Challenging stereotypes in skincare – Albiva promotes inclusivity

Published: 11-Sep-2019

For Albiva, the vegan, cruelty-free, gender-neutral brand that launched in January, inclusivity is at the centre of their strategy and product development

Rather than focusing on any skin type, age group or gender, Albiva’s products are designed to activate the skin’s natural ability to repair itself and empower their customer to use and combine the products as they need them.

The brand believes consumers increasingly identify themselves beyond gender, age, and appearance searching for products which can traverse traditional tags of "for men", "for women" and for specific age groups.

Instead, consumers are seeking value-driven products they can relate to in terms of individual personalities and lifestyles.

According to GlobalData’s research, there is significant overlap among both men and women in terms of the skincare concerns they currently have and the products they are purchasing to address these.

Some of the leading concerns across both genders include skin firmness, skin dehydration, and pigmentation.

Is men’s skin different to women’s? Do men and women need different beauty products?

Yes, there are some basic differences in male and female skin and this is in part related to the androgen testosterone. Male skin is on average 20-25% thicker, has higher collagen and elastin density, tends to have on average more hair follicles and their associates sebaceous glands.

But do men need different products? The answer is no. Ingredients do not recognise gender. Good quality ingredients and formulas will work qually for either men or women.

Products aimed at women tend to have more sophisticated formulations and ingredients than men’s.

Albiva believes in treating skin concerns. The brand emphasizes that men’s skin needs peptides, antioxidants, hydrating ingredients, SPF, etc just as every other skin does.

The brand believes that in future, as the lines blur between genders, unisex or gender-neutral products which can simply address these concerns rather than having a gender bias are likely to grow in popularity.

A recent research done by Euromonitor International has shown that over the past few years consumers have gravitated towards skin health benefit claims over anti-aging claims.

As more of us work and live longer, increasingly we see traditional stereotypes being challenged not only at an individual level but by society as a whole.

Albiva believes that all individuals, regardless of their gender, age, race, religion, want healthy, youthful skin and the shift will continue from being anti-ageing focused to placing more emphasis on health benefits of skincare.

Pink for women, blue for men?

As gender diversity becomes increasingly visible and traditional stereotypes begin to dissolve, this kind of gendered marketing begins to look out-dated and out of touch.

To counter traditional gendered marketing, Albiva’s products are housed in streamlined, eco-friendly packaging with neural colours and straight forward product names describing what the product delivers.

The natural formulas are only scented with the ingredients they contain, eschewing any additions of artificial fragrances or perfumes.

Ten years in the making, the brand’s seven product range, which includes moisturisers, serums, a cleanser, toner and eye treatment is available to purchase through wwww.albiva.com.

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