JaneClare points out challenges of formulating with natural ingredients

By Simon Pitman

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Skin care Skin care products

Natural cosmetics brand Laboratory JaneClare spoke to Cosmetics Design in an exclusive interview that highlights aspects of formulation such as costs and hygiene as being the key challenges.

Jenny Yeung, who is the deputy managing director for Laboratory JaneClare, explained how the primary goal is to give consumers products that are beneficial, not too expensive and shown to be formulated using natural ingredients.

“The primary issue when formulating cosmetic products with natural ingredients is the cost of obtaining different fine quality herbal materials,”​ said Yeung.

Firstly, the cost of purchasing some of the raw herbs is high, making it difficult to be cost-effective considering the very competitive nature of the beauty industry. While the other issue concerns investing in the hygienic processing of herbal extracts in an effort to prevent bacterial growth.”

Quality wins out every time!

However, although cost is a significant consideration in the formulation process, Yeung stresses that ultimately the company does not shy away from higher costs, preferring to offer its customers products of the highest quality, rather than cutting development and formulation costs.

The Hong Kong-based company has developed a comprehensive range of skin care products that are now exported to worldwide markets. Yeung believes that one of the brand’s biggest selling points is the fact that it is the first skin care player in the world to use organic certified herbs to formulate its range.

“The uniqueness of our company is that we integrate the centuries old, rich and precious knowledge of traditional Chinese herbal medicine into our skin care products. In turn, we have developed different formulations with specific functions according to the kinetics and dynamics of different active botanical principles."

Jenny Yeung
Jenny Yeung, Laboratory JaneClare

Proving just how natural the products are

Conveying the natural and organic contents of the formulation through certification is a relatively structured process that requires the company to work closely with its ingredients suppliers to ensure they fulfill its needs.

“During the sourcing and purchasing process of our skin care ingredient, we request our suppliers to provide related documents and third-party endorsements certificates issued by authorized international organizations, such as ECOCERT, USDA, Soli Association, or Australian Certified Organic in order to ensure the veracity of the claimed quality of the ingredients.”

Yeung indicated that the company’s preferred certification provider is ECOCERT, which she largely puts down to the fact that it has such a large and established organization, with an expert knowledge in skin care products.

Natural preservatives and emulsifiers

The company even sources natural preservatives and emulsifiers, with the only exception being most of its active ingredients, although these are largely natural-based.

Natural emulsifiers can be obtained from soybean or eggs, while natural moisturizing constituents can be sourced from corn, seaweed, or fruits, and botanical active principals can be easily extracted from herbal plants​."

Jenny Yeung will be a featured speaker at the Sustainable Cosmetics Summit​ , to be held in New York, May 17 – 19.