(Anti) Aging Gracefully

There’s an old saying, “Age before beauty,” but with today’s natural and cosmeceutical companies producing more topical anti-aging products, age and beauty can now go hand-in-hand for consumers.

Today’s society frowns upon aging. Television commercials and magazine ads urge consumers to slather on products to tighten, firm and rejuvenate their skin. “Our society places a high value on youthful appearances,” said Linda Upton, vice president of Börlind of Germany Inc. Chuck Shelton, director of sales and marketing for Hyalogic, agreed: “No one wants to look old, and that includes people interested in natural products. A safe, effective way to look younger is always going to be attractive in the marketplace.”

However, just because consumers want to use natural products, doesn’t mean they will, said Bryan Meehan, founder of Nude Skincare. “Customers’ concerns about natural anti-aging products in general are that they look at natural products and they wonder whether the products work. When it comes to their own skin, women are not going to compromise on their beauty, and there’s a slight fear or skepticism that natural products just haven’t got it.”

Slick packaging, combined with aggressive advertising, often feeds on consumers’ insecurities about aging, leading women to look to a mainstream product, rather than something natural. “The packaging [on natural products] looks a little wordy, the smell smells a little bit homespun and the whole package is quite predictable,” Meehan said. “That homespun image is not the type of image that women are looking for in skin care. With skin care, women would love for it to be natural, but, first of all, they want it to work.”

Despite some consumer trepidation, the popularity of natural anti-aging products is on the rise, according to Kristin Miller, founder of Garden Girl, who cites www.MarketResearch.com. From 1998 to 2004, sales of natural skin care products rose 51.9 percent; in 2005, there was a $4.3 billion, 65 percent increase, and the industry is estimated to reach $6.6 billion by 2010.

While many products can help minimize signs of aging, companies are increasingly recommending women start a preventive skin care regimen in their late teens. Ryungza Lee Fletcher, marketing and account executive for Toyo Bio-Pharma, said, “If women can start as early as age 16, they can minimize the signs of aging.”

Miller added women’s skin care regimens change over the years. “When you are in your 20s, your skin is not typically visibly showing signs of age, but skin is already starting to change,” she said. “The key thing is to keep your skin clear, your pores unclogged and your skin moisturized. By the time you reach your 30s, [age] begins to be a little more evident. Fine lines and wrinkles are more apparent, collagen levels start to reduce, and skin slowly starts to lose its elasticity. It’s important to continue your skin care routine. This is also a good age to start working in some anti-aging products. In your 40s and beyond, it is very important that you continue what you have built in your 30s. Additionally, by adding an anti-aging serum, you can fight back against the signs of aging.”

Kelly Spradlin, brand manager for Zia Natural Skincare, noted that, on top of a regular skin care routine, it’s essential for women to use products that contain some level of SPF, “which is crucial in preventing fine lines, wrinkles and age spots.”

Along with SPF, antioxidants play a critical role in anti-aging products. Alchime Forever products contain a blend of plant antioxidants, including the company’s signature ingredient, blueberries, which are not only chock-full of antioxidants that prevent free radical damage, but al so minimize facial redness by constricting and protecting fine capillaries. Zia’s mineral-based foundation and powder offer a boost of antioxidants, using green tea and ginkgo biloba, in addition to cucumber and aloe, which prevents and corrects cell damage, while lavender calms irritated skin. dermae’s line uses a combination of natural antioxidants, including cranberry seed oil and pomegranate. Other unique antioxidant ingredients include criste marine, white tea, immortelle, tiger grass, plankton, Sicilian blood oranges, rhizobian gum and baobab extract, all used in various Annemarie Börlind products.

Oil is a great source for antioxidants, said Beatrice Querel, sales and marketing manager for LaneLabs USA. Its Biologika line uses cold-pressed organic oil from the nut of the argan tree. “[The oil] is naturally rich in antioxidants such as flavanoids, polyphenols and tocopherols. Argon oil contains even more tocopherols than olive oil.”

Moisturized skin is also an anti-aging essential. Hyalogic offers anti-aging products formulated with high molecular weight hyaluronic acid (HA), derived from natural fermentation. According to Shelton, “This type of HA is bio-identical to the kind the body uses, so it can be absorbed more easily and utilized by the body. HA binds 1,000 times its weight in water. It is truly nature’s moisturizer and replenishing the skin’s HA helps the derma layer provide nourishment and adds cushion to support the skin. I t also helps fight dry skin and wrinkles.”

Garden Girl uses rice bran oil in its Cookies + Cream masque to hydrate and rejuvenate skin. “Rice bran oil has been used for centuries in Japan for its ability to provide omega essential fat t y acids and the belief that it can help to slow the formation of wrinkles,” explained Miller. Shea, jojoba, aloe and avocado oils are also richly hydrating and effective at reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Because aging can discolor the skin, many companies are creating products that help minimize the appearance of age spots and help brighten and even skin tone. JASÖN’s Ester-C skin care line features a skin tone balancer, which uses natural skin lighteners, such as kojic acid, lemon extract and bilberry extract to inhibit the process of melanin production and reduce existing hyperpigmentation. Sugar cane extract and sugar maple extract act as natural exfoliants, helping the brightening process by sloughing off dead skin cells. Zia’s night cream features macadamia nut oil, mulberry bark and licorice extracts that help to firm and brighten the skin, as well as lightening age spots.

While natural products are undoubtedly better for consumers’ skin, natural formulas are often subject to shorter shelf lives. In order to combat this, many companies purposely create smaller batches with shorter shelf lives, ensuring consumers will use the entire product before it expires. “The Biologika line has only a one-year shelf life,” explained Querel. “We basically produce our products in very small quantities to offer the freshest products to our customers.” Garden Girl operates under the same ideology, seeking out the most stable ingredients and recommending products are used within three to four months to ensure optimal efficacy.

In order for retailers to effectively sell anti-aging products and compete with mainstream lines, marketers stress education is a must. “Education is required at the store level to really make consumers aware of how wonderful the experience of natural skin care is,” Spradlin said. She also recommended store demos to help promote products. Meehan agreed, and also suggested companies use more contemporary, enviro-friendly packaging to help attract potential consumers and draw the attention away from mass market products.

5 Easy Ways to Keep That Youthful Glow

Linda Upton, vice president, Börlind of Germany, offers tips to consumers on how to prevent signs of aging

1. Do not smoke.

2. Exercise regularly.

3. Drink at least eight glasses of water daily 

4. Eat a well-balanced, low-fat diet.

5. Eliminate stresses in life; identify the sources of stress and adopt coping/stress-relieving strategies.

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