News-in-brief: Nivea, Lierac, Lush

Nivea for men launches hair care for thinning hair, Lierac Paris re-formulates its anti-aging cream with mother of pearl extract and extreme protesting can be seen in Lush’s London store.

Nivea recharges men’s hair

Beiersdorf’s flagship brand Nivea has launched a hair care range specifically designed for balding men.

The Hair Recharge range includes a shampoo and a tonic containing a combination of carnitine and creatine that the company claims stimulates the metabolism of hair follicles and roots.

Laboratory tests have shown that the combination of the two ingredients stimulates the re-growth of strong healthy hair, the company claims.

The product range will be supported by the personal care giant’s impressive marketing budget and consumers will see TV and print advertising, as well as a lottery and a promotional tour in eleven European countries in 2008, with Poland, Russia and Ukraine and the Middle East following in 2009.

Regenerative mother of pearl

Lierac Paris has reformulated the Arkeskin anti-aging cream that was originally released in the 1990s.

The reformulated Arkeskin+ contains the somewhat intriguing mother of pearl powder, and horse chestnut extract to help hydrate the skin, restore firmness and even out skin tone.

According to the company Cytonacre, which is extracted from an oyster found in the North China Sea, has impressive rejuvenating and renewal qualities.

Lierac Paris claims that laboratory experiments illustrate the extract has similar properties to estrogens when applied to menopausal skin, helping to stimulate the growth of keratinocytes, fibroblasts and melanocytes.

These cells form an important part of the skin’s structure and degrade with age.

Extreme protesting at Lush

Vindicating its reputation as an active campaigner on many issues, Lush’s recent protest concerns Shark Finning.

A performance artist will be suspended from hooks in the window of the company’s Regent Street store in London, in order to draw attention to the company’s campaign to stop the practice in conjunction with the Sea Shepherds charity.

The stunt will occur at noon Wednesday and will see the artist suspended by de-barbed shark hooks for fifteen minutes.

The protest adds to a number of increasingly varied campaigns including bath bombs for the closure of the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison and naked shopkeepers protesting against excess packaging.