First ingredient tested Microbiome-friendly: TILAMAR® Boost 150

Today, we are delighted to present some really special news to you: we have just awarded our (Scalp-)Microbiome-friendly seal to the very first ingredient, TILAMAR® Boost 150.

It is a polymer compound, adding demonstrably more volume to the hair. The substance was tested on Asian and Caucasian hair, to begin with, and showed an increase in volume of 200% directly after appliance and 50% more volume after 24 hours. And it is volume that costumers are mostly looking for with their hair products. Therefore, volume boosting ingredients are among the ones, that are most frequently experimented with.

DSM surprised the beauty industry with the certification

So, what makes this news relevant also to fair-headed Europeans? The Dutch chemistry company DSM takes a leading position with this certification. Until now, it was up to cosmetic and pharmacy brands to have their products tested and certified Microbiome-friendly. So, if a company deliberately opted for Microbiome-friendliness, it was often immediately before the product launch that one of the ingredients (after long months of finding the perfect recipe in the laboratories) turned out to fail the Microbiome-friendly standards and opposed a certification.

Dr. Kristin Neumann confirms:

In fact, it is pretty common that products do not pass our tests on the first go and the composition of ingredients has to be adjusted.

Of course, this is pretty annoying, because not only has the product to re-run the tests, but also the product launch is often pushed back and the schedule crashes. Instead of setting off a marketing campaign, as planned, it is all back to the lab – that costs time and money.

Most brands take this as necessary evil, knowing that Microbiome-friendliness is important to the customers and the extra time and money pay off in the end. But the annoyance is legitimate and is, of course, also reported back to the suppliers. DSM was the first company to see this problem and promise its customers: with TILAMAR® Boost 150 the manufacturer is not only acquiring a high-end ingredient perfectly designed to meet the consumer’s expectations; also, he receives a Microbiome-friendly substance that will certainly not oppose any certification in the end.

A small step for DSM, but a big step into a Microbiome-friendly world

It seems to be just an ingredient for hair care products, mainly used in the Asian market. But the dynamic that DSM started with the certification cannot be denied. The problem with cosmetics was until today that most ingredients were also designed “for the show” without taking into account the big picture – which is the long-term use for customers. Now, we are facing a turnaround. With the Microbiome-friendly certification, DSM has earned a unique selling point that will certainly ensure a competitive advantage.

Aline Hueber, Microbiome Project Director von DSM, says:

The cosmetic business of DSM is a recognized industry leader in epidermal science, especially related to the skin barrier - the home of the microbiome! EPIBIOME BEAUTY™ (EPIDERMAL MICROBIOME) – is DSM’s approach to preserve, reinforce, and restore a healthy skin and microbiome interactions. The skin microbiota and the skin barrier interplay, for the good or for the bad, leading to either healthy and beautiful skin, or skin sensitivity and dryness for example. The same is also true for the scalp. There is more and more scientific evidence between scalp microbiota disbalances (called dysbiosis) and scalp concerns like dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis or simply itching… That´s why it is important for us to develop ingredients that can not only show performance but which also can contribute to make cosmetic products well tolerated by our skin and scalp microbiome.

Surely, competitors will follow sooner or later, but they will have to put the cards – or the ingredients, in that case – on the table.

We are curious to see what the next months will bring and are looking forward to a big step into a more Microbiome-friendly world.