Consumers now have a wide variety of products off-the-shelf to choose from. For the same class of product, there are usually several brands which may offer similar functions. Therefore, to stay competitive in the skincare product market, it is important to differentiate the brand from others. After reviewing the three products, one thing stays common among the three - innovation.
For our product, we want a product that is light and refreshing to apply on for the whole day which is suitable for active females in the daytime. Therefore in our product, we chose an anti-erogenic and stimulating theme for the odour effect. Because the product has to be lightly scented, we would only include Citral and Limonene to impart the citrus scent and also a very small amount of Patchouli to add a tint of spiciness but so much that the scent becomes too rich and strong. All these are natural fragrance materials which are frequently used in perfumes and other cosmetic products.
As needed in all moisturizers, Glycerin is the humectant chosen for our product because it can also act as a good solvent for many materials. Benzyl acohol can be added to serve as a solvent and a preservative. In addition, capric triglyceride can be added as an emollient and more importantly, it is a dispersing agent thereby improving the consistency of the final product and also a solvent for vitamins. We can add Vitamin E, or otherwise known as Tocopherol, which may helps to protect skin against harmful effect of sunlight and keep skin tissue and refine skin texture. Although vitamins are usually added into the skincare product as a preservative, most products will still market themselves as “with added Vitamins” to lure consumers into believing that there is really a functional effect of vitamins in skincare products on our skin. To preserve the moisturizer, we can use methylparaben because it does not just preserve the product itself, but it can rejuvenate the skin at the same time. Lastly, to improve the spreadabilty of the product, Dimethicone, which is commonly used and it is not absorbed by the skin.
As this is a moisturizer for the daytime, sunscreen can be added to protect the skin from ultraviolet rays coming from the sun. This is important because in a tropical country like Singapore which is situated near the equator line, the amount of harmful UV radiation may be higher and prolong exposure to the sun will cause skin damage. Hence, it is crucial that the moisturizers must contain sunscreen with different Sun Protection Factor (SPF) to cater to different individuals. Both Titanium oxide and zinc oxide are examples of UV scattering agent which can serve as a sunscreen when used in a cosmetic preparation.
