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K-beauty growth without guardrails? Rising recalls trigger tighter oversight

South Korean beauty exports are growing at record speed, but the country has announced that cosmetic recalls have tripled over the last year, and the government has consequently pledged to implement stricter testing. The spike in recalls and tougher testing regime raises the question of whether K-beauty is expanding too fast. South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) recorded 16 K-beauty recalls and disposals in 2025, marking a 3.2-fold increase from five cases the year before.
Three tubes with green plants in them.
Engineering cosmetic credibility: How biotech is maturing marine beauty
Ocean-derived beauty is moving from niche positioning and into the mainstream, where biotechnological advancements and clinical validation are key to the category’s claim to fame. As consumers increasingly demand that cosmetics meet their sustainability standards, ingredient suppliers are innovating advanced platforms to cultivate marine ingredients rather than harvest them at scale. Consumers are also no longer satisfied with blue imagery, and are pressuring brands to back product claims with measurable data. 
A woman holding a gummy that looks like a raspberry.
TopGum targets “trailblazing” beauty enthusiasts with inside-out wellness gummies
TopGum Industries has released a line of beauty-from-within gummies to address consumers’ growing desire for holistic solutions that maintain skin health and appearance. The range of functional gummies is infused with natural ingredients that address specific hair, skin, and nail (HSN) benefits. The functional gummy supplements company says the line came from a deep dive into the demographics of gummy consumers. It was observed that young adults were the dominant consumers, and that newcomers to the beauty and self-care space were entering at much younger ages than previous generations. 
Mane Kancor Technical Paper
A Patented Breakthrough in Scalp Health — Learn more from the clinical study results
Purakan™ is a patented breakthrough in natural scalp care, proven to outperform market leaders on pruritus, dandruff, itching, and flaking. It replaces synthetic options like ZPT and piroctone olamine. Clinical studies show 89.7% of participants experienced reduced dandruff and itching within just seven days.This technical paper is brought to you by Mane Kancor.
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Formulating texture in skincare: a data-driven approach to replacing synthetic thickeners
Consumers are actively seeking natural ingredients in their skincare products, and the pressure is on formulators to deliver clean-label solutions without compromising product look and feel. In this webinar, Tate & Lyle and Innova Market Insights experts discuss how this trend is shaping innovation and how brands can tackle formulation challenges. We explore how nature-based, readily biodegradable ingredients combined with a proprietary methodology can replace synthetics, while maintaining the desired physical and sensorial properties. Through individual product variables mapped against our ingredient data repository, we can reduce reformulation complexity and minimize the need for panel testing. Our model simplifies multivariable measurements into easy-to-interpret results — accelerating development and enabling brands to meet consumer demand for naturally derived skincare products.  Join us to say goodbye to synthetics, fast!
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Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions: Clean home care and personal care converge

Kristen Mauch, application development specialist for Home Care and Industrial Cleaning at Univar Solutions, discusses how brands are under increasing pressure to deliver cleaning products that are powerful, fast-acting, and aligned with rigorous sustainability expectations. Performance with Purpose, a new formulation kit from Ingredients + Specialties at Univar Solutions, is designed to prove that high-efficacy cleaning and responsible ingredient selection can coexist without compromise. Mauch also highlights how aspects of the beauty industry are increasingly seeping into the home care category. 

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Univar deepens EMEA footprint with beauty and home care deals
various cosmetic products in unmarked packaging
Univar Solutions has expanded its ingredient offerings with three suppliers in European, Middle Eastern, and African (EMEA) markets. The global distributor has partnered with fine chemicals provider CABB Group, SPF-specialized Vizor, and sustainability-focused chemical company Lygos.Univar Solutions unpacks how the three partnerships will impact the business and its ingredient offerings with Personal Care Insights
Environmental groups accuse EU of insufficient REACH enforcement
A girl holding an EU flag.
Thirty-six not-for-profit organizations have called on EU lawmakers to proactively enforce REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation, and Restriction of Chemicals) to keep their promise of supplying safe products. The environmental NGOs say that an ambitious implementation, enforcement, and modernization of the EU chemicals framework — in line with 21st-century science — is needed urgently. The group asserts that current enforcement against dangerous chemicals in consumer products is insufficient and emphasizes the current struggle with PFAS pollution. The open letter stresses that REACH should ensure “pollution crises such as PFAS never happen again.” 
Clarins unveils AI-powered makeup shade matching tool
skin color swatches held next to persons chest
Clarins has launched an AI-powered “most precise ever” foundation shade-matching technology, offered in-store to expand its personalized beauty portfolio. Clarins Shade Finder AI is the “first in the industry” to measure skin tone and undertone using a smartphone. The tool is also the cosmetics giant’s first AI-driven makeup suggestion platform.Touted as the “most accurate shade matching experience available today,” the AI tool was developed in collaboration with Silicon Valley tech start-up IlluminateAI.
Modern man’s makeup: Male grooming evolves beyond the basics
A man holding a makeup palette and a makeup brush.
Men are exploring the world of beautification. What used to be a toe in the water has expanded into men wading about knee deep in personal care. Men grooming themselves is not news, but the manner in which they are doing so is shifting. Men have always cared about their appearance, from clean-shaven aesthetics of the 1920s to rocker mullets of the 1980s. The change now is the permission given. 
Solabia acquires Mibelle Biochemistry to boost beauty and wellness leadership
Person buying cosmetics.
Mibelle Biochemistry is set to be sold to Solabia Group. Persán, a European player in home and personal care, has entered into an agreement to sell the ingredients supplier.
Expo West 2026: Exploring natural products for longevity and energy
Natural Products Expo West 2025

Nutrition Insight

Ahead of the upcoming Natural Products Expo West 2026 trade show, Nutrition Insight discusses botanical ingredients and market developments with exhibitors Sabinsa, Layn Natural Ingredients, and BioVivo Science. At the “premier” gathering for the natural products industry in Anaheim, California, US (Mar 3–6), the companies will showcase a range of solutions for longevity, cellular health, and energy. The experts shine a light on new product launches, bioavailability, industry developments, and supply consistency. 
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Face scanning using AI technology.
Personal Care Insights News
Revieve launches LiveAR to revolutionize skin analysis with...
Beauty and wellness technology company Revieve has unveiled LiveAR, a real-time skin visualization technology that transforms digital skin analysis from static diagnostics into an interactive experience. Elevating traditional digital skin analysis by bringing clinical results to life, LiveAR allows consumers to see their skin benefits in real time through a virtual try-on.
women lies peacefully with eyes closed
Health and Beauty
Brain, body & beauty: The rise of cognitive longevity in...
Make Time, a US-based wellness company, aims to close a critical gap in women’s brain health by integrating “brain, body, and beauty” through innovation. The company centers on the idea that to look good, you have to feel good.Consumers increasingly interact with beauty as a holistic ritual. Make Time is tapping into the movement by targeting women’s brain health. The company aims to support cognitive function and help women look and feel good in their bodies. Personal Care Insights sits down with Make Time to discuss the crucial gaps in women’s cognitive care and how brain care innovation can create influential ripple effects for personal care. 
A Honey Pot product being pumped into hands.
Health and Beauty
Why consumers are leaving legacy brands for more...
Consumers are demanding more from the intimate care market, turning away from legacy brands and toward independent players whose messaging more closely aligns with their desire for transparency. This opening in the feminine care category has paved the way for brands like Honey Pot to thrive — allowing the wellness brand to target consumers’ unmet desires. 

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Biodegradable beauty boostersFeb2026

Innova Market Insights data indicates a 14% compound annual growth in beauty product launches with biodegradable ingredients between October 2020 and September 2025. Mascara was the top category in th...

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Ocean-derived beauty Feb 2026

According to Innova Market Insights’ Personal Care Trends 2026, marine algae extracts are emerging as a standout botanical active in personal care innovation. The report highlights growing interest in ocean-derived ingredients, reflecting a broader shift toward sustainable, nature-inspired formulations in the industry. 

Trend analysis

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Men’s personal care trendsFeb 2026

According to Innova Market Insights’ Personal Care Trends 2026, marine algae extracts are emerging as a standout botanical active in personal care innovation. The report highlights growing interest in ocean-derived ingredients, reflecting a broader shift toward sustainable, nature-inspired formulations in the industry.

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Ingredients + Specialties from Univar Solutions: Clean home care and personal care converge

Kristen Mauch, application development specialist for Home Care and Industrial Cleaning at Univar Solutions, discusses how brands are under increasing pressure to deliver cleaning products that are powerful, fast-acting, and aligned with rigorous sustainability expectations. Performance with...

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Webinars40:12
Formulating texture in skincare: a data-driven approach to replacing synthetic thickeners
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IFF and Chemist Confessions: Bringing osmolytes to the forefront
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Balchem: Sulphur enters beauty-from-within formulations
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