The growth in the use of natural products in personal care has been well documented in the last few years. The growth continues today and will, for the foreseeable future.
In the United States, according to a recent article in DATAMONITOR entitled “Developing the Basis for US Personal Care,” the total value of the natural personal care product market is growing at an annual rate of 21.4 percent, which explains with some irony why so many “chemical” companies have developed extensive ranges of “natural” raw materials for personal care firms. For example, Induchem AG now offers Unisurrection S-61, a plantbased, preservative-free active complex for restructuring and protecting the skin that is derived from beet root and Haberlea rhodopensis leaf extract. Or consider rooibos extract from Jarchem, a product derived from South African caffeine-free tea that imparts strong anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant and hypoallergenic properties. The so-called “naturals” market now represents around 12 percent of the overall $48 billion US personal care market.