Prose and BreezoMeter develop personalized hair NPD for geo aggressors based on location
25 Mar 2022 --- Custom beauty company Prose is partnering with climate tech company BreezoMeter to gather information on micro-local pollution levels that affect each customer’s hair and scalp that will be used for personalized NPD. BreezoMeter’s AirQuality API will be used by Prose for its consumer consultations.
“By partnering with BreezoMeter, we will enhance our proprietary consultation and continue to deliver our customers in the US and, more recently, Canada, the most personalized hair care formulas and products,” Nicolas Mussat, co-founder and CTO at Prose, tells PersonalCareInsights.
“Our work with Prose demonstrates how products can be adapted to recognize the everyday threat of climate change and protect consumers from ever-changing environmental factors,” Ran Korber, CEO and co-founder at BreezoMeter, also tells PersonalCareInsights.
“Since we customize each product for the consumer, we are partnering with BreezoMeter to utilize their extensive data on geo-aggressors to inform the best possible formulas for customers.”
BreezoMeter’s data on environmental factors such as smoke exposure, air pollution, and other geo aggressors in a specific place will be factored into Prose’s exclusive online consultation to ensure customers’ formulas are even more bespoke.
Geographical location impacts hair and scalp health
Geographical location has a significant impact on hair and scalp health, Mussat acknowledges.
“What we call ‘geo-aggressors’ are phenomenons from our environment that negatively affect us, take a huge toll on our hair health and can even cause hair loss. Important geo-aggressors affecting our hair and scalp include pollution, water quality, UV rays and even stress,” says Mussat.
BreezoMeter’s data on environmental factors such as smoke exposure and air pollution will be factored into Prose’s exclusive online (Credit: BreezoMeter).
According to Prose, although many individuals are aware that sun exposure and excessive bleaching can cause hair damage, they are unaware that one of the most critical factors affecting hair and scalp health is an individual’s environment.
For example, locations near industrial complexes are often more polluted than rural ones.
“At Prose, we use a new approach that counters mass production and offers custom, clean and natural products designed to protect hair from geo-aggressors based on our customers’ location,” adds Mussat.
Our brand’s online consultation takes geographical location into account at the beginning of the shopping process and looks over 85 different factors that can impact an individual’s hair and scalp, he explains.
“Once these factors are considered alongside other questions to build a customer’s custom routine, Prose creates a bespoke formula for the individual customer and provides made-to-order products with high-quality ingredients to help combat the effect geo-aggressors have on their hair.”
Ingredients targeting geo-aggressors
BreezoMeter’s technology takes data on the air quality and environmental factors where a customer is during a consultation. The local environmental information is then used by Prose to identify which ingredients should be incorporated into the customer’s products.
Essential Ingredients that alleviate geo-aggressors and can be found in Prose’s custom formulas which include red algae, hyaluronic acid and lilac extract and jojoba beads.
“The red algae easily processes UV rays and pollution to deliver antioxidant protection for the hair and skin. Secondly, the hyaluronic acid and lilac extract increases moisture and improves elasticity, helping to counteract the brittleness (and breakage) that pollution can cause. Lastly, the jojoba beads provide gentle exfoliation for the scalp,” Mussat explains.
The in-depth online consultation allows for creating tailored products that consider geo-aggressors.
Prose’s portfolio currently consists of custom formulated Pre-Shampoo Hair Mask, Pre-Shampoo Scalp Mask, Shampoo, Conditioner, Leave-In Conditioner, Hair Oil, Curl Cream, Dry Shampoo and Root Source Supplement.
The future of environment-based NPD
Rather than waiting for governments to make wide-sweeping changes to protect consumers, haircare brands are increasingly looking to environmental data and technology to understand how shifting climate conditions can damage their consumers’ hair wellness, Korber explains.
“We’ll continue to see these brands introduce environmental protections directly into their products to offer consumers protection from the air surrounding them. These efforts will quickly go from novel to the norm, just as the proliferation of SPF in beauty products became mainstream over the last decade.”
Also creating hair NPD that takes environmental factors into account, P&G previously released its hair brand KeepItAnchored, targeting oxidative stress caused by the environment and reducing hair loss.
By Nicole Kerr
