Greetings, skin microbiome enthusiasts.

The cosmetic industry is a massive market, with skincare accounting for about 40% of the total. I have discussed the excessive use of harsh chemicals in this industry and how it creates more issues for people trying to maintain beautiful, healthy skin. Many of these harsh chemicals are used as preservatives, necessary for the long shelf life of cosmetic and skin care products to comply with FDA requirements and for ease of supply chain and manufacturing planning.

Over the years, consumers have become accustomed to long shelf life, often disregarding expiration dates on cosmetic and skincare products. As stated on the FDA website, “There are no regulations or requirements under current United States law that require cosmetic manufacturers to print expiration dates on the labels of cosmetic products. Manufacturers have the responsibility to determine shelf life for products, as part of their responsibility to substantiate product safety. The FDA believes that failure to do so may cause a product to be adulterated or misbranded.”

As customers demand cleaner and safer products, we must be prepared for the consequences of that request. The beauty industry, driven by profit, will need to make significant changes to stop using any ingredients that show even slight signs of being harmful to the skin. It will also be interesting to see if customers are ready to switch to all-clean and safe products and if they are prepared to deal with potentially shorter shelf-life, buying products in smaller volumes but more often. Possibly, we will start treating cosmetics like food and demand fresh produce.

In my opinion, the industry will likely move toward using all clean and safe ingredients, offering “fresh” products, or shifting toward formulations with low water activity, such as dry products or oil-based products with longer shelf life and no need for preservatives, or innovative ingredient that are clean and safe, moving toward clean beauty and clean skincare.

Anyway, you know I am not just watching the trend in this industry and actively contributing to the introduction of clean and safe products, even at the cost of short shelf life and more hassle for my company!