Discover the full series on beauty trends in Israel here.
Spotlight on: Natural Ingredients
The green trend has a reference to environmental protection. “Natural” makes way for “clean” - Clean beauty products free of ingredients perceived as harmful such as silicones, harsh preservatives and sulfates, predicting a shift toward plant or marine-based products.
While in Israel all-natural products were still a small niche as of 2017, companies are constantly integrating more plant-based ingredients in their products.
There are a growing number of small natural cosmetic companies that base their products on a specific, naturally sourced ingredient.
The presence of natural ingredients is expected to rise as consumers become more attentive to ingredients and their benefits, according to Euromonitor International.
This trend towards natural products is penetrating the premium category as well and several premium brands are boasting natural or organic ingredients, thus better addressing consumers' concerns.
Perched between the Mediterranean Sea and vast deserts to the east, Israel is host to a large variety of indigenous plants, many with therapeutic qualities.
There is an increase in the demand for products with natural ingredients - products will be developed based on natural, organic, probiotic etc.
The rising demand in organic and natural products in both local and global markets has spurred Israeli companies to develop products that meet this need.
The Gan Shmuel Group was established in 1941 as a fruit production and processing agricultural collective is among the most innovative companies in Israel.
The company develops and markets sustainable citrus based products for the food and beverage industries.
From citrus agriculture to reduced sugar juices and aseptic packaging developments it is now expanding to skin care ingredients.
The group has recently developed a new active substance called Polevan which is a natural alternative to the Hyalurionic acid in for anti-aging effects.
Polevan is a naturally occurring bio-polymer formed by an enzymatic process on sucrose. The company has performed a clinical research versus Hyaluronic acid.
The results have shown the beneficial anti-aging effects of Polevan, indicating it that can be further developed as an ingredient for many other cosmetic applications.
Flavor enhancer as a preservative
Sharon Laboratories ltd. is an innovative global manufacturer of preservatives for the skin care industry. They developed SharoSENSE™ Plus, a line of preservatives which originates from natural compounds and provides broad spectrum high preservative efficacy.
This line of preservative blends is based on the active ingredient Maltol, found in plants such as larch trees, and used as a flavor enhancer (INS Number 636) in breads and cakes.
Sharon Laboratories studied its antimicrobial activity and found specific cationic compounds to enhance its preservation efficacy, thus, creating a safe, naturally originating efficient preservative with a pleasant scent.
These “preservative free”, natural-like blends are highly solubility and pH insensitive. A provisional patent was filed for the SharoSENSE™ Plus blends.
Marine actives
‘Blue’ is the new ‘green’. Marine based products are a growing segment in the naturally sourced ingredients.
Sealaria ltd. was founded in an experimental seaweed farm in Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra in the north of Israel.
It is now a one stop shop that produces a unique material; Gelatinized-Algae for the skin care industry and cosmeceuticals.
Gelatinized-Algae The company's IP is the gelatinization process of red algae in general and Gracilaria species in practice.
The process requires extremely clean growth of red-algae, only possible at detached culture. The raw-material is harvested at specific metabolic state. It is promptly processed at controlled conditions to preserve all the ingredients of the natural algae’s wealth.
The controlled Algae growth conditions allow sustainable availability, consistency and premium quality of the produce while meeting the regulatory requirements over environmental protection.
The Gelatinized-Algae is sold for a variety of skin applications such as calming and soothing effects as well as for anti-aging. Seaweeds are an important source of bioactive metabolites for the pharmaceutical industry in drug development.
InoCyte (formerly StarletDerma) now property of the Monterey Bay Labs Inc. has developed an all-natural topical delivery technology by isolating and extracting the collagen based micro-injectors, designed in nature, by which sea anemones use to anesthetize their prey.
These micro-injectors are repurposed to deliver topical formulations that safely and painlessly penetrate the skin within a fraction of a second, and actively deliver the formulations into the epidermis skin layer.
The proprietary technology isolates and extracts the micro-injectors and suspends them within a formulation that is activated by a second water-based cosmetic product, causing the micro-injectors to fire and deliver a cosmetic or pharmaceutical active ingredients 30μm deep into the skin, roughly the upper edge of the epidermis.
The technology, as well as a wide variety of applications, has been extensively tested for safety and efficacy in both pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
StarletDerma Ltd. has signed a development cooperation agreement with L'Oreal SA in 2014 to develop a new method for transdermal delivery of hyaluronic acid, a cosmetic active ingredient for smoothing and filling wrinkles
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Study cited:
Cynthia Layse et al, Bioactivities from Marine Algae of the Genus Gracilaria. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2011, 12, 4550-4573; doi:10.3390/ijms12074550.
