Estée Lauder Companies unlocks plant-powered breakthroughs for sensitive skin 

USA – The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) has unveiled groundbreaking findings from six new scientific studies spanning skin and scalp care, marking a major advance in plant-powered formulations for sensitive skin, age-specific needs, and sustainable personal care. 

Presented at the 83rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Investigative Dermatology in Chicago, the research delivers actionable insights for next-generation anti-ageing, barrier-repair, and scalp-health products. 

At the core of ELC’s breakthrough is its plant-powered approach to sensitive skin, highlighted by two key plant-derived ingredients. 

A serum containing giant bladder kelp ferment (Macrocystis pyrifera) demonstrated clinically significant benefits for rosacea, eczema, and extremely sensitive skin by improving hydration, strengthening the skin barrier through reduced trans-epidermal water loss, and modulating neuroinflammatory pathways via preservation of paracannabinoid signalling, visibly reducing erythema, dryness, and itching while enhancing overall skin tolerability. 

Complementing this, ELC identified a potent plant-derived exosome capable of reducing inflammation and restoring skin homeostasis by enhancing intercellular communication, offering superior scalability, stability, and ethical sourcing compared to human exosomes while maintaining essential biological properties for skin recovery.

Reconstructed skin models showed significant improvements in inflammatory markers after exposure to stressors. 

The research also uncovered critical age-related dynamics in skin sensitivity and women’s health, revealing that 92% of participants experienced cowhage-induced itch in a non-histaminergic model used for atopic dermatitis, but individuals with self-identified sensitive skin exhibited stronger and more persistent itch responses, with older subjects feeling these effects more intensely, supporting the use of validated sensitivity designators in future product testing and participant selection.

In the study Skin Health During Perimenopause, ELC linked severe perimenopausal symptoms, particularly disrupted sleep, to measurable degradation in skin hydration and barrier function independent of age, suggesting early biological shifts in skin occur before typical menopausal dryness and revealing a clear opportunity for personalized skincare tailored specifically to perimenopausal women, distinct from pre- or post-menopausal care. 

In anti-ageing research, ELC tested a proprietary collagen-boosting complex against retinol using ex vivo skin testing, focusing on collagen I loss and fragmentation that cause skin thinning and reduced biomechanical strength with age.

The results showed that the complex outperformed retinol in both collagen I production and the preservation of viable skin tissue after UV irradiation, offering a more effective and potentially gentler alternative for ageing skin.

ELC also presented research on ageing scalp fibroblasts and their impact on hair health, revealing that aged fibroblasts exhibited molecular profiles characterised by increased inflammation, fibrosis, and senescence, along with reduced metabolic activity, compared with young fibroblasts.

They are altering signalling pathways that adversely affect follicle cycling and tissue remodelling, thereby shortening the hair growth cycle and contributing to hair thinning, laying the groundwork for targeted scalp care solutions to mitigate age-related hair thinning in women. 

Collectively, these six studies establish a scientific foundation for future formulations integrating plant-based active ingredients for sensitive skin and inflammation, age-specific personalization particularly for perimenopause and mature skin, sustainable ingredient sourcing without compromising performance, and scalp and follicle support for ageing women. 

By bridging advanced dermatological science with nature-derived actives, Estée Lauder Companies is positioning itself at the forefront of preventative, sustainable, and highly targeted skincare innovation, reinforcing its commitment to bridging science and nature through plant-powered breakthroughs for sensitive skin.

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