Natural cosmetics proliferate amid human and planetary health demands

The personal care industry’s rush toward natural ingredients is unmissable as companies rapidly innovate to make cosmetic formulations free from synthetics. The demand for naturalness comes from all corners: consumers, businesses, regulation, and the planet.

According to Innova Market Insights, 60% of global consumers actively seek natural ingredients in their skin care products. The international market researcher highlights “Amplified Natural Actives” as a leading personal care trend for 2025. 

Personal Care Insights speaks to beauty companies that are using and creating natural ingredients to understand what drives the market and how the natural shift solidifies sustainable practices in the cosmetics industry.

Raw and natural

Raw materials company Boreal Bioproducts turns forest industry side streams into sustainable materials for the chemical industry, which can be used in cosmetics. Its technology supports businesses in achieving greener supply chains and advancing a circular economy.

The company works with natural raw materials, starting from something not directly harvested or grown, and transforms them into beauty product solutions.

“What we are doing now is looking into these raw materials’ characteristics, their functionalities, and what benefits they will bring to the cosmetics and personal care markets, such as in the sun care products,” Boreal Bioproducts CEO Jaakko Pajunen told Personal Care Insights at In-cosmetics Global 2025 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, last week. 

We also spoke to Daniela Arango, the CPO of Lignopure, at the event. She explained that the demand for natural ingredients in sun care products is strong, attributing this to a lack of natural and upcycled options.

“LignoBase caters to these clients with its functionality. It’s not only a bio-based solution but has multi-purpose functionality, bringing solar protection to the next level. It is an SPF booster, an antioxidant, a mattifying agent, and brings natural color.”

Daniela Arango, the CPO of Lignopure.LignoBase is an upcycled product from lignin — a residue from biorefineries and the pulp and paper industry. The natural ingredient can be used across many different cosmetic applications. 

“We are focusing right now on functional makeup. Some examples are tinted cosmetics, functional foundations, and eye applications like eyeliners and mascaras,” Arango told us.

“We also have interesting applications for hair care, such as dry shampoo and scalp masks.”

Planetary decline driving change 

At In-cosmetics Global 2025, Boreal Bioproducts introduced hair care solutions using its forest-based raw materials, aiming to converse with key industry players at the event and ultimately incorporate its product into their portfolios and formulations.

Pajunen calls Europe the leader in bio-based solutions for the personal care industry. “If you look at other parts of the globe, that’s clear. It’s evolving because it’s not only about the CO2 footprint anymore,” he said.

He added that the personal care industry is becoming more focused on the resilience of the supply chain, other aspects of sustainability, and what land use means regarding biodiversity. 

“It’s more about the other aspects, and not only about climate change mitigation,” he explained, adding that the planet’s condition is the main driver for natural ingredient innovation.

“Of course, we have increasingly educated consumers who know how to make the right choices, which will also drive the pull from the market side. Most of our customers have up-to-date standards and targets for sustainability, meeting their recycling and bio-based ingredient targets.”

Pajunen encourages the industry to increase its sustainability efforts by partnering with Boreal Bioproducts: “Now is a call to action for the industry players. It’s your responsibility to act as well, together with us.”

Arango at LignoBase also urges major industry players to feel more confident about trying natural ingredients. “Be open-minded — try something that is not necessarily widely used, but it’s bringing you functionality and sustainability,” she said.

Natural repair

According to Innova Market Insights, the beauty industry is moving beyond the focus on “free-from” formulations, and consumers are increasingly looking for enhanced natural actives that provide targeted specific benefits.

Milly Ahlquist, researcher, product content, and compliance coordinator at Lush, tells Personal Care Insights that the British cosmetics retailer uses natural ingredients that contain vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and the actives that people are seeking, just in lower concentrations.Three employees at Boreal Bioproducts, with the CEO in the middle.

“We’re seeing a strong focus on high-potency, isolated ‘actives’ now available for home use without professional guidance or supervision. While these can appeal to consumers looking for quick results, it’s easy to misuse strong products, which means more consumers are trying to find products that will repair their skin barrier. It’s easy to go too hard on your skin, and much harder to undo the damage.”

“There is a growing shift away from ultra-processed skin care products. More people are becoming aware of the importance of maintaining a healthy skin barrier and microbiome, and that’s why we’re seeing big players invest in formulas that claim to be beneficial or friendly to your microbiome.”

No legal definition of “microbiome-friendly” leads to different approaches in the cosmetics industry, such as formulating certain pHs. 

Lush uses natural ingredients that are more familiar to the microorganisms that live on the skin. “Our approach has always been to maximize our use of fresh and natural materials in our skin care and to minimize the use of preservatives: antimicrobial ingredients that act against microorganisms,” says Ahlquist. 

A growing body of scientific evidence suggests that the introduction of more synthetic materials into cosmetics, detergents, and the environment is impacting the skin and microbiome negatively.

Overexposure to antimicrobial preservatives can irritate the skin and harm human and environmental health. 

“We have also invested heavily in the testing and assessment of natural ingredients using non-animal data and methods. We have a library of perfume ingredient data, including essential oils, that helps inform our formulation work, so we can utilize the holistic and skin care benefits of these beautiful materials in a way that’s safe and non-irritating to our customers.”

Informed consumer interest

Lush’s customers are increasingly informed and curious about natural ingredients. “They come in knowing about certain ingredients like hyaluronic acid or niacinamide, often because they’ve seen them online or heard about them from friends,” says Ahlquist.

Meanwhile, beauty consumers still seek reassurance for their purchases despite this increase in knowledge.

“We meet their demand with transparent information, demos, and honest conversations. When they find alternatives in natural materials, they are excited to try them and see the results for themselves. We explain our approach and help guide them toward products that will help with their long-term goals rather than promise overnight fixes,” continues Ahlquist.

Preserving formulations 

Lush makes self-preserving skin care — formulas that remain fresh, effective, and safe without adding synthetic preservatives. 

Boreal Bioproducts turns forest industry side streams into sustainable materials.“The compromise for the customer is a slightly shorter shelf life, but when we explain our stance, they usually understand,” says Ahlquist. 

A self-preserving fresh face mask stored between 2°C and 8°C in the fridge has a shelf life of 28 days, and a self-preserving face and body mask — like the bestselling Mask Of Magnaminty — up to four months. A self-preserving facial moisturizer lasts nine months, and a solid self-preserving facial serum lasts 14 months. 

“Making minimally preserved and self-preserving products enables us to safely deliver fresh products with a live microbial count derived from the fresh foodstuffs inside. It requires expertise and control from the point of formulation to your customer’s end point of use,” continues Ahlquist.

“Our patent-pending Biomic fresh cleanser launching this year is a natural source of lactic acid bacteria: a diverse community of microorganisms that produce an alpha hydroxy acid known as lactic acid as a product of fermentation and are increasingly known for their probiotic properties.”

“Made with wholesome fresh and fermented foods, we’ve harnessed the goodness of naturally prebiotic and probiotic kefir and unpasteurized white miso to make a cleanser that contains live lactic acid bacteria — not processed lysates or extracts.”