Creating Cosmetics: Melanin Skin

[00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to In Conversation With, 

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: The monthly podcast series brought to you by the team that produced the global cosmetics newsfeed. This year’s theme is creating cosmetics and this month’s topic is melanin skin. And I’m your host, Siobhan Murphy. 40 percent of Americans today are people of color.

Brands catering to melanin rich skin account for less than 3 percent of the total beauty industry revenues, according to a McKenzie report. So where did the industry go wrong? To help me answer this and more, please let me introduce you to Arnita Walford, Chief Marketing Officer at Switch. Welcome back to In conversation with Anita.

Arnita Walford1_08-29-2024_161933: Thank you for having me again, Siobhan. It’s really nice to be here. Fresh back from vacation and super excited to talk about this very important [00:01:00] topic.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: Yeah, it is a very important topic that I think has been largely dismissed. Let’s start with consumers. What are the consumer challenges and where are the opportunities for ingredients companies and brands to create melanin skin care products? 

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: That’s a great question. I think consumers are still struggling with inclusivity, not only from a product aspect, but also just the conversation, being able to walk out and be comfortable in your melanated skin is still. a struggle in many places across the globe. And inclusivity is just not global yet.

We can say that we’ve made strides. We’ve, increased the advertising and the visibility, and we’ve increased the number of models that are melanated that are around. But the conversation, the images, the voices, the interviews, the collaborations, I think we still have to globally say, what do those [00:02:00] people look like? And what are the products that they’re promoting and who are they really targeting? Because ultimately, most of those products are not targeting melanated skin. And when you have melanated skin, you are constantly looking for the hot product. You want that product that’s answering the problems that You know, that you’re trying to solve. And unfortunately, as you mentioned, most products haven’t even been tested on melanated skin. They’re not focused on the core issues, which are hyperpigmentation or dark spots or unevenness. And when you are starting at that space, as a consumer, you’re very often disappointed, right? You’ve seen this hot new product that is supposed to be the holy grail for curing whatever it is that you’re looking for, whether it’s trying to smooth it out or have better moisture. And ultimately the people that product was tested on don’t look [00:03:00] anything like I also think that consumers are struggling with getting good educated help. And by that, dermatologists are hard to come by. And especially if you’re looking for one that is specialized in melanated skin. So I think we need to address that by being able to put science really at the heart of education.

And I know that’s, It’s a little bit beyond beauty in terms of a topic, but it’s, I think, important to address because the more we talk about science in schools, the more we educate children from a young age, and give them really the science behind the beauty, We’ll be able to plug that science into product development specifically for melanated skin because we’ll have more melanated people on the bench.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: talking about science, what are the technical challenges and where are the opportunities for ingredients companies to create [00:04:00] melanin skin products?

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: Yes, that’s another great question. I personally believe that the onus is on ingredient manufacturers.

We have to manufacture and develop and collaborate with testing companies, but we have to find products that Respond to the nuances of melanated skin. The consumers, they’re hungry for solutions for their specific problems. And I think one of the problems is that there’s just too much noise around what to use, how to use it, when to use it and why to use it. I’ve seen more. Tick tocks recently about if you have melanated skin, you should not be using kojic acid, azelaic acid, or some that say, no, you should only be using, retinoids. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? When you have people on both sides of the spectrum who are melanated and who are telling you different things. Some of them are actually [00:05:00] dermatologists that don’t agree. So we need a compass to help us really navigate and form an actual opinion without going out and breaking the bank, spending money on unnecessary product that is only going to disappoint you with the results or damage your skin because it’s not really the product for you. So that’s my take on technological challenges. Although I do think there’s a lot of brands that are getting it right. They don’t have everything at their disposal. And I think that’s where biotech can play a role. That’s where we can look into the science. We can screen more We can research more to find better ingredients that respond to a specific skin type. And there are great companies out there that, that are doing just that four, five, six skin comes to mind. Urban skin comes to mind. There’s a brand hyper that does a really great job with putting out products that melanin skin. [00:06:00] But, that’s four or five that I can think of off the top of my head. That’s not nearly enough. And those offerings can’t respond to the needs of all the melanated people across the globe.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: And do you think the reason for that is because there’s not been enough investment from the industry or investment from funds being accessible to brands, new brands even established brands.

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: I think it’s a combination of things. So if you look back 15, 20 years, we didn’t really even talk about melanated skin products in what I’ll call mainstream beauty media. It was. That was a special aisle that was a special needs product, almost like a medicated product and eczema product or psoriasis product when in fact it’s the same skin, right?

But it just has some very specific needs because of extra pigmentation and the way that pigmentation reacts to UV [00:07:00] reacts to being shaved, reacts to any type of what we’ll call damage or interaction to the skin. And when something is so marginalized, no, there’s not investment, no, there’s not enough research, no, there’s not enough interest, even though, and in spite of that being a large part of the population. It’s never been an important enough topic until now.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: So why now, Arnita, why now is it becoming A issue, a problem, something to solve.

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: I’m going to go out on a limb and say a few things. I think part of it is that there are that the internet, that social media has really it’s shown good light on a population of people that Are underserved. And that because the economic climate across so many of our regions is very tight. Brands are [00:08:00] now looking at all untapped resources, not just those that were comfortable or easy to achieve. And so People of color across the globe have always been known to spend more money really on products, whether that’s hair care, skin care, et cetera, because their needs have been so specific that they have to go out and get something that works for them.

And typically that something carried a higher price tag. Now, if you’re looking at. Those brands, they realize they have to start catering to those people in a different way, in a better way. Sadly that’s where we are, but fortunately that means that there’s a lot of opportunity for the consumer to have a better product.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: Okay. So if we’re thinking about opportunities, what are the environmental challenges and where are the opportunities for ingredients companies to create melanin [00:09:00] skin products?

Arnita Walford_1_08-29-2024_161933: I honestly think they’re the same as with all beauty products. The goal is to deliver high performance products that function, that have a pleasing texture, that will solve a problem, and that are effective, and that the consumer is happy to purchase again. Now, to do that though, we are constantly struggling with that balancing act of Wanting to do no harm or as little harm as possible to the environment as well.

So we’re, trying to put cosmetic science to work and have it play a part by being able to, as I mentioned earlier, explore as many pathways as possible to put forth the ingredients that are going to hit that mark high performance, low impact. Packaging that’s high performance, low impact, recycling habits, educational habits advertising, the way that we just approach a product, the whole 360 [00:10:00] life cycle of a product and approach to a product has to be the same.

I don’t think that because it’s melanated or because it’s for a specific subgroup of people that the environmental impact should be drastically different.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: Yeah it’s a constant issue for the industry. That can often be overlooked when you have other issues involved, such as not catering for the whole of the environment. I just want to talk to you about regulation, because everything is changing. The U. S. are about to bring out a new directive, the EU’s regulations are quite stern in terms of packaging and also ingredients.

So just when we’re thinking about melanin skin products, what are the regulatory challenges and where are the opportunities for ingredients companies to create? Medellin skin products, what is holding back this sector and what is helping it [00:11:00] push forward to be better and cleaner

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: I think there are so many horror stories around. Skin care as a whole. And I think that there are more probably I’ll go out on a limb and say there are more around the products and ingredients that have been historically targeted to people of color, things that should never have been applied to human skin. So I would say the key regulatory issues here are just making sure products are safe. And. If we are exploring new territory and we’re trying to incorporate new blockbusters, because I do think that the future of the hero ingredient is for sure in front of us, not behind us. And I think that applies even more so to problems like hyperpigmentation. or problems like psoriasis or eczema or extra dry skin. I really do [00:12:00] believe that we have yet to see the best of what beauty can provide in terms of ingredients. But because of that, we also are going to take extra steps to make sure those new ingredients are safe. We won’t have that 20, 30, 40 years of testing tried and true. being on the market behind us, and that should not hold us back. Places like Europe, for sure, are much more prudent when it comes to regulations. If look at the new regulations around vitamin A, I’ve seen a lot of people talking about how those conversations circling around people should be able to decide what they want to put on their faces. Yes and no. But if we’re really thinking about what Europe is doing, it’s saying, hey, we want even that youngest consumer who doesn’t quite understand, who can’t cut through all of the noise in the industry, who’s on TikTok and on Instagram and who can’t understand what she [00:13:00] or he should be using. We’re going to make sure that what’s on the market is safe because we can’t forget that you’re not using one product. And I think that’s part of need for regumentation as well. One thing alone may good and well work and not be a problem when you mix it with three or four different products or in some instances, 10 or 15 different products during the day. It may become a problem. It may become irritating. It may become a problem. Completely detrimental. And consumers just don’t know what that means. They don’t know what those products are. And the ones that are super educated still don’t know enough. So for me, it’s it boils down to safety, making sure that whatever we are putting out for any type of skin, but specifically in this conversation around melanated skin, that they’re just as safe, if not more safe. than everything else that we are issuing across the industry.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: as a former [00:14:00] formulator,

do you think about that when you’re formulating in the lab, do you think about this product will be used? This moisturizer will be used with a cleanser and a sunscreen and a foundation and a primer. Is that a thought process or are you just formulating for that one product?

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: I think you have to think that way. But I won’t say that everyone does. Not every company putting out a product is thinking about the routine within their own lines. perhaps within other lines, probably not. But the reality is 90 percent of the people aren’t using everything from your brand. So you have to be prepared to, take a pulse of what’s hot in the industry.

What is everyone really excited about? What are people using? What are the brands that they’re using? And look at those ingredient lists. And if there are some polarizing [00:15:00] ingredients there, you need to make sure that the products that you’re promoting will work well with those polarizing ingredients.

Otherwise, you’re just adding to the vicious cycle of people having irritated skin, having to use more calming products. And really you’re contributing to the sensitization of skin as a whole, which is a whole nother conversation, quite frankly on overuse of product, especially product that’s too strong for your skin type.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: It’s an interesting part of the conversation with all skincare, because there is this clash, there is this clash of ingredients and products that work well with each other. And this is why I think consumers are confused. Consumers have problems. Consumers don’t know who to talk to, where to go for good advice about their skin.

But I think it would be. Interesting [00:16:00] possibly more brands to work together or product teams to work together across formulations, because that would save so much problems for the consumer, for the companies or the waste problems that we were talking about earlier. 

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: Yeah, that’s a great thought and a great point. give it political spin, cross party formulating being able to share some tips and tricks. does happen within, the societies of cosmetic chemists across the different Bye. regions, you do have formulators. Hey, help me out.

I have this problem in the lab, or can anybody give me tips and tricks? So we’re all friends in the industry without giving away any type of trade secrets. But I don’t think that we are evolved enough as an industry and consumer first enough as an industry to think in that manner and work in that manner.

It’s, we’re [00:17:00] capitalist first.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: I love the idea of consumer first. I think that is something we should all keep in mind. Talking about first and last, thinking about the future, Arnita, can you describe the future of melanin skin care category in three words?

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: Absolutely. I think the future is going to be diversified. I also think it’s going to be high tech, high performance. And absolutely game changing.

siobhan-murphy_1_08-29-2024_151933: And with that, I would like to thank Arnita for joining us again today and to you for listening.

Arnita Walford2_1_08-29-2024_161933: Thanks so much, Siobhan. It was fun.