Climate change is accelerating and becoming part of our daily lives. And while the beauty industry – brands and suppliers alike – is taking steps to reduce its carbon footprint, it is also looking at the practical consequences of the inevitable rise in temperatures. “Climate goes beyond sustainable development,” says Pascale Brousse, founder of Trend Sourcing. “It is important to look at the damage to health and skin, the implications for beauty, and how the industry will respond with skincare, makeup, and perfume”, she adds.
A new generation of contextualized cosmetics
According to Pascale Brousse, global warming is creating an ecosystem of consequences for the skin, leading to the emergence of a new climate-related dermatology. “We are going to be subject to an intense climate upheaval. Droughts, floods, heat peaks combined with humidity, and above all, pollution, will have an impact on the skin. There are more and more allergies, and they last longer because seasons are less marked. Dermatologists have observed a rise in cases of dermatitis, acne and skins damaged by pollution and climate, be it in Asia, South and North America, or Europe”, she continues.
More intense exposure to pollution and UV rays also intensifies skin ageing, and all these factors require developing new skincare products tailored to the skin’s needs.
Given these changes, the new generation of skincare products will be more responsive to the environment, she announces. “Contextualization will be developed for consumers who will be more receptive. We already have a few examples of these ‘Climate-Tracking Cosmetics’, including a limited edition by Clinique associated with an application that forecasts the weather and environmental factors. Likewise, Prose partnered with a climate tech company to set up an air quality index”.
“Following the example of the Japanese, maintaining the body’s thermoregulation – a sign of good health, vascularized skin, and therefore, of better complexion – will become an objective”, she continues.
Synesthetic cosmetics
What’s more, climate stress affects more and more people, leading to a growing interest in holistic beauty routines combining body and mind care.
“We are going to want products increasingly related to emotional experience, like perfumes that act on our state of mind. Tomorrow’s cosmetics will be based on scents, colours, sounds, and sensations to create synesthesia. We will have multidimensional routines to treat both the body and mind. Skincare products and perfumes will be the new shrinks”, promises Pascale Brousse.
Ecodesign will continue
Lastly, the shortage of certain natural ingredients due to extreme weather conditions likely to affect harvests may force us to make new choices. Securing supplies is emerging as a key issue. What will be the ingredients of tomorrow? Which natural ingredients are the most resilient? What can we already observe in crops? The consultant has devoted an entire chapter to helping brands with ecodesign and the rise of resilient skincare. Her analysis focuses in particular on smart sourcing in the face of climate change, which has become reality, thanks to biotechnologies, among others.
Climate is changing, and beauty is adapting. In this new study, Pascale Brousse takes stock of the key issues to address and outlines a number of avenues for the future.
