Pandemic skin care: Shiseido's AQUALABEL launches range focusing on skin health and fermented ingredients

Aqua Wellness is the latest range from AQUALABEL, a skin care brand owned by Shiseido, that was designed to be a simple beauty solution to protect the skin barrier and keep skin healthy.

It was developed in response to a market research study conducted by Shiseido in July, which sought to find out how the perception of skin care has shifted considering the COVID-19 pandemic.

Shiseido reached out to 500 women and 55 men through an online questionnaire to find out that around half of the respondents currently identified as being health conscious.

This increased by 1.5 times pre-pandemic and the shift of being generally more health-conscious has trickled down into skin care.

More than half the participants said that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they became conscious about skin care.

The survey showed that consumers perceive healthy skin as one that is resistant to external forces like the environment as well as negative effects like skin roughness and acne.

In light of this, beauty consumers are prioritising product characteristics such as simplicity, trustworthiness and reliability.

Consumers also said the advent of the pandemic have made them more likely to check the ingredient lists for products for ingredients they perceive to be good for them.

Fermented skin care gains ground

According to the survey, around 70% of respondents said they were conscious of ‘health’ as a keyword in skin care.

Interestingly, this is also drawing more people towards fermented products.

The survey found 93% of respondents have incorporated fermented products into their lives in order to improve their gut health for the sake of their immunity.

While most respondents said they were not using skin care products with fermented ingredients, about 20% said they were keen on trying it.

The researchers noted that the survey shows that fermentation in skin care is not very well known among consumers.

“One of the things I am paying attention to is fermentation,”​ remarked Sayaka Konishi, representative director of Japan Cosmetics Examination Association and beauty author.

“In Japan, fermentation has been used since ancient times. Even today, the culture of incorporating fermented foods such as miso, soy sauce, and natto into everyday life has taken root… Recently, fermentation has begun to attract attention as a skin care product,” ​she said.

Launching in August, Aqua Wellness consists of four products as well as refill packs. The products contain the key ingredient, fermented camellia seed extract.

Additionally, the products were formulated with extracts from Japanese sourced okra, cherry blossom leaves and rice.

Furthermore, the product’s packaging was designed to be as simple as possible and is made from bioethanol obtained by fermenting sugar cane.

By using plant-derived plastic, AQUALABLE reduces 31% of CO2 emission compared to using petroleum-derived plastic.