CEW and The New York Society of Cosmetic Chemists have collaborated since 2017 to spotlight the most innovative beauty ingredients. This year is no exception. A recent webinar revealed what a panel of judges say are the formula world’s brightest stars, all of which are contenders for this year’s Supplier’s Award: Ingredients & Formulation, presented by NYSCC. Here, learn about them, and also the three trends emerging in cosmetic chemistry. Don’t miss the announcement of this year’s Supplier’s Award winner on November 21, as part of CEW’s 2024 Beauty Awards.
Bio Component Research Bakuchiol Ester BCR
What it is: This blend of bakuchiol, a plant-based alternative to retinol — plus salicylic acid and vitamin F glyceryl ester — is delivered via a controlled delivery system. The aim: to improve skin’s texture, tone, and health, all without irritation.
Why it’s innovative: “What makes Bakuchiol Ester BCR unique is that this is a retinol alternative with good clinical efficacy, and it’s gentle enough for sensitive skin,” said Ron Robinson, founder and CEO, BeautyStat Cosmetics. “It combines bakuchiol with salicylic acid and vitamin F, a group of essential fatty acids that helps to maintain a healthy skin barrier. Also, retinol is typically unstable, but this ingredient is not, and it delivers great results in a time-released manner.”
Clariant CycloRetin
What it is: Made from prince ginseng, this ingredient is said to mimic retinol without irritation. It has been shown to outperform bakuchiol when it comes to reducing skin sagging and it shows results similar to retinol, improving firmness and radiance after 28 days and reducing the appearance of wrinkles in just 14 days.
Why it’s innovative: “This is another ingredient that’s acting like a retinoid without irritation,” said Robinson. “Retinoid is one of the gold standard ingredients in skin care and it delivers great anti-aging benefits, but it can sensitize the skin.”
dsm-firmenich Eterwell Youth
What it is: A powerful senolytic solution made from 100% organic willow herb, this complex targets senescent (aging) cells to reverse skin damage and reduce signs of aging. Studies show it makes skin appear two years younger in just two weeks and six years younger in as little as three months. Benefits include an improvement in the appearance of wrinkles, firmness, and the overall appearance of the skin.
Why it’s innovative: “This ingredient takes a revolutionary approach to treating aging skin by using a senolytic concept to selectively eliminate senescent cells and mitigate the damage from senescence inducers like UV exposure, pollution, and other environmental aggressors,” said Tatyana Tabakman, Technical Innovation Director, Orveon Global.
“Eterwell Youth had really impressive studies in vitro, ex vivo, and clinical studies,” added Toussaint Jordan, Marketing Manager, Solabia USA + Applechem. “In the clinicals, they did a three-month, double-blind study, with twice daily application of a cream containing 3% of Eterwell Youth. They were able to show a visible reduction in wrinkles, skin firmness and elasticity. It’s also worth noting that they tested on skin types 2 to 5. Normally, the testing happens on just Asian and Caucasian skin, which are types 1 to 4. So that inclusivity was really thoughtful.”
Evonik Vecollage Fortify L
What it is: A vegan collagen polypeptide, this ingredient helps strengthen the skin’s barrier, improves resilience, and boosts key proteins in the skin to support, repair, and reduce signs of aging.
Why it’s innovative: “Vegan beauty has become an important market trend for the consumer who is looking for non-animal derived ingredients. This particular vegan collagen is made from biofermentation with renewable resources, not from petrochemicals,” said Tao Zheng, Executive Director, Advanced Technologies – SPF & Makeup Innovation, The Estée Lauder Companies. “The company provided in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo testing results that showed significant anti-aging efficacy at different levels.”
Givaudan Illuminyl 388
What it is: This augmented polyphenol is based on green tea’s most iconic molecule, EGCG, and it leverages biotech expertise in cell-free glycosylation to generate a new brightening active.
Why it’s innovative: “This is another example of biofermentation,” said Zheng. “It combines the traditional EGCG molecule with sugars to create a brand-new molecule that improves solubility, stability, and skin bioavailability. In addition, as a prebiotic active, Illuminyl 388 balances the microbiome, and in clinical studies, it showed better age-spot reduction in darker skin than vitamin C.
Trautec SRHC Type XVII
What it is: A recombinant collagen, this ingredient helps repair skin damage, boost collagen production, and prevent hair loss, showing better results than minoxidil in clinical trials.
Why it’s innovative: “Collagen is one of those ingredients that usually has a high molecular weight and is difficult to get to penetrate the skin and actually do anything. But this one seems to be different,” said Robinson. “This is a recombinant collagen, which is a synthesized collagen created via a fermentation process. In vitro testing shows that it can increase skin’s proteins, repair skin and prevent hair loss. I think this product has some broad applications to both anti-aging treatments as well as hair and scalp treatments.”
LucasMeyer Cosmetic Corneopeptyl
What it is: This formulation mimics the LCE6A protein to strengthen the skin’s barrier and reduce permeability and water loss. Using AI and a patented algorithm, this ingredient was demonstrated to reduce signs of aging and make skin look up to four years younger.
Why it’s innovative: “Corneopeptyl is interesting for a variety of reasons,” said Eileen Kim, Head of U.S. Innovation and Research, Chanel. “It’s sustainable and was developed based on green chemical principles. It’s also efficacious. It’s a biomimetic peptide, so it mimics a newly discovered protein, LCE 68, which helps to reduce signs of aging and reinforces and protects the skin barrier function. Also, interestingly, they used AI and combined that with an algorithm to demonstrate the ingredient’s efficacy. After 28 days, of one application per day, the skin looked up to two years younger and up to four years in some cases.”
Presperse EstoGel Green
What it is: A natural, plant-based gelling agent, this ingredient is derived from green algae and is designed to provide smooth texture and enhance hydration in cosmetic formulations. It offers a sustainable, eco-friendly alternative to synthetic thickeners, making it ideal for creating clean-label high-performance skincare products.
Why it’s innovative: “It’s very difficult to find gelling agents that help with formula textures and stabilities that are not synthetic. So, a sustainable solution is a real need in our industry today, and EstoGel Green is a great answer,” said Kim.
“I’d just add that ingredients like EstoGel Green are unsung hero ingredients in formulations. I’m glad suppliers are innovating around these types of products that can help with stability, gelling, etc.,” said Robinson.
What’s next in cosmetic chemistry?
The judges shared their predictions for the next big thing:
Personalization “Consumers want things that fit their specific needs — their skin tone, type, and conditions. I’ve also seen personalization for specific skin tones, like the needs of melanated skin, etc. I think that’s something that companies will continue to tap into in the future.” — Jordan
The power of longevity proteins “One of the biggest trends now is tapping into longevity research and applying it to skincare formulation. Estée Lauder has been at the forefront of this movement, and we’ve been focusing on research that seeks to understand the biology of skin aging and technology to slow or even reverse the sign of aging. One of the key innovations we’ve been working on is this selectivity ILP technology, which is inspired by ongoing research into longevity proteins.” — Zheng
Gentler versions of gold-standard ingredients “We are seeing all these new retinoid-like products that deliver the benefits of retinoids without the negative side effects, such as irritation and increased sensitivity. We are also seeing this with another gold-standard ingredient that my company has pioneered: stabilized vitamin C. Next year, we have new launches with stabilized vitamin C that’s gentle enough for sensitive skin.” — Robinson