According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. Asian population grew 72% between 2000 and 2015 (from 11.9 million to 20.4 million), the fastest growth rate of any major racial or ethnic group. The largest groups are of Chinese, Indian and Filipino origin. Often this statistic is usually thought of as the AAPI (Asian America, Pacific Islander) population however there is another subset that should be addressed.

For instance, the Muslim population is set to grow significantly faster than the world’s total population, yet this market remains very under-served. As we extend the US multi-racial beauty conversation, let’s work to understand how to address these consumer subsets needs also.

Many people across the Western Asia and North Africa regions wear head coverings in one way or another as a sign of faith, status, modesty, mourning, or tradition. Others have what seems like mythically long, smooth, and lustrous locks of the richest hues that is don no headpiece. For either option, these consumers have thick strands with varying densities. So, What are they looking for in hair care products?

Low-maintenance, holistic rituals.

For many of these consumers, their routines have consisted of basic shampooing and oiling (the process of coating and combing through oil on dry hair, followed by a cold rinse, to restore essential oils) as a pre and post shampoo process. As this routine is minimal but highly regarded, products that are multi-functional with recognizable ingredients are how to capture these consumers.

Protective Styling of Strands for Shape

Hair is often styled in braids to ensure nourishment and protect strands. Aiding in shape retention without heat is an ideal product for when releasing braids or heatless curlers.

Start with ingredients that provide light moisturization, prevent static and frizz to help to keep hair manageable and most importantly healthy. Consider also ingredients that allow for Vegan and Halal Claims.

Focus ON

Formulations to Address Moisturization, Static, Combability, and Styling Together

1. Moisturizing hair styling powder with AEROSIL® R 812

2. Powdered Hair Styling Aid with Dry Water

3. Air Dry Hair Conditioner Mist

4. Natural Pre-Wash Hair Mask

5. VersaShine Hair Treatment

Protective Styling of Strands for Shape  
Hair is often styled in braids to ensure nourishment and protect strands. Aiding in shape retention without heat is an ideal product for when releasing braids or heatless curlers

1. Hair Refreshing Micellar Mist 

Populations stemming from the WANA/MENA regions are not the only groups to wear head covering, in fact across North America, there are 574 federally recognized Indian Nations (Indigenous people) many of who wear traditional or ceremonial headdress. In addition across Africa, people have worn and brought with them head wraps also known as Yorubas/Angeles/doek/dukus. The pieces are worn in the Americas as fashion statements, as a marker of communal identity and pride, to protect the hair and scalp or to avoid styling the hair. Read more about that here

Provide added benefits through concepts that address the effects of covering the hair such as greasiness, odor, static and flat hair allow for a more comprehensive product selection. Appropriate solutions can be leave-in products that moisturize the hair throughout the day, as well as products such as mists that provide freshness and fragrance for the covered hair.

There is also an opportunity for products that refresh the scalp, such as hair masks or night repair creams to provide nourishment and rejuvenation to the scalp.

Emphasize the simplicity of formulas, yet also the efficacy while keeping convenience and light textures front and center. Dry shampoo and Dry conditioner fit in perfectly here. In fact, only 29% of all US consumers have not tried but are interested in trying Dry Conditioners while only 22% use leave-in conditioners.

There is no ingredient like the Agrana DSA 7, which are colored, lipophilic, small particle size starches that have improved conditioning and attraction to the hair.

• Barley & Rice Dry Shampoo Paste Formula
• Natural Compact Dry Shampoo

Other Formulations for Consideration

• Foam Conditioner
• Natural Restore Conditioner

For more on the needs of Finer Dark Straight Hair, generally found within the AAPI Population head on over here.

SUSTAIN-A-BEAUTY: Sustainably Beautiful Hair & Skin Care Concept

Our SUSTAIN-A-BEAUTY concept includes the following hair and skin care formulations that focus on sustainable ingredients and formulation types.

• • Exfoliating Face and Body Powder

  • Hydrating Water Cream​

  • Recharging Overnight Face Mask​

  • Volumizing Dry Shampoo Paste

  • Hair & Scalp Restoring Dry Shampoo

  • Air Dry Hair Conditioner Mist​

  • Warming Micellar Scalp Tonic

  • Moisture Boost Sleep Mask​

  • Microbiome Balancing Water Cream

These formulations use 15 or less ingredients and feature sustainable benefits such as water-free, waterless application, multi-functional and vegan, and they’re designed to meet many independent clean beauty requirements. They can be used alone or easily customized to meet your desired product claims.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility… But, do we?

Stress, It’s in Every Body

Stress takes on many forms in the body, for everybody. This diagram illustrates how, below will connect product concepts and ingredients to address these concerns.

Holistic Healing or Hocus Pocus?

A Holistic Approach to Health and Wellness is to take part in practicing overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional well-being. The old Norwegian have practice this since the late 19^th century through what they call Hygge, meaning well-being and translating to a moment in your daily routine you carve out for yourself to elicit relaxing, soothing, warming, caring, and pampering for comfort.

So, how do entire generations move away from pharmaceuticals and “dealing with it” to igniting a Global Wellness industry worth $4.2 trillion?

The key to indulging in this self-care experience is mindfulness, reflection, and acceptance resulting in more happiness, confidence, fulfillment, and awareness. This includes everything they eat, do, consume, spend money on and which aligns with their values.

These formulas features both physical and emotional feel-good attributes to get you started:

• Soothing Aloe-Turmeric Lotion Bar

It’s not all Common Sense

How we feel or perceive to feel has a lot to do with our senses. The awareness we have of our physical and mental reactions can cause negative thoughts and behaviors. For instance, of those reporting having stress, 36% also reported feeling nervous or anxious, and 35% also reported feeling irritability or anger. With that, two-thirds of U.S. workers say they engage in drinking or crying regularly in order to deal with stress.

Awareness when these physical and emotional feelings come up, is creating adoption of positive behaviors for immediate course correction such as topical oils and balms, pressure therapy especially on the face and hands, and aromatics which can be incorporated into breathing exercises. All which are readily accessible and effective quickly. Think of roll-on and stick formulations for application to pressure points.

• Full Detox Eucalyptus
• DetoxHydration Mask Formula 
• Transformation Cooling Balm Formula
• Moisturizing Melting Balm
• Stimulating Body Lotion

Netflix and Chill-Out with the Exorbitance

At a time when you can stream a documentary on just about anything, and information overload is the norm, it is fitting that a series on bringing joy and removing clutter quickly became the #1 watched series on Netflix. Excess=Stress, this mentality is not only applied to the physical products cluttering one’s bathroom and make-up bags, but the ingredient lists of those products as well. The thought is to pare down as a way to feel less overwhelmed, the Swedish actually have a word for this way of life, known as “Lagom” meaning an overarching approach to life, not too much, not too little, just right. Here are two ways to channel Lagom in your formulation inspiration:

Take a look at this formula which hits on both mentioned ways to pare down.

• Less is More Oil Release Foam Formula

Additional Formulation for Inspiration:

• EcoGizer Serum 
• EcoViving Face Care 
• Calming, Clean and Clear (“C3”) Cushion Cream 
• Transformation Cooling Balm

Splish Splash – We think it’s time for a Bath

Although Bath & Shower is a mature market segment, bath products have seen a revival as a means to relieve stress and indulge in “me-time”. There are a few things attributing to this new interest:

• Increased availability across all buying channels as brick and mortar visits have decreased with COVID-19
• Growing pressure from Direct-to-Consumer brands capturing those with convenience and novelty motivators
• Approachable price points, broadening the consumer adoption
• Increased brand share mix, with more than half being niche brands

Main Motivator for Taking a Bath – Chill

 

3 out of 4 Americans report having stress at least once over a 30-day period, according to the American Psychological Association. This number has manifested to increased stresses, about increased things, more consistently in the year 2020, and is higher the younger the generation.

Those who reported increasing their use of Bath Products in 2018 vs 2017

• 72% to relax
• 51% for health benefits like stress relief & sleep

Consumers habits shift to incorporate routines that help them feel better mentally and physically.

Engage Customers

Sensorial Engagement has become an invaluable currency to people today, navigating so many mental stimulants. Make them feel something about your bath product by incorporating a combination of ways to ignite the senses, through:

Formats Leave More to be Desired

Granules/Salts still hold the highest number of launched formats. Leaving opportunity for newer novel formats. Consider concepts that incorporate textures or formats such as:

Take Inspiration from Other Geographies and Food & Drink

Ingredients to Get you Started

• Surfactants for foaming products
• Oils or Butters such as aloe vera, coconut, and eucalyptus
• Extracts such as chamomile, ginger, and turmeric
• Scrubs for exfoliation
• Starches such as Maisita 9040 and Agenaflo 9050
• Silicas can be used to entrap water and/or oil soluble ingredients and fragrances
• Clays can also be used for natural coloring as well as binding
• CBD and Hemp ingredients for adaptogens and moisturizing
• Arnica for muscle relief

Relax We have Starting Point Formulations

• Make It Fizz Bath Bomb
• Bath Praline in Jungle Green, Marble Blue, and Twinkling Cornflower
• Cleansing Powder-to-Foam
• Skin Tone Evening Liquid
• Escape Bubble Bath
• Foaming Shower Oil
• Little Mermaid Bubbles
• Volcanic Exfoliator
• Cleansing Gel for Sensitive Skin
• Massage Scrub Balm
• Flower relaxing bathing salt
• Powder to foam with SIPERNAT® 50 S and SIPERNAT® 2200 PC