Natural skincare is just a marketing term and one that has unfortunately limited the innovative potential of skincare formulators. Natural skincare is based on plant-derived ingredients. However, the resources for growing all the plants needed is not unlimited. Pushing beyond these limits has created an untenable situation, in some cases threatening certain species with over-harvesting.[3]

In contrast, Molecular Skincare allows for a new definition of natural skincare. All matter around us – our bodies, the food we consume, the air we breath - is composed of molecules. By understanding the active molecules found in plants that can provide benefits to skin health, scientists can recreate these molecules in the laboratory, using the tools of chemistry and biotechnology, thus bypassing the need to source these ingredients from plants. What’s more, it can create new opportunities for innovation: scientists can identify new molecules that may exist in vanishingly small quantities in plants. If it turns out these molecules have beneficial activity, they can be created in large enough quantities in the lab so that they may be formulated into effective skincare products – all without having to harvest unsustainably large quantities of plant material.

As an example, the molecular structure of vitamin C is chemically identical whether it comes from a plant or made synthetically in a lab. Synthetically derived vitamin C has a smaller environmental impact and it can be obtained in its pure form, without the impurities that are typically found in plant-derived vitamin C.

Understanding the molecular makeup of plants and using the tools of chemistry and biotechnology will allow us to meet the growing demand for more effective and sustainable skincare. For that to succeed, we need to change the narrative around clean and natural skincare, and instead make way for a new category of skincare. We believe Molecular Skincare will lead us to a new, post-natural frontier of skincare that is more sustainable and environmentally friendly.