Simplified beauty is currently microscopic in comparison to other sectors of beauty. With only 169 posts using the hashtag on TikTok and little more than 1000 on Instagram, the topic is ostensibly silent. Or has it simply not reached consumer interest yet?
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Simplified beauty is currently microscopic in comparison to other sectors of beauty. With only 169 posts using the hashtag on TikTok and little more than 1000 on Instagram, the topic is ostensibly silent. Or has it simply not reached consumer interest yet?
Related: The Sun Care Market, Ingredients and Educating Consumers
Social Media and Suppliers' Day
#simplifiedbeauty posts are not what one with a scientific lens on the cosmetic industry would expect. TikTok posts surrounding the hashtag describe not simplified cosmetics, but simplifying the beauty routine by cutting out expired and unnecessary products. A post from 2022 by @liferunsonlaughter describes this concept in a minimalist sense, going as far as to simplify organizing products as well.
But what significance does a TikTok from 2022 with less than 10,000 views under an unpopular hashtag have to do with the beauty market today?
At Suppliers' Day 2024, C&T reported one of the top trends to be simplified beauty, wherin companies utilize less — and greener — ingredients to not only avoid confusion with consumers, but also streamline formulating. Common among indie beauty brands, simplified beauty offers cost-saving measures while satisfying consumer needs.
Safety for Consumers
Similar to Clean Beauty, the industry itself does not have a "set" definition for simplified beauty. Irwin Palefsky, Cosmetech Laboratories, Inc., delves further.
Simplified beauty, which like Clean Beauty, really has no agreed to definition. To me to have a ”simplified” or “clean” product the formula is developed to use the minimum amount of safe/effective ingredients needed to deliver the benefits required and to provide the esthetics, product stability as well as acceptable microbial preservation. Obviously this isn’t an easy assessment for the consumer to determine so the responsibility falls upon the producer to justify the simplified or clean claim for the product. This really is part of the increased transparency that consumers are asking for in the topical products they are using. The number of ingredients on the ingredient list of a product should not be the determining factor as to whether a product is “simplified” or “clean.”
Many trends in recent years boil down to what formulators believe consumers desire. Naturally, those purchasing the products are the center of focus in formulating and any trend will follow suit. Palefsky breaks down these heavily consumer-focused trends further. "What consumers should be demanding is that the products they are using are safe, stable, adequately preserved and provide the benefits that are claimed and [that[ suitable testing has been done to verify these requirements."
Unfortunately, and potentially and partially due to the lack of a concrete definition of these terms, products are not always as "clean" or "simplified" as consumers perceive them to be due to the ambiguity surrounding these claims. Sephora was recently cleared of allegations surrounding its Clean at Sephora marketing campaign. The allegations offer insight into the industry's need for clear guidelines related to such terms.
Kelly Bonner, associate at Duane Morris, LLP, commented on the allegations: "Nevertheless, the decision serves as a reminder that there are competing understandings of Clean Beauty in today’s cosmetics industry, and that it is important for brands to be transparent with consumers about how they are applying the term."
Palefsky, in relation to simplified beauty as a trend, commented: "I think the new MoCRA law, when fully implemented in a few years, will go a long way to providing consumers with the confidence in the safety of the products they are using."
MoCRA is highly anticipated as it is the first regulatory cosmetic guidance to be offered since 2013, per the U.S. FDA.
Simplified Beauty's Opportunity
What do these regulations mean for simplified beauty, and will it have the same opportunities for growth like Clean Beauty had? With proper regulations in effect and, as speculated by Palefsky with full implementation over the coming years, simplified beauty may have more opportunity than Clean Beauty. Tightening of claims for cosmetic products will allow for the trend to avoid the same controversies as Clean Beauty, yet ultimately the terms strive for the same goal: transparency for consumers.
