P&G looks to expand its anti-pollution skin care offerings

We spoke to Dr. Frauke Neuser, principal scientist for Olay Skin Care, who takes us through some of the product innovations in Asia, the latest ingredient developments, and the company’s ambitions to stretch the global reach of its anti-pollution production.

The launch of the Olay Total Effects anti-ageing range aims to give consumers the means of fighting the signs of skin aging, while also protecting and helping to repair damage caused by pollution.

Olay Total Effects marketed with different claims, globally​

What is interesting about the launch is that there will be two different approaches to its launch worldwide, reflecting different environmental conditions and different consumer demands across the world.

“Olay Total Effects is a multi-product range with global reach and what is outstanding is the fact that it contains such a high level of vitamins, which gives it both anti-oxidant and protective properties,” ​Neuser said

“However, in Europe it will not be marketed with an anti-pollution claim, but in Asia, for example, the anti-pollution claim will definitely make a selling point. Likewise, the Olay ProX range is also being marketed as anti-pollution in Asia.” ​

Care over anti-pollution claims in China ​

Dr. Neuser also pointed out that the international differences go beyond environmental and consumer.

“In China in particular, you have to be careful about the claims you make on the product. There are three areas to watch out for with respect to regulation there,”​ Neuser said.

“The first is that a product can be marketed as being anti-pollution if it is a cleaner, and the second distinct area is if it has a barrier or protective effect, which means it cannot be marketed as such. The third area is claims about protection against anti oxidative stress and as an anti-inflammatory, which is also possible.”​

Total Effects launched with three principal claims​

The Total Effects line is barrier-building, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory, and these are the claims we the company says it will be focusing on with the launch of the range in Asia.

So what formulation developments have enabled these comprehensive claims. Dr. Neuser explains:

“The formulation has 40% more vitamins, which includes Niacinamide, Vitamin B3 and Vitamin B5. Niacinamide has been used by P&G for 15 years, but when formulating with it we have to be careful of the dosage levels because if it is too high it can cause a reddening of the skin. We also formulate it with Panthenol to allow for a higher Vitamin B3 dosage.​

“Niacinamide is very effective, so in my opinion, to find something better than it would be a significant challenge.”​​

The next steps for anti-pollution skin care​

Dr. Neuser went on to explain how a deep understanding of pollution and its effects on the skin will be crucial as part of efforts to take skin care treatments to the next level.

“Looking ahead to the future we want to understand the mechanisms for anti-pollution skin care in more depth. We now understand how the products react to pollutants,”​ Neuser said.

“We need to stay in the spaces where pollution is a real problem, which is why a lot of our testing is done in cities and urban areas with high levels of pollution. A lot of our testing is carried out as part of a partnership we run in Beijing, where there is a significant pollution problem and this is crucial to our future development plans.”​