The world has embraced minimalism, sparked by Marie Kondo, as a means for easing mental health during the COVID-19 crisis. This skin minimalism, often referred to as “skinimalism,” significantly impacts consumer purchasing decisions. Forty-eight percent of skincare users feel overwhelmed when shopping for skincare, which can lead to decision paralysis. Consumers purchase with intention now, seeking beauty and cosmetic products that align with their eco and ethical values. Sixty-one percent of French Gen Z consumers have bought fewer beauty and grooming products to reduce the environmental impact of their routine.
Although skinimalism may have streamlined beauty routines, it doesn’t replace the desire for multiple benefits. Instead, each product must perform double duty to replace another product. For example, 45 percent of U.S. adults are interested in multipurpose facial skincare products.
Adding ingredients to support additional claims in new products is difficult and raises tough questions: What is the most sought-after benefit? Which ingredient is the best fit? How do I ensure sustainable sourcing? Answers to each of these questions are outlined below, including why adding SPF in categories outside of traditional suncare is an infallible way to succeed with skinimalists and what characteristics to look for in a UV dispersion.
Consumers Want SPF: Give It to Them Every Day
One of the greatest unmet needs of consumers is SPF protection: according to a global Mintel survey, 76 percent of adults aged 25–34 expressed interest in specialty skincare with SPF. One major reason is cancer prevention. Another is anti-aging claims — SPF protection is a widely accepted way to reduce wrinkles. UVB rays lead to sunburn and skin cancer, while UVA light plays a greater role in premature aging, including the formation of wrinkles. Incorporating zinc oxide UV dispersions with broad-spectrum UVA/UVB SPF into formulations supports anti-aging claims.
Beyond sun protection, consumers want sheer, non-whitening sun products. In the past, zinc oxide had an infamous reputation for a heavy, greasy white cast. Without a proper carrier oil, zinc oxide particles may clump, reducing SPF protection. Today, however, innovations like CleanScreen™ Z60SF are sheer, smooth, and non-whitening. Multi-functional applications are already on the rise: skin tints can smooth skin, foundations can moisturize and deliver niacinamide, exfoliating serums can plump the skin. Now, they can also offer anti-aging claims and sun protection alongside cosmetic benefits with SPF.
How CleanScreen Z60SF Uses Squalane to Achieve Efficient Performance
Chemical sunscreens like oxybenzone and octocrylene have been under scrutiny because of safety concerns, leaving zinc oxide as the only UV filter widely considered safe with broad spectrum protection. Yet, old zinc oxide dispersions have led to white cast and relied upon unsustainable ingredients.
CleanScreen Z60SF was designed to provide a new global clean standard for sustainable, non-whitening SPF in any skincare or cosmetic product. It is a non-nano zinc oxide dispersion that efficiently addresses consumer demands for multi-benefit anti-aging skincare and makeup products. It also was designed with the fewest, most powerful ingredients available like Neossance™ Squalane.
Neossance Squalane powers the new CleanScreen Z60SF as an effective carrier to efficiently disperse particles uniformly. Not only does Neossance Squalane enable sheer sunscreens, but it is also the go-to emollient with a portfolio of clinically backed skin therapeutic benefits. It’s the strength behind thousands of 5-star skincare and color cosmetic products around the globe.
Neossance Squalane increases moisturization, improves skin barrier repair, reduces the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines, and promotes a healthy skin microbiome. As 40 percent of skin-friendly suncare product launches in the Americas focus on hydrating and moisturizing benefits, it’s imperative that brands look towards multifunctional moisturizing ingredients like Neossance Squalane in CleanScreen Z60SF. Forty-one percent of consumers seek out products that contain natural and clean ingredients. CleanScreen Z60SF — powered by Neossance Squalane — offers the moisturization benefits consumers want in a mineral UV protective product.

Curate Sustainable Ingredient Lists with Ethical Supply Chains
Consumers’ eco-conscious decisions to purchase fewer products reflects brands’ intentional ingredient selection, incorporating the entire ingredient lifecycle. One way to establish a sustainable supply chain is through certifications.
Neossance Squalane is derived from renewable and sustainable Brazilian sugarcane that has been Bonsucro certified. Bonsucro is a global industry platform with a vision of establishing thriving, sustainable producer communities and resilient, consistent sugarcane supply chains. The Bonsucro certification adds weight behind a brand’s eco-conscious efforts with traceable sustainability claims from farmer to end user, certified fair wages, certified safe working conditions, and full supply chain transparency.
Brands gain numerous transparency benefits when using ingredients like CleanScreen Z60SF that incorporate Neossance Squalane derived from Bonsucro-certified sugarcane:
- Claims around the promotion of sustainability in ingredient descriptions
- Promote sustainability claims from farmer to end user
- Ensure supply chain transparency
- Promote fair wages and safe working conditions
- Provide clarity and credibility to consumers
CleanScreen Z60SF provides consumers with exactly what they are searching for — ethically sourced, sustainable clean beauty products that do not harm the environment. In the U.S., 57 percent of adults do not always believe mainstream brands that say they are sustainable or eco-friendly. CleanScreen Z60SF can help reassure consumers that ingredients are ethically and sustainably sourced.
CleanScreen Z60SF Transforms Any Product into a Multifunctional Anti-Aging Powerhouse
As consumers continue to demand simplified beauty routines without sacrificing performance, brands must respond with multi-functional ingredients. Silicone-free, non-nano CleanScreen Z60SF leverages sugarcane-derived Neossance Squalane not only for its excellent skin therapeutic potential but also for its unparalleled ability to evenly disperse zinc oxide particles. The combination of these features allows CleanScreen Z60SF to create a sheer mineral sunscreen that is easily incorporated into any product. Get started with a sample of CleanScreen Z60SF now.
Read more about clean beauty:
Amyris and World Wildlife Fund Join Forces to Protect Threatened Ecosystems
Progress in the Name of Planet-Positive Change [A version of this article was published earlier on Amyris, our joint venture partner.] This week, Amyris announced an exciting three-year partnership with World Wildlife Fund. [...]
Celebrate International Squalane Day with Squalane’s Little-Known, Big Benefit
A Toast to Squalane: Our Sustainable Sugarcane-Derived Hero Ingredient What do sugarcane and Squalane have in common? As it turns out, it’s more than just our patented bio-fermentation, powered by sugarcane. Beginning [...]
Our Inaugural International Squalane Day
Why We're Celebrating Squalane on Oct. 14 International Squalane Day was created in partnership with Amyris to celebrate the planet-positive change bio-fermentation has brought to the world. We believe sustainability starts from [...]
What Is Hemisqualane: A Quick Guide to Sustainable Emollients
How the Best-Performing Natural Silicone Replacement Stacks Up [A version of this article was published earlier on Amyris, our joint venture partner.] For decades, the personal care industry had relied on silicone simply [...]
Safer Sunscreens: How to Formulate White Cast-Free and Benzene-Free SPF
Get the Benefits of Organic UV Filters with the Safety of Inorganic Today’s beauty consumers prioritize the safety of their ingredients. It’s led to the rise in ingredient safety websites like EWG, [...]
Bio-Fermentation Is Transforming the Beauty Industry Today
Sustainability Starts at the Source: Irrigation-Free Sugarcane If you look around the beauty industry, you’re likely to find the word “sustainability” strewn about. It reflects consumers’ emphases on a more eco-conscious life. [...]