7 Trends in Beauty — Talc-free Makeup/J&J Settles, Unsafe Products in Sri Lanka, Hair Bonding, Peptides and More

Each week, we dig into growing trends in web searches and hashtags related to cosmetics. Emerging this week are: talc-free makeup and J&J's settlement, unsafe products in Sri Lanka, hair bonding, Argireline hexapeptide products and more. Following, we delve deeper into a few of these that caught our attention.

See last week's: 12 Trends in Beauty: White Truffle K-Beauty, Ginseng Toner, #DroopyEyesMakeup and More

1. NMRA registered cosmetics - "breakout" increase (meaning a "significant" growth in searches; no % given)*
2. Makeup mingle* +2,250%
3. Florency Cosméticos* +600%
4. Kylie Cosmetics Target* +500%
5. Talc-free makeup* +350%
6. Bonding conditioner (Exploding Topics, past 2 years) +139%
7. Argireline hexapeptide oil (Exploding Topics, past 2 years) +5,500%
   *Google Trends, past 7 days

NMRA Registered Cosmetics — Sri Lanka's Crackdown on Unsafe Products

Searches on "NMRA registered cosmetics" (National Medicines Regulatory Authority) are up "significantly" this week, per Google Trends. This is likely related to a regulatory crackdown in Sri Lanka on an influx of unregistered cosmetics that are "endangering public health," per the Australian Daily Mirror. On June 13, 2024, the source reported the Government Medical Officers' Association (GMOA) called upon the Health Ministry and NMRA to collaborate and discuss enhancing the legal framework of standards to address this continuing problem.

An Instagram post from the Daily Mirror on March 26, 2024, explained that NMRA Food and Drugs Inspectors alerted by the College of Dermatologists searched "several leading cosmetic shops in Colombo, Sri Lanka," and found unregistered products being sold. The officials then raided two cosmetic product sellers and found "more 470 such skin treatment medicines, which should be sold only with a prescription and not as a simple cosmetics." The seized products contained three medicinal components, one of which is a steroid: hydroquinone, tretinoin and mometasone furoate cream. 

Bonding Conditioner and #Hairtok Trend

Interest in "bonding conditioner" is up 139% in the past two years, according to Exploding Topics. Such products are designed to repair and strengthen hair from the inside; especially dyed or chemically processed hair. The recent rise in interest reportedly can be attributed to the Redken, whose bonding conditioner sells more than 18,000 units on Amazon each month.

See related: Dove and P&G Experts on the Hair Bonding Buzz—Plus 3 Main Types

Bonding conditioners are said to be part of the HairTok meta trend (#hairtok), which has more than 3 million posts and includes such treatments as: nanoplastia, a deep conditioning alternative to keratin; hair botox, designed to make hair look fuller and smoother; and rosemary oil for preventing hair loss.

Ingredients: Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Conditioner: Aqua/Water/Eau, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Chloride, Dimethicone, Bis-Cetearyl Amodimethicone, Cetyl Esters, Citric Acid, Isopropyl Alcohol, Dicetyldimonium Chloride, Parfum/Fragrance, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol, Candelilla Cera/Candelilla Wax/Cire De Candelilla, Isopropyl Myristate, Hydroxypropyl Guar, Limonene, Coco-Betaine, Amodimethicone, Cetrimonium Chloride, Dilauryl Thiodipropionate, Trideceth-10, Sodium Chloride, Linalool, PEG-100 Stearate, Citronellol, Steareth-6, Trideceth-3, Acetic Acid, Trisodium EDTA.

Argireline Hexapeptide Oil

Also per Exploding Topics, Lubrizol/Lipotec's Argireline hexapeptide has surged in popularity. The product has been around since 2001 and is used to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles topically by inhibiting muscle contractions, acting as a Botox alternative. Particularly of interest are Argireline oil (+5,500% in the past two years); serum (+583%); and solutions (+150%). A related trending interest includes peptide skin care (+700%).

 See related: Lipotec's Peptide for Expression Wrinkles: Argireline Amplified

Talc-free Makeup and J&J Settlement

Talc in beauty and personal care has been making headlines for years mainly due to the detection of asbestos in some sources. Most C&T readers have no doubt seen our coverage, including Canada's recent amendment to the Ingredient Hotlist to reduce talc inhalation exposure, and Johnson & Johnson's (J&J's) proposed $6.475 billion settlement in May to settle ovarian cancer-related claims.

The presence of asbestos in some products led to J&J's decision to end sales of its talc-based baby powder globally in 2023; although the science never concluded that asbestos in the products caused the cancer cases alleged in thousands of lawsuits. In fact, J&J has been pursing a suit of its own against three plaintiffs' experts whose 2020 study linked the mesothelioma of 75 individuals to cosmetic talc based on "junk science." 

Clearly, it's still front and center in consumers' minds. Per Google Trends, searches on "talc-free makeup" are up 350% in the past seven days, which may be due to The Guardian's June 10, 2024, headline: "Is there asbestos in your makeup? Why women with cancer are suing big beauty brands." 

In a recent development, per a June 11, 2024, Reuters report, J&J reached a $700 million talc settlement within the United States over an investigation by 42 states and Washington, D.C. to resolve charges that J&J misled consumers into believing its talc products were safe. J&J maintains no wrongdoing.