Holistic health trends in hair care are further fueled by COVID-19
This health-centric approach to personal care is accelerating the current scalp care trend, which the company says began in Japan a decade ago.
Since then, dedicated scalp care products like serums and exfoliators have hit the market, bolstering scalp care as part of the hair care routine.
Driving this market trend was the growing demand for scalp care in APAC countries. According to a Mintel report, 47% of Chinese consumers have a healthy scalp is essential for healthy hair.
“Scalp health is becoming increasingly important as consumers realize that a healthy scalp is the foundation of healthy hair. There is a growing demand for products that minimize hair damage, such as hair color less aggressive and dry shampoos to avoid washing your hair too often”, said Dr. Christina Pickel, study leader at Mibelle Biochemistry.
Pickel added that interests in hair health and scalp care are expected to be further fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The psycho-emotional stress caused by the pandemic surely affects health in general and also has an impact on the scalp and hair. As a result, consumers are increasingly concerned about stress-related hair loss and scalp inflammations, which is likely to result in an increase in scalp care products.
To tap into this trend, the company has launched SantEnergy, an ingredient it claims can delay the aging of hair follicles while increasing both hair growth and density.
Pickel said the company’s latest ingredient was inspired by previous research into the detrimental impact of reactive oxidant species and UV radiation on hair follicles.
“This supports our idea that healthy hair is highly dependent on a healthy root, so we sought to develop an active ingredient that helps protect hair follicles from the damaging influences of oxidative stress.”
The active ingredient is based on a polyphenol-rich extract of Yerba Santa, a plant native to the Pacific coast of North America, known as the sacred herb or mountain balsam.
It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and neuroprotective effects, which the firm says can “energize” hair follicles and promote hair growth.
According to Mibelle, the effectiveness of SantEnergy in reducing hair loss was tested in a clinical study involving 56 volunteers.
He found that the active ingredient could increase anagen hair by 31.8% and decrease telogen hair by 20%. Overall, hair density increased by 13.1% after five months of treatment.
“As hair and scalp care has become a trend in many regions, we are pleased to have launched an ingredient that helps maintain healthy, strong hair by reducing damage to hair follicles. This ingredient can be incorporated in many types of formulations and product lines, and further serves trends such as long-lasting beauty and preservative-free formulation,” Pickel said.
Pickel said the scalp health trend was “here to stay”and the company saw potential in studying the scalp microbiome to develop more specialized scalp products.
For example, she pointed out that hair supplements are likely to gain prominence as the beauty-from-within trend gains traction in APAC.
“In the future we may see a more holistic approach to hair care, for example, beauty supplements will gain in importance due to the trend towards beauty from within. As well as being ‘clean’ , sustainable and effective, biotech ingredients will become increasingly sought after.”
