Minimalism
The prevailing trend these days is towards minimalism. It captures all spheres of life. It is a certain way of life deliberately going without superfluous junk and luxury and not bowing to the ubiquitous pressure to consume. Persons who decide in favor of minimalism experience feelings of greater freedom, happiness and serenity. One basis of the trend are the ideas of the US-American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 to 1882) who already in 1836 in his book “Nature” tried to encourage human beings to lead a simple life in absolute harmony with nature. The German economist Ernst Friedrich Schumacher (1911 to 1977) in his worldwide bestseller “Small is beautiful” of 1973 advocated the willful return to the human scale. The state he considered to be worth striving for was “a maximum of happiness together with a minimum of consumption”. Meanwhile numerous how-to books on minimalist lifestyle have been published. For example, they advise first to write down ideas for new purchases on a list. If the intention proves to be still essential after a waiting period of 30 days, the purchase should be carried out. Another advice is to remove at least one full bag from your home in exchange for each full shopping bag you bring in. By now, minimalism has arrived in almost all areas of life, also in cosmetics. In the following, we try to explain the advantages of the minimalist approach in cosmetics and the possibilities of putting it into practice.
Minimalism in cosmetics
The willful reduction to the essential combined with a clear rejection of excess. That is the meaning of minimalism. Consequently, the minimalist lifestyle also questions the real necessity of several beauty products on your own personal care shelf. Cosmetics minimalism is not just about to reduce the number of the products, it also requires a deliberate decision in favor of a concise number of ingredients of superior quality and simple, environmentally friendly packaging.
Not so long ago, there was a clear preference for all-in-one products pretending to be practical all-purpose miracle tools. The manufacturers mixed as many vitamins as possible, added hyaluronic acid and Q10 and a variety of essences and oils to finish the cocktail of ingredients. Consumers had the strong impression that the effectiveness of a product increased in proportion to the quantity of the ingredients. Such miracle preparations overstrained the skin. Dermatologists have known for a long time that excessive amounts of skincare ingredients and measures with a myriad of products strip skin of its natural protection barrier. It becomes over-sensitized and irritated.
Fortunately, the first signs of a countermovement set in soon. Minimalist approaches first emerged on the international catwalks. Opulent and exaggerated makeup looks suddenly disappeared and gave way to a pure and modest nude look. The new view now is infiltrating the skincare segment. Especially young brands firmly rely on minimalism and develop products with clean designs, few and high-performing ingredients and concise ranges. Many products do not use any parabens, silicones, mineral oil or perfume ingredients. The intentional avoidance of chemical, synthetic, and genetically modified ingredients certainly is a key signature of minimalist cosmetics.
In natural cosmetics, minimalism opens vast scopes for gentle textures and plain formulations. Ideally, the formulations exclusively contain pure plant oils and extracts with relevant skincare effects. Many skincare lines are composed without any synthetic additives, e.g. preservatives, emulsifiers, perfume ingredients, or fillers. Alcohol and palm oil are avoided, whereas skin superfoods like the oils of moringa, argan, or chia seeds reveal a marvellously radiant complexion. It is an essential feature of the trend that it abandons all-in-one solutions. Each product concentrates on its one purpose.
It is thanks to the limitation to few superior ingredients that the cases of intolerances or allergies have decreased considerably.
It can be concluded that the minimalist approach is perfect for those consumers who do not want do make any compromises disadvantageous to the environment or their health and simultaneously want to enhance their beauty. The fact is for certain: Minimalism and sustainability, in most cases, harmonize.
Smart skincare brands already have committed themselves to minimalism and develop products often containing only three or five ingredients at maximum, completely being reduced to the essentials. Puristic cosmetics make great sense: A small quantity of ingredients decrease the risk of allergy reactions, as already mentioned before.
Putting into practice minimalist cosmetic formulations
Gentle to skin, as natural as possible, highly effective. Manufacturers or suppliers of cosmetics relying on minimalism make a clear decision in favor of few, carefully selected ingredients with great benefits. Such ingredients exist abundantly for almost all uses. Natural coconut oil is only one example: It imparts excellent softness and high effectiveness to a moisturizing cream. Shea butter is great for minimalist skincare products. In principle, all natural substances exclusively obtained by physical methods, e.g. cold pressing or extraction, are suitable for minimalist products. They are easier to recognize by the skin and can be absorbed immediately. The skin is provided with complete active nutrients which support its smooth regeneration. Examples of ingredients obtained by cold pressing are pure argan oil from Morocco, marula oil from India, baobab oil from South Africa, and Brazil nut oil from Peru. These substances are of highest quality and do not need any “fellows”. They are the only key ingredients and perfect symbols of minimalist cosmetics.
Pure instead of bombastic and overdose, pleasantly fresh instead of chemically preserved, and, if applicable, 100 percent vegan: Minimalism is a cosmetics trend with best opportunities of gaining many fans and a promising future. Really, it is not just a trend. Minimalism is a way of living that has always had many supporters.
Minimalism: Naturalness is the decisive advantage
Many skin problems become even worse because of excessive skincare measures. Some problems result from too many beauty and makeup products. The skin is stressed by substances that do respond to its specific needs and therefore do more harm than good.
The advertisement leads the consumers to believe they had to make a lot of fuss about their skin to look good. That is not true. Few, really smart and minimalist products will achieve better results. Skincare excesses are so wide-spread that they have been described by a technical term: Perioral dermatitis is the name of the skin disease manifesting itself in pustules, scales and spots. The persons affected mainly are extremely beauty-affined women testing numerous beauty products. Layering, a beauty trend from Asia, is a clear example of cosmetics overuse. Five or six products are applied in layers on the skin. Each product contains up to 30 ingredients. Covered by 150 to 300 substances, the skin is totally overcharged. Alternating to minimalist cosmetics will relieve skin and support its ultimate regeneration.
Minimalism and Cosmacon
Cosmacon helps you to concentrate on the essentials in the development of new formulations. We are your partner in elaborating minimalist cosmetic products. We advise you on the best quality ingredients to achieve the results you are striving for – absolutely without exorbitant ingredient cocktails or mixtures that are too much for healthy skin.
Please contact us with your questions. We are eager to provide you with our professional advice!