The potential is there but the sensitive skin offer is rare. And it’s often based more on he absence of pseudo-allergenic synthetic ingredients than on the addition of specific actives. The proof lies in the counterexamples.

In its paraben-free line, Annayake lets the Mount Fuji water flow.

IDC fixes its regen-16 complex onto Aloe Vera leaf in its sunscreen.

Allergic reactions are exacerbated by heat, pollution, stress and certain ingredients, and their presence is kindly indicated with small red spots, tightness and tingling sensations. Hypersensitivity may concern half of all women on average, whatever their skin type (though combination skin is more affected) or photo-type (with slight predominance for clear, fine skin) and one out of three men. That just shows how worthy the niche could be of investment, for lack of real investment. “In France in 2009 for example, it only concerns one new product in six. But though in fact the mention ‘for sensitive skin’ is not used systematically,” explains Camille Bouisson of Mintel Innovation, “the claims ‘dermatologically tested’ (used for more than one out of three products) and ‘without,’ meaning without potentially allergenic synthetic ingredients (more than two out of five products), are more well-known.” True. For more tolerance, SBT, Beiersdorf’s other brand, is formulated without silicone, without fragrance and without parabens. To target dry and sensitive skin types, the Multi- Correcteur Derm AOX from La Roche-Posay with its dual antiglycation carnosine/antioxidant pycnogenol combination, is supposed to be paraben-free. Also paraben-free are O2Mer, IDC+ and Annayaké. Easier said than done. “The paraben-free formulation of our new Sensitive line required a lot of work for our researchers in Japan,” explains Claude Pecquet, president of Annayaké. Its soothing Cleanser, Water and Care, three products out prior to the Eye Contour product planned for spring, are banking for the first time on Mount Fuji water, pure, rich in mineral salts and “which helps the skin do its job well,” along with purified, anti-irritant honey and soothing plant extracts.

Good Mother Nature

Aloe Vera, one of the foundations of the Body shop's Aloes range.

These plant extracts are often called in to help sensitive skin. Chamomile is used in everything. Centella asiatica is used in Sensitive Lift, Dr Pierre Ricaud’s Dermo-Liftant treatment, which exploits its active fraction to modulate, among others, the mediators responsible for sensitive skin reactions. Calendula is found in wide use at Delarome, mixed with other plants such as softening cotton, anti-redness hamamelis, and cornflower in the brand’s Gel Nettoyant Visage facial cleanser, Huile Démaquillante Yeux eye makeup remover oil, Lait Démaquillant Doux makeup remover lotion and Tonique Floral toner. And even cistus is used in Sanoflore’s Nourishing Regenerating Honey with essential oil of soothing cistus and healing organic linden honey. Melvita makes use of the queen of flowers in all its forms in its Nectar de Rose, from the enfleurage of Moroccan rose petals (repairing) to Iran rose floral water (soothing), by way of oil of Chilean musk rose (regenerating). Lancôme has chosen to combine rose and peony to develop its Neuro-Calm complex, which minimizes redness while fighting substance P and CGRP (neuromediators, keys of discomfort), and strengthening their effect through a moringa extract that helps reduce the release of CGRP and protect the skin from pollution (tinted Crème Hydratante SPF15, a complement of the Hydra Zen Neuro-Calm range). And the famous cornflower, is currently highlighting its presence. Unsurprisingly, it is found at Klorane in the new Soothing Make-up Remover reformulated without preservatives.

Nighttime skincare repairs delicate skin at YSL.

But it is also combined with oily extracts of organic cherry in Bio-Beauté by Nuxe, and will soon appear in Bio- Douceur, the line Hormeta has developed for the 2nd quarter of 2010 with a treatment cream and soothing mask. With cornflower, the Swiss brand uses “ginkgo, chamomile and horehound, so many organic origin actives whose safety and preservation we must ensure,” says Jean-Francois Chaponnier. Another plant is aloe vera. In the form of gel from fair-trade sources, it is found in the core of the Aloe range from The Body Shop, combined with pre-biotic active ingredients and sesame oil for the new Protective Restoring Mask, and with soy oil for the Serum. Its leaves, rich in mucopolysaccharides and aloin with anti-stress, soothing and softening properties, are used in Immanence Hydra-Scellante SPF 25, IDC’s hydrating sunscreen formulated using the famous Regen-16 complex, and also abyssine and lecithin. Using these same leaves, Natura Bissé integrated aloe vera into the Hydra-Flow System of its Cure Pure Serum, an anti-age serum with a peptide complex. The 30 year-old Spanish brand has already launched a complete line on the sensitive skin segment – Sensitive Line, with a desensitizing multi-ingredients complex using marine and organic ingredients and that contains no alcohol, fragrance or synthetic colorant. As part of its Top Secrets line Yves Saint Laurent launched the Sleep Restoring Skincare Palette, two night treatments, a face cream and a lip balm, with oil of passion flower, responsible for fortifying and protecting skin, sunflower oil for boosting the cell’s function and restoring damaged skin, while rice bran butter soothes, hydrates and reduces irritations and red spots. In the US, Dr Brandt has developed a fragrance-free face cleanser using anti-irritant pumpkin seeds and antioxidant soybean sprouts, not to mention allantoin to protect the skin from environmental aggression and minimize redness and other signs of hypersensitivity.

ArtDeco rounds out its skin yoga line with three paraben - and fragrance-free products for intolerant skin, containing 70% natural ingredients.

Comfort Cream Px from Prescriptives, available in day and night versions, hydrates and softens skin with kukui nut oil and wheat germ oil, reduces the appearance of redness and irritations with curcuma root and vitamins, soothes and comforts with cola nut and algae extracts. It is not the only one to dip into the sea to extract its wealth. The anti-age hydrating line from O2Mer Institut has been updated and corrected to contain more marine water (between 5 and 20%) and guarantee even more improved tolerance. Based on osmo-regulation, the line contains no parabens or phenoxyethanol, and 90% of its ingredients are of natural origin. For its part, Ren’s protective, nourishing Mayday Mayday Rescue Balm makes use of Lingonberry algae extracts, among others, for their alpha-linoleic acid intended to reduce inflammation and skin irritation; and of Ochroleuca algae extracts, for the antileukin that is in charge of combating the harmful effects of UV rays and protecting skin cells.

Always more!

At Oskia, a line rich in sulfur.

Chromotherapy, eight essential oils and plant extracts, Kroia's winning trio.

In a very different style, Oskia Skinsense Nutri-Active Day, a line that provides cells with nutrients topically and through ingestion (thanks to its patented Methyl Sulphonyl Methane-Regen complex, a highly bioavailable form of sulfur), acts on sensitive skin by reducing cytokin production and maintaining the skin’s pH balance. The line, which also contains milk peptides, blue everlasting flower, hyaluronic acid, apple stem cells and oligosaccharides, is made up of seven products, including a day cream, a night cream, an eye contour cream, a cleanser, an exfoliating balm, a radiance booster and capsules of pure MSM. The American brand Kroia’s originality lies in “its chromotherapy concept,” as its founder Karla Farach explains. In the present case, it is blue, the color of truth and a peaceful mind, that is combined in its Blue Therapy Soothing Foaming Moisturizing “containing no parabens, no mineral oil, no fragrance no synthetic colorants,” with essential oils, plant extracts (chamomile, passion flower, lavender), and gemstone crystals, to soothe stressed skin and act against irritations.

In the 'without' series (frangrance, prservatives, nickel, gluten), the italian brand Bionike arrives in France in March 2010 with a combination of amino acids, hyaluronic acid and lipophile biopeptides, among others.

To act on this same inflammatory process, and thus the skin’s reactiveness, Ericson Laboratoire (creator of Meso-Vit, a treatment based on phycosaccharide, an oligoalginate) goes further on the sensitive skin niche with Derma-Calm. This complete line bases itself on Skinasensyl, a biotechnology active, and Ôcaline, a mixture of natural substances with synergetic properties, for a dual anti-stress effect on nerve endings (through reduced release of inflammatory neuromediators) and an anti-pain effect by stimulating the secretion of endorphins. Derma-Calm, which soothes irritations, minimizes diffuse redness and restores the skin’s physiological balance, is made up of two day creams, one night cream, a purifying foam and two serums with superactivated formulas. In short, between these different products, women with sensitive skin can certainly find something to make themselves happy. And men? They still have to content themselves with products that soothe razor burn, but tomorrow is another day.

Sabine Durand – Beyond Beauty MAG #28

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