Sweetch Impact Beauty banner promoting bio-based ingredient technologies, featuring a woman seated among wildflowers.
Person looking at beauty products.

Rising INCI scrutiny leaves consumers short on ingredient context

Consumers are scrutinizing beauty labels more closely, with many turning to ingredient-scanning apps for help. Although these tools provide rapid access to ingredient information, Eastman, a global specialty materials company, argues that these tools lack essential context: why those ingredients matter, how they contribute to a product’s performance, or their sustainability profile.
A woman holding a cotton pad in front of her face.
K-beauty shapes global formulation and breaks into new categories
K-beauty is growing away from a trend-based category into a global innovation model for the personal care industry. The category’s rapid spread has raised expectations around ingredient transparency, product efficacy, and an enjoyable sensorial experience during daily routines. South Korean skin care principles are moving beyond the simple “glass skin” or “cloud skin” trends and into a global force that other non-Korean innovators are inspired by. 
A woman in her underwear hugging herself while sitting down.
Primient says intimate care safety hinges on formulation, not ingredients
Primient, a producer of plant-based and corn-derived ingredients, has identified that the safety of an intimate product is determined by the finished formulation rather than by any single ingredient. The company reports that women’s health and menopause care are on the rise, leading many brands to tap into the traditionally underserved market. But as the personal care industry embraces intimate health as a stand-out arena for innovation, dealing with such a sensitive area of the body raises formulation challenges that ingredient-level safety data alone cannot answer. 
Image
Sustainable beauty solutions
Innova Market Insights data indicates that new personal care launches with sustainable claims grew at a +31% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. While cruelty-free remains a key consumer marker of sustainable beauty, innovation is expanding into areas such as sustainable oils, 2-in-1 formats, recycled materials, and reef- and ocean-friendly solutions.
Foaming antibacterial hand wash with aloe beside a blank pump bottle on a counter, with CAMA PHHC logo.
Automating sleeved bottle packaging without compromising pack design
This article highlights the automation of sleeved bottle packaging, transforming a manual process into a high-speed solution while preserving brand identity and ensuring compatibility with both automated and manual operations.

This Technical Paper is brought to you by Cama Group.
Consumer Reports video thumbnail: Stylist braiding purple extensions into a client’s long black hair, with a circular professional headshot inset
Consumer Reports: States urged to regulate braiding hair amid federal silence

Consumer Reports found heavy metals in nearly all braiding hair it tested, and volatile organic compounds in every sample. James Rogers, director and head of product safety testing at Consumer Reports, tells Personal Care Insights that no US federal agency clearly regulates the category, leaving labeling claims unchecked. He urges manufacturers to test ingredients and final products. Rogers also expects state rules and consumer spending to eventually drive change.

Latest headlines

View more
Semcap backs Healf betting curation beats choice in wellness
A woman holing a pill next to her mouth.
Semcap Beauty & Wellness has committed a minority investment in Healf, a personalized well-being platform. The investment aims to support Healf’s platform development and international expansion. In July, the company launched in Germany, marking its first market outside the UK. Healf combines curation, diagnostics, wearable technology, and personalized recommendations and matches them to its users’ biology and lifestyle. It sells a collection of wellness products, such as supplements, beauty products, and wearable solutions. 
Eucerin taps live probiotics for microbiome-friendly acne care
A woman with slight acne touching her face.
Beiersdorf has introduced a skin care solution for acne-prone skin under its Eucerin brand, called Dermopure Clinical Probiom8. The product uses a patented active ingredient that contains live probiotics native to healthy skin. According to Beiersdorf, the probiotics in the formula help restore a balanced skin microbiome instead of eliminating bacteria broadly. Its launch is built on over 20 years of microbiome research and over 120 studies. 
GLP-1 and menopause beauty boom outpaces clinical care, LucyRx warns
Older woman looking at herself in the mirror.
Women are navigating a much more complex personal care, health, and wellness marketplace than they were a few years ago. GLP-1s, menopause care, supplements, telehealth, and digital wellness tools have created more pathways for consumers to take. However, the influx of options has not produced better care, according to LucyRx chief commercial officer Susan Thomas. LucyRx is an independent pharmacy benefit manager that acts as an intermediary between health plan sponsors, pharmacies, and patients. 
Sephora joins TikTok Shop as social media shapes beauty shopping
Black and white striped Sephora bag
Sephora will debut on TikTok Shop in the US with a shopping experience called the Sephora Drop Shop, where users can discover and buy curated products without leaving the app. The move comes amid the growing trend of beauty consumers using social media platforms as direct shopping destinations. The Sephora Drop Shop will feature exclusive monthly product releases from some of the retailer’s brand partners. Each drop will be a multi-day event with media assets like teasers, interactive content, and videos led by content creators.
TriNutra study finds black seed oil boosts hair density and scalp health
woman with ginger hair
In a study released this week, TriNutra has shown that its cold-pressed black seed oil, B’utyQuin, demonstrates significant hair density improvement. The dermatologically controlled clinical study on a scalp lotion featuring 5% B’utyQuin was designed to support scalp health and visibly improve hair appearance. The proprietary black seed oil features 3% thymoquinone with low free fatty acids.The study, which included 22 adults across genders, showed a 35% reduction in hair loss and a 7% increase in hair density, as well as visible stimulation of hair growth, and enhanced scalp comfort and hydration.
Vitafoods Asia 2026: Balchem sees women’s health and beauty-from-within rise in...
Balchem booth at tradeshow with people talking

Nutrition Insight

Balchem finds that demand for specialized nutraceuticals targeting women’s health and beauty-from-within is growing. Presenting at Vitafoods Asia 2026, the company spotlights VitaCholine for post-menopausal women alongside OptiMSM (methylsulfonylmethane) for skin health, which the Thailand FDA recently approved. On the last day of the show in Bangkok, Thailand, Nutrition Insight meets with Peter Wisler, director of Sales Asia-Pacific (APAC) at Balchem, to learn how the company recognizes varied nutritional needs across Asian markets and how it responds with premium solutions. 
Highlighted features
A model in black and white staring into the camera.
Business News
C-beauty growth splits domestic brand strategies home and...
China’s beauty market is forecast to grow 6% annually through 2028, according to a report by consulting firm McKinsey, but recent earnings from two of the country’s largest domestic players tell different stories about who is capturing that growth. Proya, touted as China’s biggest beauty company, is struggling at home with an H1 2026 7% sales decline for its namesake brand, which it is now pivoting to the US market through an Ulta Beauty launch. 
woman applied sunscreen on shoulder
Policy & regulation news
Bemotrizinol US FDA approval spurs sunscreen innovation
Earlier this summer, sunscreen active ingredient bemotrizinol (BEMT) received US FDA approval, marking a major milestone for sunscreen innovation in the country. It became the first new sunscreen active approved in the US in over 25 years. BEMT’s US approval was inaugurated alongside the green lighting of dsm-firmenich’s BEMT ingredient Parsol Shield. BASF followed soon after last month, with its own BEMT ingredient marketed as Tinosorb S. The ingredient has launched in the US under a supplemental license agreement with dsm-firmenich’s parent company, DSM Nutritional Products.
US and Canadian flag shipping containers against a sunset sky, and two models with glowing skin
Personal Care Insights News
August in review: US–Canada tariff war, South Korea...
This month, tensions flared between the US and Canada, both moving to impact each other’s cosmetics industries with 50% tariffs. Asian countries continued to bolster their cosmetics markets with new regulations. China adopted its first mandatory national safety standard for cosmetics. South Korea passed the first law written specifically to grow its beauty sector. 

Personal care focus

View more
Image

Home fragrance trendsSep2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that more than half of global consumers are motivated by scent when purchasing household fresheners. The market is responding with new product launches, with air ...

Brought to you by:

Innova Market Insights

Product innovation

View more
Image

K-beauty’s global impact Sep 2026

K-beauty is moving beyond the glass-skin trend to shape beauty innovation across makeup, hair, and body care. From fermented ingredients and barrier-focused formulas to cooling pore sticks, peeling foot masks, and sensorial hair rituals, Korean beauty concepts are being reimagined for a global audience.

Trend analysis

View more
Image

Sustainable beauty solutionsSep 2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates that new personal care launches with sustainable claims grew at a +31% CAGR from July 2021 to June 2026. While cruelty-free remains a key consumer marker of sustainable beauty, innovation is expanding into areas such as sustainable oils, 2-in-1 formats, recycled materials, and reef- and ocean-friendly solutions.

Multimedia

View more
Consumer Reports video thumbnail: Stylist braiding purple extensions into a client’s long black hair, with a circular professional headshot inset
Video12:12
Consumer Reports: States urged to regulate braiding hair amid federal silence

Consumer Reports found heavy metals in nearly all braiding hair it tested, and volatile organic compounds in every sample. James Rogers, director and head of product safety testing at Consumer Reports, tells Personal Care Insights that no US federal agency clearly...

 Paulo Teixeira, Melt&Marble
Video15:19
Melt&Marble: Accelerating commercial readiness for personal care products with INCI milestone
Kacey Brides, Givaudan, Primalhyal 300, NYSCC Suppliers’ Day 2026, Skin Care, Active Ingredients, Healthy Aging, Cosmeceuticals, Hyaluronic Acid, Skin Repair, Hydration, Sensitive Skin, Aging Skin, Po
Video03:10
NYSCC Suppliers’ Day 2026: Givaudan highlights PrimalHyal 300 for skin repair
Image
Video05:59
NYSCC Suppliers’ Day 2026: Nouryon explores AI and biobased chemistry
Subscribe to our newsletters
PlatformsFood Ingredients FirstNutrition InsightPackaging InsightsPersonal Care InsightsThe World of Food Ingredients
About usContact usAdvertisingPrivacy statementSitemapArchiveEditorial Team
Follow us
Image