Cosmetic product developers look to nature for inspiration

February 09, 2023 | Biotechnology

In pursuit of more sustainable, sophisticated, efficient, and innovative formulas, some cosmetics companies are moving away from animal-based ingredients to plant-based ones. Others are opting for lab-based biotechnology in their extraction and creation of ingredients.

Mathias Fleury, head of actives at Givaudan Active Beauty, says beauty is entering an exciting era of biotech, as the next three to five years remained a ‘complete open environment’.

Jasmina Aganovic, Arcaea CEO, says biotech innovation can create fresh categories we haven’t been able to imagine yet. The industry should gain more inspiration from nature and turn to biotechnology to investigate the underlying science, given that biomimicry opens massive opportunities as technologies continue to progress.

The new biotech tools, like custom organisms and decoding of DNA, make it possible for us to do away with the ‘extractive relationship’ we have with nature and the energy-intensive industrial processes that come along with it.

For instance, consider the following:

In the development of innovative scents, researchers are using white biotechnology or using living microorganisms and enzymes to synthesize products.

Hair care providers could explore concepts like hair memory in creating their formulation.

Sun care developers, like the ones in Arcaea who identify themselves as a biology-first beauty company, recognize the phenomenal capabilities of marine life to protect itself from UV radiation. This means better compliance with products and lower rates of skin cancer.

Aganovic says biotechnology “ethically and sustainably unfolded the entire tree of life.” Its ability to harness both sophistication and performance in developing new products is on a whole new transformative level. This implies talking about beauty through the lens of expressive biology.