Sanex ‘BiomeProtect’ launches after 5 years of R&D – ‘we have made a big advance in skin care’

The BiomeProtect range launched in the UK last week and in several EMEA markets, including France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and South Africa, earlier this year. And Sanex was backing up its launch with a €2.3m marketing and education campaign to drive consumer uptake, with several influencer and professional skin care partnerships in the pipeline.

Christina Havaldar, marketing manager for personal care in Northern Europe at Sanex, said the range offered “affordable and accessible personal care products that put the microbiome centre-stage”.​

Five years of research with input from ‘key opinion leaders’ in dermatology​

The 17-product shower gel, bath foam and deodorant range – certified by The British Skin Foundation and featuring hypoallergenic options and products for kids and sensitive skin – was the result of five years of dedicated research into the skin microbiome.

“The majority of the research that led to the development of Sanex BiomeProtect was conducted internally,”​ said Andre'a M. Morgan, director of personal care product development and implementation at Sanex.

“However, we did engage our Dermatologist Advisory Board, consisting of leading dermatologists and scientists across Europe considered as key opinion leaders in the respective areas of concentration. The Sanex Dermatologist Advisory Board provided us with key technical insights and feedback on our research approach,”​ Morgan told CosmeticsDesign-Europe.

‘A big advance’ for skin care – triple biotic complex to balance and optimise skin microbiome​

The BiomeProtect range was formulated with what Sanex coined a ‘triple biotic complex’ – a blend of inulin, butyl and postbiotic biomimics that worked through different mechanisms to balance and optimise the skin microbiome.

“Inulin is a well-known prebiotic, and it is the food source that selectively promotes the growth of the beneficial bacteria such as ​S. epidermidis. Butyl octanol, while not a traditional prebiotic ingredient, shows an unexpected smart biotics effect in selectively inhibiting undesirable bacteria such as pungent odour causing ​corynebacterial and promoting the ratio of the good to bad bacteria,”​ Morgan said. 

“Also, our postbiotic biomimics, which is a blend of short-chain fatty acids of a particular ratio, also demonstrate a prebiotic effect in promoting the good and inhibiting the bad bacteria.”​

Beyond this, she said these postbiotics also proved “quite effective”​ in strengthening the skin barrier and supporting hydration.

“Current scientific evidence has suggested that good skin health and balanced skin microbiome go hand-in-hand, and I believe we have made a big advance in skin care from the tiny world,” ​Morgan said.

300+ experiments later – creating the formula was ‘not a trivial task’​

Developing the triple biotic technology behind Sanex BiomeProtect, however, was “not a trivial task”,​ she said, and involved more than 300 experiments on neat ingredients and prototypes.

“The most challenging aspect of this research was of course identifying the right combination of ingredients to deliver the desired benefits, at a target formula cost that is suitable for a mass market product.”​

Morgan said the use of the prebiotic inulin, for example, had proven especially challenging in terms of ensuring the formula remained “microbiologically robust throughout the entire product lifecycle”.​

“…Through tireless efforts, our scientists were able to overcome all of these challenges with performance, quality and cost – delivering this great new innovation to the marketplace.”​

The BiomeProtect range had been launched into all major stockists in each market.