THERESA CALLAGHAN
Callaghan Consulting International, Hamburg, Germany

Here we are yet again with another new year well underway, and we are still dealing with global upheavals caused by Covid. The situation continues to affect everyone, including the cosmetic industry, providing us with an opportunity to consider where it is going, where it should go, and how we should engage with consumers. A consequence of Covid? The industry is no longer the same — for the better? — We hope!

What of our actions? We have seen scientific explorations and expectations over the Covid years, including this issue’s subjects: the microbiome, skin immunity, neurocosmetics, artificial intelligence, and active ingredients and preservatives. The actions of these explorations all have consequences, since they are all interconnected — in more ways than we think!

Skin Immunity - skin immunity is not a new discovery, at least from the scientific perspective, but it has become fashionable again in the context of Covid. The skin’s protection works in harmony with its microbiome and a network of intricate immune cells (lymphocytes), crucial for tissue homeostasis, that activate the immune response ...