Kenvue’s winter skin care strategy: Merging ingredient innovation and digital personalization

Cold weather creates unique demands and challenges on the skin, but opens up opportunities for beauty brands to design winter-specific solutions. Kenvue has created a range of innovations aimed at addressing concerns such as dryness, sensitivity, and compromised skin barriers.

The parent company of Aveeno and Neutrogena is adapting its product offerings to meet the needs of consumers in the cold. Kenvue uses ingredients such as Triple Oat Complex and glycerin to deliver hydration to the skin. 

The advancement of digital tools are also shaping cold climate skin care. Kenvue says using AI-powered tools helps create personalized and targeted winter weather solutions for beauty buyers. 

Personal Care Insights sits down with Colin Pinto, VP, Skin Health R&D from the consumer health company to explore how Kenvue approaches winter care and the technologies driving its product development strategies.

Which ingredients are emerging as game-changers for winter care? 

Pinto: Our new Aveeno Skin Relief Healing Ointment, powered by Triple Oat Complex and glycerin, is a breakthrough for severely dry, compromised skin. Triple Oat combines colloidal oat, oat oil, and oat extract to:

• Stimulate natural ceramide and hyaluronic acid production for barrier restoration.
• Buffer elevated pH levels that occur when the barrier is impaired, reducing transepidermal water loss.
• Soothe irritation and calm inflammation associated with dryness and chapping.

Glycerin acts as a powerful humectant, drawing water into the skin, while the ointment’s occlusive texture locks in moisture for lasting comfort. This synergy ensures hydration and healing from within, helping skin return to its healthy, balanced state even under harsh winter conditions. Aveeno Skin Relief Healing Ointment hydrates and strengthens skin from within. 

How do concerns like barrier repair, sensitivity, and long-term skin health influence your winter product development?

Pinto: Barrier integrity is central to our winter care approach. Seasonal stressors amplify sensitivity and compromise skin health, so we prioritize formulations that deliver both immediate relief and long-term resilience. 

Products like Aveeno Healing Ointment and Neutrogena Hydro Boost are designed to layer seamlessly with active treatments — such as retinol — without diminishing efficacy. This ‘sandwich’ method ensures that consumers can maintain pro-aging routines while preventing dryness and irritation, reinforcing our commitment to holistic skin health year-round.

How are digital tools helping consumers adjust their routines for winter?

Pinto: AI-powered platforms like Neutrogena Skin360 are transforming seasonal skin care by offering personalized, science-backed recommendations. These tools integrate weather data, lifestyle inputs, and advanced imaging diagnostics to identify evolving skin needs — such as increased dryness or sensitivity — and suggest tailored solutions. By empowering consumers with proactive insights, we help them adapt routines before issues arise, making winter care smarter, more precise, and confidence-driven.

How do climate change and more unpredictable winters impact how you think about seasonal product development?

Pinto: Fluctuating temperatures and humidity patterns demand adaptable solutions. Our formulations are designed to perform across a spectrum of conditions — from extreme cold to sudden thaws — while addressing heightened sensitivity linked to environmental stress. 

We also emphasize versatile textures and layering strategies, ensuring consumers can customize hydration and protection as conditions shift. This flexibility is key to meeting evolving seasonal challenges in a changing climate. Advanced skin care formulations restore skin balance in harsh conditions. 

What does Kenvue offer for tailored cold-specific skin care?

Pinto: Cold and dry winter weather can make skin feel dry, tight, itchy, and chapped. Some people crave a deeply emollient skin conditioning formulation like our Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturizing Lotion to lock in long-lasting moisture and help heal itchy, very dry skin. 

For those desiring a lighter texture with an ointment-like effect, Aveeno launched Skin Relief Healing Ointment. This breakthrough formula features 40% glycerin with triple oat to create a semipermeable barrier that enhances active healing, delivers more moisture to repair dry skin twice as fast, and protects it for longer. With its aesthetically superior lightweight texture, it is preferred 2:1 over the leading ointment benchmark on the market.