Zero Co has been in the business of eliminating single-use plastics in the laundry, kitchen and bathrooms of homes across Australia for nearly a year now. On the (almost) eve of our first anniversary, we're proudly expanding into Body Care.
Today we take a journey with Carla, who leads new product development at Zero Co and how she’s decided what's best for our skin outside and in. She has spent many months compiling product feedback and worked around the clock to develop our new body range. Her job has been to make your new product ideas a reality.
Before developing a Body Lotion formula, Carla professed she had all the gear but no idea what was good for her skin. She was a sucker for marketing. If a brand said a product was deeply moisturising or would restore her 'natural balance', she was in! But what does all of that even mean?
Carla, what were your major learnings and what do we need to look for when deciding the best products for your skin?
I learned that what you need in a body lotion is a balance of two key ingredient types: emollients and humectants.
Sounds super smart. What do they mean?
Emollients are those ingredients that moisturise the upper layer of your skin. Think vegetable oils (Jojoba, Macadamia, Sweet Almond Oil) and butters (Cocoa Butter). If you visualise the outer layers of your skin as a brick wall, the mortar that holds it all together is the function of these emollients. You want the perfect blend of these ingredients to make your skin feel hydrated and give you instant confidence that your moisturiser is working. However, you don't want too much of these heavier ingredients, or the lotion will leave your skin with a greasy residue.
M’k, and what about the hum? Humectants?
Humectants fulfil the second key function of a body lotion - these are ingredients that penetrate your skin to bind in moisture and offer long-lasting hydration. Examples to look out for include Aloe Vera and Glycerin. It was imperative to the formulation process that we struck the right balance of these ingredients too to ensure your lotion gave you not only a quick fix of hydration but could also promise continued moisturisation throughout the day.
Seems actually quite straight forward. One emollient, one humectant and anything else to look out for?
Another thing we were super passionate about was excluding any ingredients that would not benefit the skin. For us, this meant it was important to exclude occlusive ingredients like petrolatum and mineral oils. These ingredients are often added to formulas to offer a barrier to lock moisture in the skin, which sounds helpful; however, in practice, they also train the skin to rely on their application to maintain moisture.
Does this explain the chapped lips syndrome (you know applying more makes them have a more dry vibe)?
Yes! Exactly. Have you ever experienced chapped lips, found a saviour in a lip balm, only to see as soon as you stop using the product, your lips are dry again? This is precisely the effect petrolatum, or mineral oil can give when included in skincare products. We wanted to create a product that offers all the benefits of moisturisation whilst also supporting the skin to generate these benefits itself.
Great. So we know what we’re looking for and what we’re steering clear of! Let the fun begin?
Once we narrowed the formulas down to our favourite ingredient blends, it was time for testing. We were looking for our Body Lotion to offer that magical and often elusive sweet spot of providing deep, nourishing and long-lasting moisturisation whilst also offering quick absorption to allow you to get on with your day. We wanted the lotion to slide and spread quickly across your skin without leaving white marks, to be heavenly fragranced and ultimately provide a delicious self-care ritual for all our customers. After endless testing, we are pretty chuffed to say we think we've found the unicorn of Body Lotions and can't wait to share it with the world.
I feel like my skin is softer just reading this. Any hints on the fragrance front?
Let me just say citrus and nuts!
To support us to bring this product to life, along with Shampoo, Conditioner and Deodorant, pre-order your Body Box today.
