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A Closer Look at the Biotech Beauty Trend
With the potential to revolutionize the entire cosmetics industry, the biotech beauty trend is one that you need to know about.
10:37 23 June 2021
Unlike many of the other short-lived skincare fads that come and go, this one is a much-needed breath of fresh air. It melds together science and nature in a way that not only benefits the skin, but the environment too.
What Exactly is Biotech Beauty?
Biotech beauty refers to lab-produced ingredients that have either combined natural compounds with synthetic chemicals, or are synthetic versions of natural alternatives. It began as an effort to make the skincare industry more sustainable, but, in recent years, it has also been a huge driver for innovation.
Biotech Beauty Ingredients
Have a look at the ingredient lists of your favorite skincare products and chances are that some of those compounds have been created with the use of biotechnology. Take plant stem cells, for example. From grape to apple to sea fennel, biotech beauty recreates these potent stem cell compounds in a laboratory, bringing you active ingredients that are stable, consistent, and proven to work.
Peptides, fermented extracts, and plant-based squalene solutions are all also examples of popular biotech beauty ingredients. Just about every skincare brand out there is now jumping on the bandwagon, utilizing biotechnology to take their products to new heights.
One brand that’s managed to stay ahead of the game is DermaSet. Read through some of the DermaSet reviews out there and you’ll see page after page of praise for their cutting-edge biotech ingredients. Everything from stem cells to Chromabright to BV-OSC makes an appearance in their products - each one lab-produced and clinically proven to transform the skin.
The Benefits of Biotech Beauty
So, innovation aside, why has biotech beauty become so popular? Surely it’s cheaper and easier to simply use the natural ingredients themselves, rather than altering or recreating them?
That’s where you’d be wrong…
Biotech Beauty is Cost-Effective
Sure, it may cost approximately $1.2 billion to create a new biotech beauty ingredient, but companies have found that this pays off in the long run. Open-sourcing enables beauty brands to share their biotech breakthroughs, building on each other’s discoveries to push the entire industry forward.
Biotech Beauty is Sustainable and Eco-Friendly
Even if the ingredients in your skincare products promise to be green and natural, this is often not the case. It goes without saying that most of the animal-derived compounds used by the beauty industry are not sustainable, with keratin and shark-derived squalene being two common examples.
Even plant-based ingredients can be problematic. Consider the land, water, and energy used to grow a certain ingredient, not to mention the waste produced and the carbon footprint involved to put that ingredient to use, and chances are that your green beauty products aren’t quite so eco-friendly after all.
Biotech beauty changes all of this. It’s come at the right time too - consumers are now more dedicated than ever to making sustainable beauty choices. Lab-produced ingredients prevent environmental damage in numerous ways, protecting the planet’s resources while still bringing you all of the benefits of natural ingredients.
Biotech Beauty Ingredients are Stable
The ability to create a stable product that doesn’t oxidize when it comes into contact with oxygen, light, or water is crucial for every skincare brand. Unfortunately, this isn’t always so easy. Some of the most powerful skincare ingredients out there, such as vitamin C, are actually pretty unstable.
The same applies to natural ingredients - the potency of a compound can vary depending on the health of the plant it comes from, how that plant was grown, where that plant was grown, when the plant was harvested, and so much more. This inconsistency has meant that many promising ingredients have had to be cast aside in the past, but biotechnology changes this.
Producing these natural compounds in a lab means that each one can be created to be fully stable. Quality is always consistent and never compromised, resulting in products that are just as effective several months after they’ve been opened.
The Future of Beauty
Experts predict that biotech beauty is here to stay. Judging by the increasing number of biotech beauty products now available on the market, it’s easy to see why they’ve come to this conclusion. Not only is biotech beauty a great way to make sustainable choices with your skincare, but it allows brands to set themselves apart from the competition with innovative, specialized ingredients. As a result, skincare products are becoming even more effective and powerful, which really is a win-win all around!