The Future of Nutricosmetics Is Multifunctional Products and Microbiome Innovation

Nutricosmetic formulations have always operated under the premise of a healthy body translating to healthy skin, but the focus has predominantly been on the outcome: healthy skin, hair, and nails. This is beginning to change as consumers understand the value of more comprehensive support and brands deliver multifunctional products. Paula Simpson, BSc (Nutritional Sciences), RNC, an innovator and formulator in natural beauty and integrative dermatology, sat down with Nutritional Outlook to unpack these emerging trends and highlight the importance of sound science and accessible marketing to deliver effective, commercially successful products.

Sebastian Krawiec: So, nutricosmetics have traditionally been associated with aging, with consumers trying to reduce these superficial signs. Obviously, appearance is still kind of a central premise of the category, but are you seeing increased interest in nutricosmetic products that promote longevity to offer more comprehensive support for healthy aging?

Paula Simpson: Absolutely. When we think of nutricosmetics, you’re talking about nutrition, right? Targeted nutrients and supplementation to support our outer aesthetic appearance. These are often antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents, fortifying nutrients, amino acids, and peptides. These ingredients and nutrients alone are indirectly going to support joint health, [gut] barrier health. What we are seeing is more multifunctional ingredients. You can take your beauty supplement, but did you know that it also supports joint health? So women[‘s health], active lifestyles, you’re looking at the connection between gut and skin health, or supplements for sleep. We’ve really [moved] away from the overall aesthetic focus for nutricosmetics, and now it’s more cohesive with our lifestyles.

Sebastian Krawiec: That makes sense. Leaning into that multifunctional aspect, we recently covered colostrum in our Ingredients to Watch because SPINS data showed a quadruple-digit growth of colostrum in the hair, skin, and nail category. This was attributed to the multibenefit profile of the ingredient. I wonder if you can comment on what you make of the growing use of colostrum for beauty-from-within formulations and the benefits of that ingredient.

Paula Simpson: Will it be the next collagen? We could ask that question. When we think about what it is, it’s that first milk produced at birth. [Considering] its source, I can’t see all consumers really wanting to take colostrum, but when you talk about the nutrient profile and synergy of actives in it, you’re looking at growth factors, immunoglobulins, peptides, antioxidants, so it’s a multifunctional, synergistic blend of core nutrients that are going to support collagen production, promote GI barrier and skin barrier health, for example. Fortifying nutrients…that are going to help with hair growth and nail growth. It’s kind of an all-in-one ingredient, so I could see it working very well within the nutricosmetic area, but to those consumers that are okay with taking animal-derived products. But you’ve got to [also] look at those that are lactose intolerant or have immunocompromised conditions. So there’s a specific category or demographic, I could see this tailored to for sure.

Sebastian Krawiec: Any other notable ingredient trends you’ve observed in nutricosmetic product formulations? And are there any kind of current trends in the space that you sort of disagree with or bristle at?

Paula Simpson: OK,…so let’s start with one thing I think we need to step back a little bit on. We work a lot on micro fads and trends, and we get this from social media, and this creates a consumer buzz and a frenzy, and then brands often feel rushed to get to market a product to accommodate this micro fad or trend that’s gone 6 months later. So I think...there’s still, from a…negative standpoint, a lot of misinformation and hype out there [regarding]…finding your beauty in a pill, if you will. And what we need to do is…step back, and we need to focus on…the realistic aesthetic benefits you’re going to get from taking something on an ingestible side vs something on a topical side. They are 2 completely different mechanisms of action. When you’re ingesting something, this needs to break down through the system, through the GI tract, [move] systemically through the body, where it’s going to support the targeted organs and relay it’s an aesthetic benefit. So this is going to take some time...This isn’t something that you put on topically, and you see that instant glow on the cream that you put on your hand … or on your face, for example. So I think there’s always been that misconception that you’re going to get an immediate benefit with a beauty supplement, and this created a lot of backlash.

With that, I think a big positive is that we are more educated, both industry and consumer, and understanding the bidirectional beauty benefit of taking an ingestible along with a topical; they go better together. You could take a supplement, and a supplement would be more far-reaching in the long run. It’s going to take longer to get that benefit, but in the long run, you’re building those deeper layers in the skin, the external cellular matrix, the collagen, elastin, the brick-and-mortar of the skin. So, you’re going to get a longer-lasting kind of benefit over a topical alone, but when they’re used together, you’re getting the full benefit. I think we’ve come a long way.

That’s a big positive [regarding] the education component and also the consumer demanding transparency and understanding how ingredients work from a scientific, clinical perspective, but also from a transparency perspective: Where is this ingredient grown? What are the farming practices? Is it sustainable? I think there’s been a lot of amazing growth within the nutricosmetic industry, and a big part of that is in education. …[T]here’s still a lot to be done, I believe, because there are always going to be new innovations and research coming out, and we’re going to advance our understanding in the nutricosmetic sector. But I do believe that education [will] always…be the strongest component, and it’s great to see that that’s finally happening.

Sebastian Krawiec: You have long been a proponent of microbiome support for both skin and overall health. This is a fast-evolving area. Any striking innovations that you think are driving that category forward?

Paula Simpson: The microbiome is so amazing, so intriguing to me. For me, the microbiome works on the concept of an ecosystem that is in balance. And so, when microbiome [products] started popping up, the focus was very scientific and very sophisticated in language that it was really hard for people to decipher. And so what I have seen is a bit of a shift, [moving] more into a holistic and integrative marketing language where they’re connecting how the gut and skin speak, how the gut, skin, and brain axis speak, and how this all relates to microbiome health. Essentially, [consumers are learning] how you can maintain healthy, balanced skin through mitigating dysbiosis in the GI tract, how the gut is the epicenter and controller of inflammation, immunity, and how the skin [will]… behave. So, I think the language is becoming a little more integrated and simplified, which is lovely, because people are understanding.

That being said, the microbiome science is just exploding, and from the clinical side of it, I think…there’s a bit of a shift. There’s been a concern with probiotics, which, for immunocompromised populations, can be an issue if taken long-term or in different doses. So the research is…moving more toward synbiotic formulation. When you’re looking at a combination of pre-, pro-, and postbiotics, you’re starting to see a little bit of a race now happening in the research realm for postbiotics, the heat-killed bacteria, and understanding how these lysates or metabolites can benefit skin vs a probiotic alone, which can be highly unstable, though manufacturing is getting better. So, there’s a bit of a shift more toward the synbiotics and pre- and postbiotics.

And then when we think about prebiotics,…the story is coming out now [about] prebiotics: eat more fiber. …As a nutritionist, that’s really what it’s about. So, the symbiosis of all of them…is where microbiome supplementation formulation is heading. And you know, what’s really exciting is understanding how we can shift dysbiosis or a low diversity of certain species, for example, within the GI tract, and how it could affect skin health, inflammatory skin conditions—atopic dermatitis, acne, psoriasis—we are even looking at hair health on the microbiome front. So, it’s such an amazing, intriguing industry. But for me, in one sentence, it’s really just about a balanced ecosystem.