Beyond skin deep: The top 3 skin care health trends driving our innovation

If you’ve found yourself living anywhere but under a rock in the past few years, you’ll know that long gone are the days of “wash-and-go.” And here to stay are the three-, five- and seven-step skincare routines that include cleansing, exfoliating, moisturizing and everything in-between.

The goal? Put our best face forward by bettering the health and appearance of our body’s largest organ — our skin.

The problem? In reality, no one skincare routine or product works for us all.

At Kenvue, we believe there’s power in numbers. That’s why our team of scientists are dedicated to creating a variety of products to address a wide range of skin concerns —including aging, sensitive and hyperpigmented skin. This helps us provide potential solutions for our consumers that not only work best for their skin but are also fitting for their lifestyles.

With so many products out there, it’s hard for most people to keep track of what’s new in skin health. To help, see below for the top three skin care trends we’re seeing that are driving our current skin innovations.

Scientific advancements in recent years have allowed us to provide customized healthcare based on an individual’s genetics, environment and lifestyle. Known as “precision medicine,” a growing trend involves using this concept to deliver personalized healthcare for our skin.

Following the science, our researchers partnered with other innovators to look at the skin microbiome — which is the invisible layer on our skin that is home to millions of microorganisms like bacteria that help protect us from the external world — in order to understand and personalize skincare of the future.

We know that many internal and external factors can affect our skin microbiome, so we’re exploring an at-home microbiome testing kit that evaluates the impact of Kenvue skin formulations on important bacteria found on our skin’s surface, which can serve as indicators of our overall skin health.

We’re also seeing an increase in the use of skin product subscription boxes to customize skin care based on skin concerns and needs. This has inspired our researchers to study the use of topical (applied on top of skin) and ingestible (feeding the skin from within) skin health treatments based on an individual’s skin concerns.

For many years, skincare available to consumers has only represented some of the faces we see in our communities, often leaving members of communities of color without products that are tailored to their specific skin health needs. But given we live in a world of diverse skin states, tones and types, it’s important to ensure that all steps in the skin-innovation process — from consumer insights to clinical research to delivery of the final product in stores —are inclusive of solutions that reflect the diverse communities we serve.

And while we continue to advance our commitment to diversity and inclusion in our new skin health innovation efforts, we’re also partnering with external innovators to see how we can further maximize skin inclusivity —together.

In 2020, JLABS @ Washington, DC, launched a Black Innovators in Skin Health QuickFire Challenge inviting innovators from across the country to submit potential skin and scalp health solutions for the Black community. One of the finalists was a first-of-its-kind virtual dermatology clinic with a focus on skin of color.

K’ept Health, a resident of JLABS, combines cutting-edge A.I. with personalized care from board-certified dermatologists and medical estheticians experienced in skin of color and integrative medicine to develop a holistic health plan and provide support through virtual visits, private messaging and skin-health monitoring for personal recommendations.

Enhanced skin care personalization, like that of K’ept Health, not only shows us how we can provide more inclusive skincare, but also why it’s so important.

There is a growing passion among consumers to ensure we are preserving the health of our planet as we address skin health concerns. As a result, consumers have become more conscious of how the activities we engage in and the products we use — including their packaging — impact the environment.

Our company made a new commitment to help improve the health of people and the planet, building on top of decades of sustainability efforts.

As part of this commitment, which we call our Healthy Lives Mission, we’re working to improve the sustainability of our products and packaging.

Since the announcement of our commitment, we’ve continued to make strides in sustainability, creating organic and plastic-free women’s health products and compostable, plant-based cleansing wipes. And while we’re proud to see these products launch, we also know that there’s much more work to be done.