Founded by Hélène Azancot, General Manager of various brands of the L’Oréal group over the course of her career, young brand Yodi Beauty offers face and hair care products in the form of powder. “We aim to reach consumers who want to consume beauty differently and help them turn to conscious beauty. I felt like putting my expertise and knowledge in the service of new cosmetics based on transparency, education, and minimalist formulas, and with which science progress helps achieve new things,” she says.
To make things different, Hélène Azancot’s idea is to remove, not add. “Remove anything unnecessary, anything that is not pure efficacy, like preservatives, additives, allergens. And to remove preservatives, the first thing to get rid of is actually water!” she explains.
According to the creator, the anhydrous powder solution is in line with objectives of efficacy, protection, but also sharing and eco-design. Easier to use by the whole family and lighter than solid products, powders can be easily taken everywhere. For now, the range counts two nourishing shampoos, Nutritive Argan and Douceur de Lait d’Amande, and three face cleansers, Vitamine C et Fleurs d’Hibiscus, Charbon Purifiant, and Trio d’Huiles. Formulated with a base concentrated in natural actives and enriched with a prebiotic, these products suit all skin or scalp types, and both men and women.
“We worked on our formulas for two years. It is a real detox. Thanks to powders, we revive products with fewer, but just as efficient ingredients. We remove, without losing,” adds the founder. As for packs, the brand’s commitment to eco-design is respected, as they chose aluminium bottles covered with recyclable and compostable bioplastics labels.
Defining an approach upstream
In line with current trends, including DIY, powder is making progress and gaining ground on unexpected segments, just like oils did a few years back. “Consumers in search of new gestures like powders. They boast a strong environmental dimension, and they are easy to apply and use,” explains Anne Rutigliano, Marketing Director of the Anjac group, whose Aircos company, leader of cosmetic powder manufacturing, has just launched a range of six skincare, cleansing, and exfoliating products. “These formulas offer many ecological advantages, since they do not contain any water. As regards efficacy, the lipophilic actives associated with powders are those with the best affinity and intradermal penetration, and powders also offer very good adhesion to the skin for a cleansing action,” she adds.
Based on a dermocosmetics approach to suit all skin types, the range includes a cleanser and an exfoliating product for oily, dry, and highly sensitive skins, in addition to an “all skin type” version. Products are talc-free, since it is a controversial material suspected of being potentially carcinogenic, and contain up to 95% of ingredients of natural origin.
“Right now, our only constraint lies in the fact that the actives currently available are mainly hydrophilic, so they mix with water. We have a limited choice of (lipophilic) ingredients for dry products. But our Aircos R&D has managed to add hydrophilic ingredients to our water-free powders,” explains Anne Rutigliano. “Also, for mass production, and in particular packaging, powders require adaptations to ensure the right dosage and preserve the quality of the formula and the powder thinness,” she adds.
Yet another evidence of the cosmetic potential of powders, over the summer, Aircos opened a sales office in California, and a laboratory will be inaugurated in early 2021, to pave the way for these products.
Renowned for their know-how and industrial capacity in this segment, the Technature laboratory has been working, since its creation, on a water-free approach to face care with masks and cleansers. They are now launching a hygiene range with shower gels, shampoos, a conditioner, and a hair mask based on argan oil, goji berries, and avocado. “With this product type, we aim to both keep up with the clean beauty trend with more natural formulas free from any controversial ingredients and simplify the list of ingredients. We have been making powders for a long time, but we have reviewed our packaging so that the general public likes them,” explains Communication and Marketing Director Anne-Claire Roudaut.
All formulas contain over 97.7%, and up to 99.7% ingredients of natural origin, and are available in two versions: either as a powder compact with direct application on the skin or hair, or as a bottle with a powder to rehydrate. “It is the ‘I make my own shampoo and shower gel’ version. Consumers keep their own bottle and purchase refill bags: it is a simple gesture, they save money, they adopt an ecoresponsible behaviour, and the formulas are natural, so it is a win-win,” adds Sales Manager Rachel Roger Mazurié.
Other than environmental impact reduction, the absence of preservatives, and the pleasure to make your own product, Anne-Claire Roudaut highlights a sensorial advantage. “Our products feel very soft and velvety. Plus, they do not make the skin feel tight, compared to fluid products,” she says. Given its technological expertise, Technature has almost no limits in terms of manufacturing. “We have the right technology to add both oily and aqueous extracts to our powders,” claims Anne-Claire Roudaut.
Anhydrous powder cosmetics are more environmentally friendly than others in many ways. And brands and consumers have already understood that.
