In the competitive realm of cosmetics and personal care, strategic alliances between ingredient suppliers and beauty brands play a crucial role in driving innovation and sustainability forward. A notable example of such collaboration is the partnership between supplier P2 Science and hair care brand Living Proof.
In this exclusive CosmeticsDesign Q&A, Patrick Foley, Co-Founder and President of P2 Science, and Ron McLaughlin, Senior Vice President of Research & Development at Living Proof, provide insights into their collaborative efforts. They shared the motivations behind their partnership, the distinct technologies each company contributes, and the anticipated impact on the beauty industry, as well as insights into the journey of developing their proprietary smoothing and anti-frizz technology and how their combined expertise aims to set new benchmarks for sustainable, high-performance hair care solutions.
CDU: Can you tell us about the collaboration between P2 Science and Living Proof? What was the motivation behind it?
Patrick Foley (PF): Both P2 and Living Proof seek to bring the highest performing products to their customers, through science-driven technology discovery. When we realized that we could help each other it became clear that we should be advancing the state of the art in hair care together.
Ron McLaughlin (RM): Living Proof sought to work with P2 Science to develop an advanced Proprietary Smoothing Technology that would enhance our No Frizz Smooth Stylers anti-frizz performance. The partnership aimed to create a novel, highly effective and sustainable ingredient that addressed specific needs of different hair types and textures. Together with P2, we worked to push the boundaries of innovation and achieve a new standard in performance for frizz control and smoothness.
Since partnering with P2 Science on our No Frizz Stylers, we have continued to explore this technology into new innovations yet to come from the brand, ensuring we deliver superior frizz protection, smoothing, and other potential functional benefits across a multitude of products.
CDU: What unique contributions do your respective companies bring to the collaboration?
PF: Like Living Proof, P2 started in labs at a major research university – Living Proof at MIT and P2 at Yale. As such we both bring expertise from our respective approaches to technology development.
P2’s expertise is in the design and scale of next generation materials, with a strong focus on the consumer products we use every day, such as personal care products. P2 uses Green Chemistry to develop ingredients in this space that are sustainable, high-performing, and fully differentiated in the market because they are genuinely new.
By developing new chemistry, we can access next generation levels of performance while also optimizing for human and planetary health. That is the power of Green Chemistry.
RM: Living Proof brings its extensive experience and expertise in hair care innovation, rooted in scientific research and real-world problem-solving. With a history of pioneering groundbreaking technologies and a deep understanding of formula design, the partnership with P2 Science was a perfect match.
Our joint commitment and complementary expertise will continue to drive the development of next generation technologies.
CDU: How does this collaboration align with the overall goals and objectives of your respective companies?
PF: P2 seeks to help our customers, specifically brands like Living Proof, reach the next level of performance in their products. This is great for everyone. It’s great for the consumer because they get better products.
It’s great for Living Proof because they can honor their mission to continuously lead in the field of hair care. And it’s great for P2 because we can achieve our goal of bringing more Green Chemistry into the world.
RM: P2 Science aligned with Living Proof’s mission to create inventive solutions for real-world problems based on scientific research and ingenuity. The two brands were founded out of renowned universities, MIT and Yale, with science and technology at their forefront.
The partnership with P2 Science reflects Living Proof’s commitment to high performance, innovation, and sustainability.
CDU: Can you walk us through the process of developing the new product?
PF: From the beginning, Living Proof knew exactly what ingredient properties they needed to unlock performance in their products, so they brought all of that expertise to the collaboration. For our part at P2, we had some really solid ideas as to how we could design materials using plant-based chemistry that could fulfill their very demanding performance criteria.
Through several iterations in the lab with guided feedback from the Living Proof team, we were able to get to a solution. And from there we were able to scale it and bring it to market. It’s a fun success story that show what can be accomplished through collaboration in this space.
RM: The development process involved leveraging the scientific expertise of both Living Proof and P2 Science. We first outlined precise properties that the new material was required to meet, focusing on addressing the root cause of frizz.
Years of collaboration led to the creation of a new bio-based Proprietary Smoothing Technology that reduces friction between hair fibers and shields each strand from humidity flux. From there, we moved into the formulation development phase to create new stylers tailored to address the needs of specific hair types.
The result was three new No Frizz Smooth Stylers, designed for fine, medium, or thick/coarse hair types, offering long-lasting smoothness, conditioning, and frizz control.
CDU: What were some of the key challenges faced during the collaboration process, and how were they overcome?
PF: I’ll say the biggest challenge was that a lot of this development work took place when most of the world was shut down. During the pandemic, labs were either closed or partially staffed. We had to creatively marshal our resources and lab time to maintain momentum, not just on this project but on all of our projects.
Thankfully we were successful and thankfully those hard times appear to be behind us. That we were able to make the collaboration work during that timeframe speaks to the dedication of the respective teams and the strength of the partnership.
CDU: Can you share any insights into the innovation behind the proprietary smoothing, anti-frizz technology?
PF: P2 has developed several platform technologies for converting and assembling plant-derived molecules into new types of high-performance natural polymers. These polymers are very versatile and have tunable performance properties. Further, we do it in a way that can scale rapidly.
This gives us the ability to approach technology development fully empowered to be creative and bold. When Living Proof described what their need was, we knew that we had to design a performance polymer that had very specific physical properties that were optimized for deposition on the hair and reduction of tension on the surface of the cuticle. It was great to be able to deliver on that need.
CDU: What sets this new product apart from others in the market, in terms of both performance and sustainability?
RM: This new product stands out due to its innovative Proprietary Smoothing Technology that delivers 75% less frizz and 6x smoother hair for up to 96 hours. The technology’s bio-based material offers higher humidity resistance and conditioning benefits, ensuring superior frizz control and smoothness.
Additionally, the collaboration’s commitment to sustainability is evident in the environmentally friendly practices and materials used in the product, as well as the partnership’s support for reforestation efforts.
CDU: How does this collaboration reflect Living Proof’s commitment to sustainability and innovation?
RM: In working with P2 Science, we are furthering our commitment to sustainability by incorporating green chemistry and bio-based materials into our products. P2’s innovations all align with their roots in sustainability – their contribution to reforestation efforts demonstrates a dedication to environmentally responsible practices.
CDU: What impact do you hope this collaboration will have on the beauty and personal care industry?
PF: From the P2 perspective, I hope this collaboration can serve a positive signal to the industry that collaboration can help us advance the industry towards our shared goals of making our products better and more aligned with planetary health. And that we can deliver uncompromising solutions that are built on the principles of green chemistry and offer superior performance to help brands and consumers move on from legacy chemistries.
CDU: How does this collaboration fit into P2 Science’s broader strategy for innovation and growth?
PF: What P2 is doing is really special. Humbly, we think we can provide solutions that no one else can. That said, we aren’t going to have any success without strong partnerships. We look for partners in the consumer space that are motivated and seeking next level performance across the life cycle.
We can deliver it, but only through collaboration. Our partnership with Living Proof confirms our hypothesis that great things can be achieved this way.
