US demand for cosmeceutical products will increase nearly 10 percent per year to $4.1 billion in 2003, with the value of related chemicals advancing eleven percent annually to $825 million.

US demand for cosmeceutical products will increase nearly 10 percent per year to $4.1 billion in 2003, with the value of related chemicals advancing eleven percent annually to $825 million. Age-defying skin preparations, BOTOX for cosmetic anti-aging procedures and the hair growth stimulant finasteride for male pattern baldness will generate the most rapid sales gains among finished products. Demand for chemicals will grow faster than end-use product demand as higher value-added chemicals are employed more frequently to differentiate finished formulations and producers are inhibited from passing on all material cost increases due to pricing pressures. These and other trends are presented in Cosmeceuticals, a new study from The Freedonia Group, Inc., a Cleveland-based industrial market research firm.

Demand for skin care cosmeceuticals will reach $2.3 billion in 2003, up seven percent annually from 1998. Improved formulations, coupled with consumer concerns about aging and sun damage, will promote the wider use of age-defying and sunscreen products. New polymer- and protein-based delivery systems will improve the safety and anti-aging effectiveness of vitamins A and C, leading to increasing applications in skin patches, creams and lotions.

Poly hydroxy acids are also expected to emerge as leading ingredients of skin care cosmeceuticals, capturing demand away from alpha and beta hydroxy acids in anti-wrinkle and acne products. Cinnamic acid sunscreens will emerge as the leading sun protection chemicals based on enhanced effectiveness in preventing sunburn, premature aging and melanoma. Botanical and herbal extracts will achieve impressive usage gains in skin care cosmeceuticals based on consumer preferences for natural substances and the intrinsic exfoliating and sun blocking properties of many plant derivatives.

Spurred by the rapid market penetration of PROPECIA (finasteride), demand for hair care cosmeceuticals will reach $910 million in 2003, up almost 20 percent annually from 1998. Developed by Merck & Company, PROPECIA is clinically proven to prevent hair loss and promote hair regrowth in over 80 percent of male pattern baldness cases. Accordingly, the product is expected to dominate the hair growth cosmeceuticals segment over the next several years, both in terms of chemicals and end-use preparations. Color-in shampoos for treating gray will also fare well in the marketplace based on evolving demographic changes and consumer grooming habits.

Cosmeceuticals (published 7/99, 183 pages) is available for $3500 from The Freedonia Group, Inc., 767 Beta Drive, Cleveland, OH 44143-2326. For further details, please contact Corinne Gangloff by phone [phone], fax [phone] or e-mail [e-mail]. Full text is also available online through commercial database companies and the www.freedoniagroup.com Web site.

Please attribute information from this news release to The Freedonia Group (Cleveland, OH) and include, if possible, the price of the report. We would also appreciate a copy of the article or publication in which we appear.