Skin care regimes for young and old alike

Household & Personal Products Industry, Feb, 2002 by Vivienne Rudd

IT'S NEVER TOO SOON to look after your skin. That's the message from skin care manufacturers, and it's one that European consumers have certainly taken to their hearts. According to Taylor Nelson Sofres, nearly half of all skin care products are now used by women under 34, except in the eye cream/gel category where the percentage rises to almost 66%.

France enjoys the highest penetration of skin care products among the Big 5 countries. Some 57% of French women use a moisturizer regularly, 51% use a cleanser, 30% use a nourishing product, 19% use a toner, 15% use an anti-aging product, 9.2% use some form of eye contour product but just 1.5% use a neck cream.

Elsewhere, the picture is a little different. Cleansers command less popularity, ranging from 39% penetration in Italy to 24.6% in Spain, while anti-aging products struggle to break the 5% bar, except in Italy where nearly 10% of women use them on a regular basis. Penetration of neck creams is uniformly below 1%, eye product usage hovers around the 6% mark (except in Spain where it is just 2%) and nourisher usage varies from 12% in the UK to 27% in Germany. Only moisturizers have won universal acceptance, with a low of 38% in Spain proving the exception to the rule. The other countries register penetration of 41-63%.

With such variation in usage patterns, sales performance has been patchy during the past couple of years. In Germany, industry sources claim that sales fell overall by nearly 5% to $1.6 billion over the course of 2001. In contrast, despite slowing growth, the French category posted a 4.2% gain in 2000 and showed signs of making double digit gains in every mass market category except cleansers and toners in 2001, according to Information Resources Inc. Industry sources also point to value growth of around 8% in the prestige market last year.

Final figures are not yet available for the UK, but in the mass market at least, sales of cleansers rose 22% and moisturizers grew 9%. Only toners lost out, falling 8% in the year to December 2001. In Spain, the gains were slightly more modest. The mass market added 2.6% to its skin care sales and the prestige sector grew 3.5% over the year ended June 2001.

Wipe Out

Any success in the cleanser sector has been won by wipes and new formats, particularly in the UK, where they have grown more than 80% year on year and now command roughly 37% of the market. In France, new formats such as mousses and gels have hit the headlines, with new entries such as Johnson & Johnson's Cleare Pore Mousse and Gel--and of course Lingettes. Lancome also raided the mousse and gel format for its new cleansing system, with Mousse Confort, Gel Controle and Gel Clarite.

These new formats tend to appeal to the younger consumer, but the year has been notable for manufacturers trying to target a very precise age range. Anti-aging products, for example, are no longer the preserve of mature women, but manufacturers have to be very careful how they appeal to younger consumers.

"This group is seeking preventative means such as products that protect the skin from premature aging through antioxidants and UV protection," says a L'Oreal Plenitude spokesperson, "but they are not yet psychologically ready to make the leap to a traditional anti-wrinkle cream."

It is with these women in mind, that L'Oreal Plenitude is about to launch the Visible Results Daily Skin Moisturizer. This fulfills three functions important for 30 somethings--it produces an immediate feeling of improvement, it feels great on the skin and it holds out the promise of lasting effects. It also has the key combination of an ingredient mix that sounds natural but is technological too.

This combination is particularly noticeable in two recently launched ranges. In France, Kenzo has taken a very Zen approach with its first skin care line called Kenzoki. The last syllable refers to the Eastern philosophy of chi, and the range is said to follow its principles of harmonizing the energies that circulate in the body and the universe. Divided into four categories--Energisant, Relaxant, Euphorisant and Sensuel, Kenzoki has six facial products which contain Eastern extracts such as bamboo, ginger flower, white lotus and rice.

Heightening the Senses

In the UK, Ultima II unleashed is Bio Feeling range. Described as an oasis of well-being for the skin and senses, this complete skin care lineup marries the latest in heat shock proteins for anti-aging efficacy with magnolia extract for sensory pleasure and to de-stress skin suffering from urban angst.

L'Oreal isn't the only company to see potential in the so-called sensory products. Procter & Gamble's new Olay Touch is described as the world's first sensory moisturizer. It combines a unique delivery system with silky microbeads and vitamin B3 for easily absorbed, satin-smooth application, surface retexturization and a boost in cell renewal for more long-lasting results.

Nivea too has trod this route, adding encapsulated co-enzyme Q10 and coenzyme R to its Nivea Vital Anti-wrinkle Q10 Plus range for enhanced skin feel, protection and repair.