Winter skin care trends: Hydration, targeted serums and giftable beauty solutions

As winter approaches, skin care companies are focusing on hydration, skin barrier protection and targeted active ingredients. Personal Care Insights connects with Beiersdorf, Vantage and TriNutra to learn more about their moisturizing formulations, personalized serums and holistic oil offerings that can combat seasonal skin challenges and enhance self-care routines.

Trends and treats

Beiersdorf believes “skin care is perceived as a form of self-care and not only as a necessity.”

A company spokesperson explains the importance of hydration, a healthy glow and rich, balmy products:

“Special editions with wintery and Christmasy designs and scents are popular. We offer our iconic Nivea Creme in a limited Christmas design as well as our limited Nivea Winter Moment shower gel, body lotion and deodorant. As winter is the season of giving gifts, we offer gift boxes that contain a selection of products and on-top goodies like cozy socks or sun protection.”

Vantage says “need-based skin care through targeted active ingredient efficiency” is becoming popular and is a “must have” in daily routines. Responding to this trend, the specialty ingredient provider developed five minimalist serums targeting specific skin needs.

Maeva Abdoulhadi, technical support manager of EMEA at Vantage, says, “During the colder months, the skin is exposed to additional threats caused by environmental factors such as low temperatures, wind and fewer UV rays, as well as biological factors like fatigue.”

“This can cause skin damage, including dryness, altered skin barrier, loss of radiance and accelerated aging. Serum formulations are essential products in any skin care routine because they are packed with powerful active ingredients that address a variety of needs. Whether it’s deep skin moisturization, skin barrier repair or skin soothing, this cosmetic category is intended to provide an effective solution to specific skin concerns.”

Dr. Liki von-Oppen Bezalel, Business Development director at TriNutra explains how the the company uses clinical research to meet consumer expectations for natural products to help support healthy hair, skin and scalp all year around and particularly in the winter.

“Winter skin care can bring out the ‘not-so-pretty beauty’ conditions, including hair fall, scalp seborrhea, dandruff, itch, skin redness, dryness, acne, aging signs and more. Many of these have a direct link to proper nutrition and lifestyle, and consumers increasingly understand this direct link. In fact, mitochondrial functionality became one of the key hallmarks of aging. When mitochondrial functions, including proper metabolism, respiration and energy production, are not functioning at their optimum, tissues and organs in our body show aging signs, which naturally affect our appearance.”

“Because ‘beauty from the inside out’ is so widely accepted, we expect consumers to look for products that can help improve mitochondrial functions as well as inflammation or inflammaging. Research has suggested that chronic low-level inflammation can break down collagen and damage skin cells, leading to itchy, dry, red skin with uneven pigmentation,” she says.

Beiersdorf believes “skin care is perceived as a form of self-care and not only as a necessity.”Richer ingredients

According to Beiersdorf, key ingredients that customers should look for include natural moisturizers like shea butter, cocoa, macadamia or almond oil, which are popular in winter skin care. 

“Further ingredients with a moisture-binding effect, such as urea, lactate or glycerine are high on the list. A key ingredient for skin hydration is hyaluronic acid, which we feature in face care as well as body care products to prevent dehydration, flaking and skin damage,” she adds. 

“Another important aspect is sun protection for the face, as the sun rays during the winter months should not be underestimated. Therefore, we recommend using sun protection products every day of the year, especially when skiing or snowboarding is on the agenda.”

Von-Oppen Bezalel of TriNutra says a “growing awareness of natural oils for skin care is helping to drive black seed oil (BSO) sales as a personal care ingredient. High-quality BSO such as B’utyQuin (cold-pressed and standardized) is also gaining popularity due to its clinically proven anti-microbial and antioxidant properties and its ability to boost mitochondrial functions that naturally slow with age. Our BSO also can improve cell respiration and energy production and help with a healthy inflammation response.”

Meanwhile, Abdoulhadi of Vantage believes people’s skin will respond differently to environmental changes: 

“Some people have more sensitive skin, and changes in temperature can cause extreme dryness, resulting in skin irritation and redness. For others, poor skin conditions result in a loss of radiance, dull skin and a less healthy appearance. Serum formulations allow for customization because everyone can choose the best formulation for their skin needs.” 

“Our new formulation concept is designed to meet this need for personalization: whether it’s boosting skin radiance with our Radiance Reveal Intense Serum, protecting skin barrier function with our Barrier Protect Advanced Serum or reducing accelerated aging due to increased skin sensitivity with Defense Antioxidant Serum and our Strataphix technology, we address a variety of common skin concerns. These serums can be used alone or combined to address different needs,” she says.

Maeva Abdoulhadi, technical support manager of EMEA at Vantage.Common winter issues

Spelling winter can cause the skin to become very sensitive, requiring extra care to prevent itchiness, dryness or flaking. Beiersdorf recommends consumers use “best-in-class skin care products” for face, lip, hand and body care. 

“By using ingredients such as urea (for example in our Eucerin UreaRepair Plus Lotion 10%), we offer long-lasting moisturization and nourish the skin during cold weather, dry air and constant temperature changes inside and outside. Further, we offer extra-rich body care with deep care serum to moisturize the skin deeply and effectively (for example, Nivea Rich Body Milk),” says Beiersdorf.

TriNutra is targeting the skin barrier:

“Structure, moisturization and hydration are always a focus for consumers during winter. This is because skin structure and thereby hydration are affected not only by internal factors but also by external influences like extreme temperature changes, humidity (or lack thereof), as well as indoor and outdoor pollution, which can harm the skin and cause inflammation,” says Von-Oppen Bezalel.

“Skin barrier disruption can also lead to extensive water loss, thereby ‘drying’ and ‘breaking’ the skin. A disrupted barrier is a good ground for an imbalance of skin microbiota, which as well may lead to skin disorders. Systemic factors such as hormonal changes, weakened immune system and microbial imbalance can affect the skin structure and barrier functions to reduce hydration.”

Additionally, she advises that supplying companies consider these various factors to provide effective solutions to seemingly simple issues that are actually rather complex.

Vantage’s Abdoulhadi agrees:

“Hydration is the base of good skin conditions. Maintaining a good moisturization level is key for healthy-looking skin, as skin dryness can lead to dullness, roughness and cracking.”

“Ingredients such as Ceramide TIC-001, which is a biomimetic active ingredient that mimics the skin’s natural ceramides to protect the skin barrier function. It boosts the skin’s hydration levels and soothes skin rugosity at low levels of use. Hylasome EG10 is a crosslinked hyaluronic acid technology inspired by dermatology treatments. Thanks to its very high molecular weight, this active forms a film on the skin and protects it from dehydration over time.”

Backed by clinical testing, Abdoulhadi says that by combining the two actives in the formula Barrier Protect Advanced Serum, Vantage offers a solution for the driest skin.

B’utyQuin is a “potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial” for cosmetic and dermatologic use.Anti-aging action

Von-Oppen Bezalel says B’utyQuin is a “potent anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and antimicrobial” for cosmetic and dermatologic use, with research showing it optimizes mitochondrial functions that help in cell respiration, metabolism and energy production for more vital cells and more water molecules, i.e., increased hydration.

“The anti-aging facial cream with 3% B’utyQuin presented a 22.2% increase in skin hydration, an 11.2% improvement in skin firmness, a 6.8% increase in skin elasticity, and a small (but significant) increase in skin luminance after 28 days. Additionally, B’utyQuin was shown to positively influence irritated, itchy and scaly skin and scalp,” she adds.

Abdoulhadi presents other Vantage serums, such as the biomimetic emulsion Radiance Reveal Intense Serum, which is “ideal for sensitive skin as its composition includes biomimetic ingredients like Distinctive Emul-Lipid BA CC and jojoba oil, which have a high affinity with the skin and improve the skin microbiome condition.” 

“Dual-phase liquids like Midnight Recovery Concentrate or water-based gels are suitable for greasy skin, as they are less loaded with an oily phase that could contribute to clogging pores. Finally, gel creams protect dehydrated skin thanks to their oil phase, which creates a protective film on the skin, thus limiting water loss. Some emollients may help the skin penetration of active ingredients: our jojoba oil and esters have been proven to improve the skin permeability, thus boosting the activity of ingredients like retinol for increased efficiency.”

Winter skin care trends emphasize hydration, skin barrier protection and personalized serums with active ingredients, with brands looking at moisturizing formulas, giftable solutions and natural oils.