Under the company's Phyto brand name it has launched the Phytodensium range - anti-aging shampoo and an anti-ageing serum - both of which have been developed using the key ingredient Gatuline Age-Defense, specifically formulated to tackle the problems associated with hair in individuals aged 30-plus.
Building on principles that rely on natural plant extracts established by company-founder Patrick Ales, Gatuline Age-Defense has been developed using walnut extract. It is said to give hair density, strength and shine, as well as providing added hydration.
Further more tests carried out at the companies laboratories proved that hair follicles had 56 per cent improvement in anti-radical activity to fight damage to hair and a 62 per cent increase in the occurrence of anti-radicals that cure damage to hair, when treated with the shampoo and serum.
The results were deduced from a group of 20 female volunteers aged between 40 and 70, who used both treatments two to three times a week over a period of four weeks.
The test results were said to given hair more texture, deeper colour, less hair breakage and a greater nutrition level that in turn led to stronger hair that was less likely to fall out.
The product line has initially been launched on the domestic market, but, according to company spokesperson Sandra Laurent, the aim is to eventually launch in other major European markets as well as the US.
"We have decided to launch this line of anti-ageing hair treatments in response to a market trend that is still in the early stages, but is clearly there," Laurent told CosmeticsDesign.com "We are responding to a clear market demand with the launch of this product line."
Earlier this year Croda became the first company to launch an anti-ageing agreement for the hair care market with its Keratec IFP ingredient.
Although the ingredient has been incorporated into several hair care formulations now available on the market, the Ales offering is the first to be specifically labelled as being an anti-ageing hair care product range.
In 2004 Euromonitor estimated that the global market for anti-ageing skin care treatments was $9.9 billion, a rise of 16 per cent on the figure a year earlier. Further to this the category has witnessed double digit growth every year since 1998.
The fact that the baby boomer generation has more spending power than any other generation, combined with the growing fixation on youthful looks leads many industry experts to believe that the demand for anti-ageing products looks sustainable for the foreseeable future.
Equally the fact that anti-ageing hair care products now looks set to become a burgeoning niche category is further evidence that the fixation on youthful looks is likely to continue to spurn a plethora of new anti-ageing products catering to every kind of requirement in the future.