customer trends in cosmetic industry - natural preservatives and high tech substances

New ingredients for cosmetics are getting more and more popular and since I'm working on developing natural ingredients, I learned a lot about that industry.

Today, cosmetic industries are big business and there is a rising demand to special new ingredients. Why?

#1 Some substances - used in cosmetics since years - are getting a bad reputation. Parabens f.e. are used as preservatives since years in nearly 1/3 of cosmetic products till someone questioned if there's a connection between cancer and parabens. But studies showed that the paraben concentration in cosmetics has to be 100x higher to show any effect on cell toxicity. Since there are claims as 'Parabens free' the preservation of cosmetics is replaced with substances like formaldehyde, phenoxyethanol or sodium benzoate. Although they are thought safe, there is no harm in going for parabens-free products.

#2 Consumers demand for natural and cheap products. Due to environmental issues consumers are concerned about using non-organic products and packaging materials. But the prices should be low. Finding a way to produce high amounts of natural preservatives in a cheap process isn't that easy. At first a natural preservative has to be checked of toxicity and compatibility to skin. The next step is to find a cheap way for production - you can extract a substance directly from plants, but if you have to sacrifice a ton of roses to get 0.1g of rose extract, the process is not economical. Most natural substances are produced by microorganisms today. But to develop a profitable process, it can last for years.

#3 Cosmetic industry lead people to believe need special skin treatment. The last few years some products like skin care against air pollution and blue light or with micelle water (I don't know what kind of substances are able to cure air pollution, but if you have some, there are better things you can do with then smearing it into your face :D)
In my opinion organic substances aren't always good and non-organic s. aren't always bad. And I'm a fan of cosmetics, but I wouldn't buy a skin care for 5$ in the supermarket, in that case you can do something better for less by yourself.
It's a fact that anti-aging ingredients like hyaluronic acid or collagen hold up skin aging. And for people with skin problems there are many possibilities to cure it with skin care products.