This is an important step toward greater inclusion and representation, and new tools like the SeeMe Index have emerged to help beauty brands become more socially responsible too. The index uses AI to help brands understand how inclusive they are on different metrics such as skin tone, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, body size, and visible disability. “We started the SeeMe Index because we believe everyone deserves to be included by the brands they shop from,” says Asha Shivaji, CEO and cofounder. “Inclusivity needs to be holistic. It’s not enough to have different ages and skin tones represented in your skin-care ads if the product hasn’t been tested on those same people.”
So far, SeeMe has measured 40 of the top beauty brands, reporting that it has seen its results prompt brands to take “immediate action and think differently about how they act inclusively.” And the SeeMe data is transparent: When you’re shopping for a beauty product, you can see how each brand has been ranked.
P&G Beauty, for example, has recognized the need for more inclusive product development — and for multiethnic research to back it up. “The properties of highly coiled, textured hair can impact how products and ingredients interact with the hair,” says Rolanda Wilkerson, pHD, senior director and principal scientist at P&G Beauty, who’s worked on brands like Pantene, My Black Is Beautiful, and Head & Shoulders. She and her team “conducted a multiethnic hair and scalp clinical and consumer understanding study. The insights and results enabled the development of new hair-care products like the Pantene Gold Series New Lengths Collection,” says Dr. Wilkerson. “Healthy hair has a different meaning to different consumers, driven by differences in hair structure, pattern, and shape across ethnicities. We are committed to developing products that meet the needs of all.”
Classic ingredients will find new life, and increased efficacy.
There’s a fresh “leveling up” of tried-and-true active ingredients. “While these ingredients are not new, they’re being used in more sophisticated ways,” says Dobos. For instance, Robinson says, chemists keep tinkering with ways to make hyaluronic acid more effective, such as using multiple molecular weights in single formulas to target different depths of the skin. Other well-established skin-care ingredients have new delivery mechanisms or are being combined with other actives to ramp up efficacy.
Olay’s “activated” niacinamide is being used in the Olay Super Serum. A new brand-sponsored study show’s the formula’s ability to improve skin tone, texture, and barrier support. “Niacinamide is a cosmetic ingredient rock star because of its multiple benefits, including antioxidant activity, skin tone evening, and skin barrier improvement. But many factors, such as the delivery system, other ingredients in a formula, and the pH of a formula, can impact efficacy,” says Dobos. “Based on studies I’ve read, the scientists at Olay have carefully studied how to get optimal efficacy from niacinamide in their new Super Serum, and I love that the formula also contains trehalose, a sugar molecule that has a strong water-binding capacity.”
