This year has been an exciting one for the skin care industry. Trends, such as multifunctionality, age-defying, barrier-repairing, and hydrating, as well as nature-inspired ingredients that dominated skin care launched in 2013, have continued their strong influence into 2014. They solidified their dominance with the arrival of fresh innovations, new research, and more precise evaluation methodologies.

Earlier this year, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS), released its 17th annual multi-specialty statistical data, indicating a 12 percent overall increase in cosmetic procedures performed in the United States in 2013. According to ASAPS, Americans spent the largest amount on cosmetic surgery since the great recession of 2008.1 More than 11 million cosmetic surgical and non-surgical procedures were performed by board-certified plastic…

One of the most dreaded client complaints is one involving a reaction to product. Potential problems can range from simple rashes to full-blown allergic reactions. Skin reactions to product make clients distrustful of future recommendations, leaving aestheticians helpless and frustrated in their often futile attempts to figure out what is happening and why. To complicate matters, symptoms of a reaction to a cosmetic product cannot…

There is nothing that causes more grief and dismay to a cosmetic chemist or a formulator than being told which specific preservative to use or being asked to create a preservative-free skin care product. As more brands are joining the “does not contain” movement, the claims regarding preservatives have escalated from paraben-free to formaldehyde-donor free, and in some instances, preservative-free… the scariest claim of all.