, 2018. One of four held nationally, IECSC conferences reveal the latest treatment products and provide a first-hand education on spa, wellness and medi-spa techniques.

Sifting through hundreds of booths, educational seminars and presentations, BE found hidden themes and trends that were essential takeaways. The three major themes we saw are listed below. 

We hope you enjoy these discoveries as much as we did! Feel free to let us know your thoughts at info@beautyedgeinc.com

Top Treatment Craze

Microblading: Sparse eyebrows need some flair? Similar but less invasive than cosmetic tattooing, microblading is semi-permanent tattooing specific to the eyebrows. The pigment is applied manually, in strokes, instead of with a machine. Hair-like strokes are deposited within the natural existing brow to enhance and fill in. Why not toss the brow powder, pencil, and gel for a while and make the move to microblading?

Derma Planning: Jonesing for skin as smooth as a baby’s bottom? This physical exfoliation procedure uses a sterile surgical scalpel to gently shave the skin's surface, removing dead cells along with fine vellus hair (aka peach fuzz). If done properly, expect to see instant improvement in skin smoothness, tone and texture. Why go for derma planning? Procedures like this not only smooth everything over but also claim to help skin care ingredients and technologies perform better.

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 TheWrinklesEdge: Healthy looking skin

Want to smooth the happy lines and crinkles from a crazy late night? Or, maybe natural aging, sun damage, gravity and side sleeping have added some undesirable creases to your delicate facial silhouette? Brands like SILC SKIN and SioBeauty are growing in popularity with quick, easy and safe ways to reduce lines and wrinkles on the face, neck and décolleté -- with no downtime. The magic is in the high-grade medical silicone pads used to treat areas overnight. These high-tech pads create an occlusive environment and a collagen producing action that plumps and irons over rippled skin, both immediately and over time.     

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SioBeauty left image.                                                                                                                                                         SILC SKIN right image.

Bonus claims from SioBeauty: Clinical and consumer testing showed measurable results in smoothing and revitalizing treated areas. 

SioBeauty Claims:
·       Clinically proven to smooth wrinkles overnight and over time.
·       Overnight - Nearly 90% of women tested felt their skin was smoother and softer the next morning.
·       Overnight - 84% of women tested said their skin felt renewed and refreshed in the morning. 

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Looking for advanced skin treatments? Explore LED light therapy.

Another approach to skin enhancement and overall increased well-being that has been gaining traction is LED light therapy or color light therapy. LED stands for Light Emitting Diode.  The light waves emitted aren’t exactly ‘magical,’ but they do have the potential to heal the body and produce healthy skin.

The good news is that these treatments are pain-free, non-invasive and can be completed in as little as 30 minutes, depending on your skincare needs. We recommended that you always consult with your physician before beginning any LED treatment.

Color and wavelength information below referenced directly from LIGHTWAVE LED Therapy website:

Red light (wavelength 625nm-660nm) penetrates human tissue superficially, with approximately 80% of the energy being absorbed in the first 2cm. Red light energy has a significant effect on mitochondrial stimulation, which increases the production of ATP and in turn boosts fibroblast activity. This leads to an increase in cellular turnover, superficial circulation, and an anti-inflammatory emission.

Blue light (wavelength 405nm-450nm) provides a very superficial penetration even with a high- intensity narrowband light source. It is primarily absorbed by the epidermis of the skin. Once it is absorbed, blue light targets P. acnes by stimulating porphyrins which then produce intracellular singlet oxygen and thus inducing bacterial death.

Infrared (IR) light (wavelength 800nm – 900nm) energy penetrates tissue at a greater depth than the blue and red light. Approximately 50% penetrates to 8cm and decreases to less than 1% at 20cm (NASA study). Infrared energy is known to heat tissue and its effects are well documented for therapeutic pain management. For cosmetic applications, IR stimulates the NaK+ pump which increases cell membrane permeability; facilitating equilibrium of cellular pH, while increasing nutritional absorption and elimination of waste byproducts.

LED Treatment options:
>  Lines and wrinkles
>  Pigmentation
>  Scars
>  Inflammation/Rosacea
>  Loose skin on specific areas of the body like abdomen, neck or upper chest.
>  Acne, mild to moderate.
>  Psoriasis/Eczema
>  Therapeutic pain management

Another treatment new to the category is TLI (Topical Light Infusion) from the company LIGHTWAVE LED Therapy. TLI differs from LED because it safely allows topicals to be applied to the skin during treatment. TLI’s active facial infusion systems are designed to combine colors of light and photo energy with topicals to directly improve the skin.

That’s it for now! Keep a lookout for our next EdgeNotes review and feel free to share this post.

 If you’re looking for more inspiration on creating products influenced from the spa arena, contact Cherie@beautyedgeinc.com Feel free to explore further product development ideas on our website www.beautyedginc.com

PROTECTING YOUR BEAUTY BRAND AND YOURSELF: 3 KEY THOUGHTS TO KEEP IN MIND

 Imagine this:  You’ve developed your own private-label products, or perhaps you put together a few natural ingredients and are packaging your own custom formula in your facility.  You introduce the product to a long-standing client, and suddenly an allergic reaction occurs with your client or, worse yet, an infection develops after using the product. Now what?  

Having been in the product development beauty industry for years, I’ve been privy to cases where the  end product users will try to gain compensation against products they have tried on their skin, even if the formula is rigorously tested and passes all sensitivity and safety measures.  A reaction can happen. And even if you think a responsible gesture such as paying for your client’s doctor bill will cover you, it won’t. A client can sue you for damages that you never even thought of, even if they misuse the product. And unless you’re ready to back yourself up with a lawyer and court fees, the situation can put you out of business.

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Here’s three thoughts to keep in mind to help protect you when developing your own brand.

Safety. It’s best to have your formulas developed with a  reputable lab that specifically prides itself in using quality-controlled ingredients. Controlled ingredients means that the material used from batch to batch will satisfy testing standards and that there will be aesthetic consistency with your formula from batch to batch.  Once the formula is made, some safety testing measures include checking that your product helps prevent a micro environment that’s ready for bacterial growth, testing for known skin sensitivities, and testing for acceptable use around the eye area.  THE TAKEAWAY:  Test products for safety

Stability. It’s easy to add xyz ingredient to a formula, bottle it, and then put a label on it.  However, consider that each adjustment made to a specific formula will affect your overall formula ingredient list (IL) or formula balance. The product must be tested for stability so that it doesn’t separate in the long term and that it can maintain its integrity in different environmental conditions. Additionally, package compatibility helps ensure that the component will not leak any of your formula and that the formula works with the component materials.   THE TAKEAWAY:  Ensure product stability

Product Liability Protection. Search for insurance companies that not only cover you and your business but also cover you and your products. Ask “what if” situational questions. For example: What if a client decides to sue you because a product that you sold them burned their skin or caused further skin complications? According to Sara Bumby  FirstImpactNY, it’s imperative that Product Liability insurance is purchased because “Most contract manufacturer and distributors will require it to work with you. Although it is not required by  law to have product liability insurance, the importance to protect yourself from a potential lawsuit is critical, or loss of your goods. I think of it similar to Homeowners insurance, it is there to protect me for the just in case situation.”  

According to Sara, “There are two main different types of insurance in the cosmetics industry which I would recommend researching, Product Liability and Professional Liability. Product Liability for cosmetics, which includes all personal care, is a specialty insurance that not all insurance carriers cover. When researching the right company for you, let them know the type of products you want to cover with your policy first thing. This insurance is for the physical goods. It not only can help protect you from a lawsuit, but will also protect your goods in case something happens and you are in need to replace them. (Every policy is different. Reading the fine print of what will and will not be covered is critical.)”    

“Additionally, Professional liability is for people who give advice. Are you directing people on the use of the products? Could you, by an error or omission, misdirect someone in the use of a product? If so, then this may be another insurance you need to look into for yourself. Be sure to research whether this will cover you if you have a blog.” THE TAKEAWAY:  Protect yourself and your business  

Bonus point: Hire an expert to help you. Can you launch a brand on your own? Sure, yes, you can. However, like everything else, is this really the one more thing that you want to add to your plate? And how are you going to protect yourself and your brand against any potential mishaps? If you want to get your product or brand launched in a timely fashion and ensure that it is safe and stable, don’t hesitate to bring on the extra help you’ll need to source vendors, finalize the technology and formulas, and to speak in chemists’ language.

If launching your own private label brand is in your plan for 2017 or if you’d like to learn more, contact me to schedule a consultation to talk through your goals. Email Cherie@beautyedgeinc.com  Check out our site www.beautyedgeinc.com

If you’d like to learn more about quality control and global regulatory requirements, contact Sara Bumby Sara@firstimpactnewyork.com  Or visit her site FirstImpactNY

Stay tuned for the next post in this series on  “product and formula development.”

CHALLENGE YOURSELF !

 Do you challenge yourself and the level of work that you produce to refine your product development skills?

Let’s talk about concept development writing for a moment.  An integral piece to product development.

I was fortunate to have one particular employer during my career (a boss), that encouraged me to look more outside the box, than within the box, when developing concepts for products. 

Outside the box, innovation, forward thinking, thought leader - they’re all clichés.  Yet,  they’re also the terms we use to get out of ourselves and our normal approach to doing things in order to better refine and solidify our skill sets.

I’ll never forget the incident that pushed me out of my usual approach to concept development, the moment that made me stop and take a closer, more critical look at my work. After submitting a skin care concept to my boss, it was returned with massive comments all over the ideas I worked so hard to develop! I recall looking at the paper, and saying “wow” out loud !  I was surprised.  I really thought that I had turned over a pretty good concept.  In that moment,  I was immediately transported back to the days of being corrected by my elementary school English teacher.

What did I do?  I said - “I’ll do it again." I pushed past my hurt pride and began an intense revision process. And then, the “aha!” moment I was hoping for...I understood that the product needed to have “life."  I was very good at technical writing, but this needed more...it needed to be told from a deeper or inner place that was relational to the consumer.  It needed a romantic story that captured people’s attention and opened up their senses to want to explore the product more!  I began to dig deeper, carefully selecting words that were emotionally connected, while at the same time incorporating high-end technology in simple terms.

While the push to continuously revise concepts was a challenge for me at first, I continued to listen to my boss’s feedback and to work on my skills. I would rewrite concepts over and over, read them forwards, backwards, share them with coworkers for feedback  and change sentences around   until they clicked and had the magic that gave them life.

This sincere mentoring of my boss — and my reaching out for constructive criticism—paid off a few years later as I took on a new role for a brand that allowed me to proactively develop products for the skin care, color, and fragrance categories.  It’s a rare opportunity in the beauty industry to be given a role to develop cross-category.  Had I not stuck with pushing through the learning curves—risking being wrong, and using  constructive criticism to my benefit —my creative growth would have been stunted.  

What's your biggest challenge during concept development?

a) using romantic language to bring the product to life

b) writing about high-end technology in a consumer-friendly way

c) asking for and using constructive criticism to make your concept stronger

Want to challenge your work?  Ask for feedback from team members that you normally would not approach to critique it.  See what new ideas you can develop from taking a risk and challenging yourself.  

Need assistance or fresh ideas with concept  writing  ?  Contact cherie@beautyedgeinc.com   

 

RAW HARVEST: AN INTRIGUING PRODUCT STORY

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Creating new ideas and concepts around promotional materials for beauty products can be daunting.

 The challenges? 

•   Creating a story different from competitive products
•   Aligning with trends
•   Telling an appealing ingredient story  
•   Engaging the consumer  
•   Translating high-end technology to an understandable consumer      level

One way to get away from the mundane of creating an intriguing ingredient story is to literally step outside and examine your environment.

It’s October.  Apple picking season is in full swing.  Colorful pumpkins are adorning manicured gardens.  Fragrant smoky notes from backyard fire pits fill the cool, crisp nights with a familiar and cozy aroma that welcomes a chillier season.  If you’re reading closely, there are at least 5 ingredient concept ideas in this last paragraph…did you notice them?  

What better way to create a marketing ingredient story than around fall harvest-inspired ingredients that are familiar, comforting, and healthful? You can count on Fall coming back again next year - seasonal materials will always be on trend – no room for mistakes here!

To help tell the story of promotional materials to incorporate within beauty formulas, I reached out to a few industry raw material experts keen on trends and healthy ingredients.   

Janice Hart of Bell Flavors and Fragrances, which sources botanicals from all over the world, states, “As we are now in the Fall Season the following botanicals come to mind - Cranberry, Pomegranate, Yam and Pear. Mostly these extracts are known for their high anti-oxidant  or moisturizing properties. Each of these extracts have been launched in unique skin and body care products in the last year. So this season, you don’t have to source the globe for exotic materials in order to keep up with skincare trends. Instead, simply step outside and find fresh ideas in the familiar ingredients of your local harvest!” 

While focusing on the ingredients of the fall season, also consider today’s lifestyle. Health and wellness are prominent lifestyles that have moved from trends to ways of living. Products that protect the skin from the aggressors of urban living, pollution, and the environment continue to be desirable performance attributes for the consumer. 

Need ideas for healthy fall materials? Consider walnuts! Yes, Grenoble walnuts - green walnuts, sourced from the French Alps.  The walnut tree, is able to live up to 400 years, and is an example of a real challenge to aging. Over the centuries, it has protected the secret of its long life.  According to Lauren DelDotto, Marketing Manager at Gattefosse,  “Gatuline® Age Defense 2 is an active extract of Grenoble walnuts.”

And, how can we forget pumpkin this time of year?  The powerful orange fruit is, above all, rich in nutrients and is one of the fruits with the highest anti-oxidizing carotene content to which it owes its fine orange color. 

Using fresh pumpkin cells, not extracts, can be a unique way to talk about this powerful active.  “Fresh Cells™ are cellular suspensions of whole, fresh plant cells resulting from a mild and selective extraction process.”    According to DelDotto, “when Fresh Cells™ come in contact with the skin, they will degrade due to enzymes in the epidermis and physical application, and will sparingly pour out their precious content – protected, until that point, in a sort of natural microcapsule.”

Creating new concepts can be fun and challenging at the same time. But a simple walk around the block can help open your creative eyes to what’s possible.  

Need help creating product concepts using high-level technologies or familiar ingredients?  Contact info@beautyedgeinc.com   We can schedule a conference call to discuss some starting point ideas for your next beauty product launch.

Missed the last update? Check out what we’re up to at www.beautyedgeinc.com - click on the InnerEdge tab.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT - THE FIRST WIN!

Product Development – The First Win!

Winning a CEW (Cosmetic Executive Women) product award is like winning an Oscar in the beauty industry.  It’s a big deal!  One thing to understand about product development is that the win is the result of a team effort.  When the product wins, all teams win.

First Win Cream

How to get a winning product? Easy question—not so easy to answer.

My best recommendation is that when starting with the concept, think of ways that might give the product an edge, that makes the product first to the market in its performance, something that no other product has addressed: a new technology, a new texture, a new way to fit into today’s lifestyle, a unique color, a new way of dispensing, a nuance that might be a slight change, prompting someone to say “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Luminosity (Avon) was one of those award winning products. I joined the marketing team at the mid-development point.  My contribution included working with teams to complete the aesthetic development and texture, product performance, claims development, training and copy development. 

The story doesn’t end here.  In an upcoming post, I’ll share my experience about attending a first production run on this product.

NY NOW, Let's Get Happy!

BeautyEdge visited the NY NOW show in New York City's Jacob Javits Center.

Some of you may be asking, “What is NY NOW?”  From our point of view, it is a tremendous collection of U.S. and global-based manufacturers, exhibitors, and distributors with commercialized products that range from personal care to baby clothes, stationary to home goods. The exhibitors provide “first look” exposure to new launches along with their full brand line-ups that are available for retail sales in various selling channels.

Key Trends:

>>Though living green and sustainability are becoming more of a lifestyle than a trend, we continue discovering new ways to use our resources wisely and safely.

>>Strong evidence in men’s luxury personal care was apparent, along with the need and clear message to love others and ourselves, to celebrate, to indulge in the little things and enjoy happiness.

While many trends themed throughout the show, we chose happiness as a grounding point.  We won’t claim to know the answer to everlasting happiness at BeautyEdge, but we do know that as humans we seek an experience, whether inside or outside of ourselves, to which we can say, ”That makes me happy!”

Take a look at what we saw at NY NOW!

TheHappyEdge: fun products

eco-kids®  launched 2008

Although they have been around since 2008, Kip and Cammie Weeks continue to bring fun, creativity, and a breath of fresh air to a lineup of 13 eco-kid products, including molding dough, crayons, finger paints, and egg-coloring kits. The company began with a recipe for molding dough that Cammie Weeks’ mom made for her as a child. After incorporating natural ingredients into the recipe, the dough was named eco-dough. With the slogan “creative play the natural way,” eco-kids’ products are developed with non-toxic natural ingredients and packaged with environmentally friendly supplies from around the United States.

Bead Bottle™ launching Spring 2014

Beach

Sentiment

Bead Bottle is a distinctive and creative product that was designed to honor important memories and milestones in life. From family vacations to special friendships to personal mantras, Peyote Bird has developed numerous stores that appeal to a wide range of customers. Each bead bottle contains various semi-precious stones, as well as metal charms, glass beads, and leather cording, accompanied by two lobster closures to make one necklace and one bracelet.  A story card with simple instructions is provided with each purchase and includes a QR-code to YouTube videos for additional information.

Buff-Her House of Exfoliation launched May 2013

The time spent with these three sisters and founders—Regina, Cheryl, and Stephanie—was delightful. They are all experts in natural skin remedies, and two of the sisters are aestheticians. We’re happy to hear that, because it is particularly important to understand how a product works on skin and what to look for performance-wise during and after use. Buff Her House of Exfoliation is a collection of exfoliating facial scrubs made from organic and naturally grown fruits and vegetables. According to the company, these gentle exfoliants will restore your skin’s natural and radiant beauty with nature’s help! Their goal is to provide women with a natural way to exfoliate by using all-natural and organic foods. Each shaker is claimed to provide two hundred exfoliating applications, and can be used mixed with water, or added to your favorite cleanser!

Final thoughts: As colleagues in marketing, product development, and trend seekers, explore with us these new ideas!  Let's use these infusions of inspiration as stepping stones creating happiness for our consumers while designing a better world of products.  

Need help creating a Happy or Experiential beauty care product or brand with an edge?  Connect with BeautyEdge LLC at Info@beautyedgeinc.com   We’re also available for category analysis to identify the white space for your new product or brand.

HBA - Presentation: Technology Trends for Creative Product Development