Modern day skin care is a far cry from the products introduced in 18th and 19th Century Europe. What began as pungent, botanically-derived cleansers with unpleasant textures, inconsistent viscosity, and short shelf life, have transformed into a multibillion-dollar industry with products targeting a multitude of needs and catering to consumers worldwide—all courtesy of the synthetic revolution.
 
The popularity of skin care products has increased with consumers while producers have pursued large financial returns, but the results have not been without consequences. This scale up in skin care has taken a massive toll on the environment and has resulted in major consumer health concerns with the addition of additives that were later deemed harmful.
 
In 2021, consumers are more sophisticated than ever, as they search for products that are more sustainable, ecofriendly, cruelty free, healthy, and still retain the qualities beloved in synthetic formulas. For consumers, finding products that are healthy and natural that tick every box is challenging. For consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers, these products are an even more daunting challenge to produce.
 

Plant-Based Promise
 
Many companies look to plant-based alternatives or derivatives, but fully botanical formulas are often difficult to produce and manufacture on an industrial scale at an affordable price. This often results in products that boast “natural” ingredients or extracts, but don’t really do anything other than promote greenwashing.
 

Greenwashing
 
Products are often times labeled, advertised or marketed as “natural” or “organic,” banking on consumers making an association of inherent health benefits or safety. This marketing practice is referred to as Greenwashing. Consumers can be led astray when products oversell their natural properties; in reality these products have little to no long-term benefits. This is because the skin care industry is not tightly regulated when it comes to items that are branded as “natural” thus leaving a gray area on what kind of labeling is allowed and what is not.
 
For example, in the U.S. the only oversight that applies to skin care product marketing is the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which was passed in 1938. The act addresses issues with regulating and misbranded products, but the term ‘natural' is not considered as misbranded, thus the industry has mostly been left to self-regulation. This lack of tighter oversight  paves the way for more greenwashing.
 

Natural, but Nasty
 
To avoid greenwashing, consumers can at times find small batch, natural skin care products that are oftentimes expensive, might have offensive odors, questionable appearance, gummy or tacky textures, and short shelf life…harkening back to their European counterparts of the 18th and 19th Centuries.
 
To most consumers, this can feel as if they are sacrificing what they’ve come to know and love about synthetic skin care products — products that achieve the desired results in a pleasing formula. 

 
Synergistic Plant Bioactives
 
Though met with trepidation by those lobbying for the use of synthetic additives in consumer products, there is an answer to the production and manufacturing of botanically based ingredients: Bioactives made of plant mechanism synergies.  Synergistic plant bioactives combine beneficial, naturally occurring bioactive molecules found in plants that have been designed to target specific industry needs.
 
Approaching the production of natural skin care ingredients through this lens is the synergy of form, function, and appeal will help producers and brand owner to meet consumer demand for plant-derived products that are healthy and sustainable, all while maintaining the sensory aspects that synthetic ingredients offered on a larger, economical scale. Ultimately, skin care companies can strike the balance between consumer demand and sustainability, resulting in a beautiful compromise.

Itamar Levy