Adding a New Product

Strategies for Successful New Product Introductions

It’s always exciting starting a new product. It could be something you’ve been saving up for, or a new active that will surely be the answer to all your problems! You probably realise that strong actives like acids and retinoid/ols need to be introduced slowly so your skin can become accustomed to your new product. However regardless of the product you will have more information on its effect if you follow a considered plan.

The introduction period can be tricky. You are excited about your new product but at the same time you don’t know how your skin will react. The temptation is just to add your new magic potion and see what happens. With many products you could easily do this: throw it on and hope for the best. Unless you have allergies or sensitivities you probably won’t have a negative reaction to most products, after all, skincare products are formulated to generate improvements! Cleansers, hydrators, oils and face creams tend not to contain too many actives (if any) and could slot into your current routine without much of an issue. But just because you have avoided a negative reaction doesn’t mean that you have set yourself up for a positive one either.

So, set yourself up for success and follow a reasonable introduction: patch testing, evaluation and planning, incorporation.

At this point you need to evaluate your product and decide if it is an “easy” introduction or if it’s a something that will be a bit more of a challenge to fit into your routine – a more “advanced” introduction.

EASY INTRODUCTION:

“Easy” Introductions are for products that are unlikely to cause an interaction with other products or complications – products that are either replacing a similar product (starting a new cleanser, for example) or will just slot into your current routine (adding in an oil when you haven’t already been using one) without having to reorder your whole routine or disrupting your usual products. Easy introductions are mainly for products that do not contain actives, contain small amounts of actives or contain actives that you have already used in formulas that are similar to ones you have already used.

Products like cleansers, hydrators (HA, toners, sprays and spritzes), oils and face creams are likely to be easy introductions. These products should slot into your routine easily and generally it will be easy to figure out where to put them. Once you have competed your patch test you can go ahead and add them to your routine. By this point you will have done your routine planning and decided where this product will likely fit in. You may have to adjust this at some point, but you have to start somewhere. With easy introductions you will simply start using the product as you plan to continue using it. You may wish to limit the quantity used at first; this can make a big difference especially with products like hydrators and oils – the only way to discover the exact quantity that works for your skin is by trial and error.