by Water is the source of all beauty, and the preservation of beauty is a central part of its ethos.
This focus on water conservation is especially important in the beauty industry, where products often contain significant amounts of water, typically between 60 and 85 percent, according to the International Association for Natural and Organic Cosmetics (Natrue). In fact, as global water scarcity increases, there is increasing pressure on the careful use of water across all sectors, including cosmetics.
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Recognizing the critical need for sustainability, water is increasingly seen as a precious resource. This awareness is driving consumers to seek out water-free cosmetic options that support conservation efforts, Paula Gómez de Tejada, communications officer at Natrue, told WWD.
In response to the growing demand for sustainable beauty solutions, Natassia Nicolao, founder and CEO of Australian-based beauty brand Conserving Beauty, is pioneering an approach that blends sustainability with skin care. Her goal is to ensure that consumers no longer have to choose between “preserving our beauty and the beauty of the planet”.
“Since I was young, I was obsessed with social impact and sustainability,” Nicolao told WWD. “I always dreamed that one day I would create something that could have a positive impact on people and the planet.”
This passion followed Nicolao into college, and, after graduating in 2015 with a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry, she went to work in the beauty and wellness industry.
“It was then that I invested heavily in product development, supply chain and sourcing and sustainable learning [firsthand] how much the industry depends on water,” said Nicolao. “After that, I knew that one day I would create my own product that was the perfect combination of science, innovation and sustainability. From there, Conservation of beauty [was born].”
Established in 2021, Conserving Beauty has earned a reputation as a leader in beauty innovation in Australia, thanks to Nicolao’s waterless formulation approach and dissolving skincare technologies. A prime example is InstaMelt, developed in collaboration with McCormack’s Innovation.
McCormack’s Innovation, based in Scotland, had previously developed a patented fabric designed for the medical industry, which particularly benefited burn victims. Inspired by this “medical breakthrough,” Nicolao began exploring sustainable methods of replicating the fabric for his facial wipes, sheet masks and under-eye masks.
“The process of dressing a wound can be labor intensive and painful, often generating significant waste. The idea behind McCormack’s fabric was to create something that could reduce the time required for burn victims to change their dressings, without leaving microplastics or other waste after them,” explained Nicolao. “In my journey to develop sustainable waterless beauty products, I started collaborating with McCormack [around 2021] adapting their fabric to my formulations. This led to the formation of a joint venture partnership and the creation of InstaMelt.”
Now, InstaMelt is used in several Beauty Care products, such as the Day Dissolver Wipes, a two-in-one oil cleanser and makeup remover. These wipes effectively remove all traces of makeup and SPF while “moisturizing and protecting” the skin barrier. After use, they immediately dissolve in water or biodegrade within 14 days.
The innovative technology is also featured in micellar oil cleansing wipes, a product created in partnership with Fig.1 Beauty, an affordable skin care brand.
“Partnering with the Conserving Beauty team to bring InstaMelt technology to the US market was a no-brainer,” Diana Markman, general manager at Fig.1 Beauty, told WWD. “We were already big fans of their dissolvable makeup brushes, [so] Our infusion was a great collaboration with our very own Micellar Oil Cleanser.”
Building on the success of InstaMelt, Preserving Beauty introduced nanoDOTE earlier this year, a dissolving technology rooted in the manufacturing process.
NanoDOTE is primarily used for the brand’s dissolving zit strips, which retail for $22. These zit strips deliver “highly targeted delivery” of active ingredients, including salicylic acid, hyaluronic acid and niacinamide, which penetrate deep into the skin to reduce the appearance of blemishes. The product also helps prevent breakouts in the future.
“NanoDOTE technology introduces active ingredients into small, electro-molecular molecules to penetrate human skin deeper and faster than standard creams and patches,” said Nicolao. “So, rather than a fabric that you dispose of after one use, you’re dissolving this product into your skin, providing a plastic-free approach to fighting zits.”
Eco-conscious collaborations
While Conserving Beauty has made independent progress, partnering with other like-minded companies has helped advance its sustainability efforts.
For example, in its ongoing commitment to reduce its carbon footprint, the brand partnered with Bluebird Climate in 2023, a software platform that helps brands assess, improve and transparently communicate the environmental performance of their products.
Bluebird’s emissions tracking tool calculates the footprint of each Conserving Beauty product using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This “comprehensive approach” considers emissions from materials, ingredients, manufacturing, transport and distribution.
Taking its transparency initiative one step further, Conserving Beauty has also partnered with Provenance, a leader in sustainability marketing technology, to support its sustainability claims. By using the Provenance platform, customers can “shop with confidence” in line with their sustainable values.
“From our own research, we know that 90 percent of beauty customers consider sustainability when purchasing products,” Jessi Baker, founder and CEO of Provenance, told WWD. “We help brands like Conservation credibly showcase the beauty of their sustainability initiatives. By sharing Provenance-driven facts on their product pages, Conserving Beauty can show their customers the product’s sustainability claims at a glance, and by clicking on specific claims or certifications, those customers can see the evidence or verification to see a third party.”
In addition to its technology partnerships, Beauty Conservation also collaborates with the Water Footprint Network, the first global beauty partner in the research service. Together, they are undertaking a bespoke research project — to be published later this year — detailing the water savings achieved by each Beauty Care product.
“We partnered with the Water Footprint Network, an incredible institution in the Netherlands known for its work in agriculture and textiles. It was challenging to convince them to go into beauty since they had never done it before, but I assured them that our entire supply chain, including farms and raw material suppliers, would cooperate,” said Nicolao. “We have been carefully mapping our water footprint ever since [our inception], and although the research took longer than expected, we plan to publish our findings by the end of this year. I can now say that the savings are significant, amounting to thousands of litres. We are very excited to share the exact amount saved through our products soon.”
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