The Making of a Cult Favorite Body Lotion
With Helen Sung, Head of Product Research & Development
IN THIS EDITION: If you only know us for our hair removal products, we’ll let you in on a little secret: Daily Moisturizing Lotion. When we launched this product, we didn’t expect it would become a cult-favorite. Earlier this year, it (briefly) sold out and we were flooded with inquiries asking when it would return! So, what is it about this green tube of body lotion that people can’t get enough of? To find out, we chatted with Flamingo’s head of Research & Development, Helen Sung, for a deeper dive into this viral product.
WHAT DIFFERENTIATES Daily Moisturizing Lotion from other body lotions on the market?
This formula was truly ahead of its time before premium body brands started to take off. I worked on developing it in 2017, when I first joined Flamingo. It was the first mass market body product that combined skincare benefits with a luxe aesthetic. It is more than a body lotion, it offers 24 hour moisture, exfoliation, skin renewal, and antioxidant protection, with a scent designed with a fine fragrance perfumer and a formula designed by a luxury skincare product developer - $12 for 10oz is a steal!
Why is moisturizing your skin important, especially in the winter?
Cold temperatures act as an aggressor to skin. Not only will it make your skin feel dry, it will weaken and compromise your skin barrier, making it harder to get back to a healthy state. All the extra benefits you get from Daily Moisturizing Lotion support skin health through moisture, optimal skin cell turnover and antioxidant protection.
What are the key ingredients in Daily Moisturizing Lotion and what do they do?
Squalane acts as a tried and true moisturizing ingredient that is highly compatible with skin. I love using this ingredient for moisture because it is also found naturally in skin. White willow bark extract, a natural derivative of salicylic acid, is highly efficacious while being gentle at the same time. This is important because for product development, you want to balance all your ingredients so that you get optimal efficacy without irritating the skin. Papaya Fruit Extract, another good exfoliating ingredient, contains the papain enzyme that helps to cleave off the dead skin still hanging around on the surface of skin. Both these ingredients work together to exfoliate and optimize skin cell turnover.
Why is exfoliation important?
Fun Fact: dust is mostly made up of our dead skin cells. Gross, but it’s true. Our skin is constantly shedding away dead skin cells. This is a natural process, where new skin cells are born at the base layer of the epidermis, and make their way to the top of the epidermis to replace the ones that get sloughed off. This cycle happens over 28 days in healthy skin, but as we age and get exposed to more environmental aggressors, this cycle slows down, and can lead to things like rough skin, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation. Exfoliation is important to help shed the dead skin cells at the surface, and skin cell turnover is just as important to help that cycle get back up to speed. Daily Moisturizing Lotion both exfoliates and helps improve skin cell turnover so skin feels soft and smooth, and looks naturally supple and radiant (without the glitter).
How would you describe its scent and how was the scent chosen?
The working name of the scent was Asian Pear and Mineral Musk. We were immediately drawn to this scent, and tweaked it in a way to evoke exactly what we wanted: delicate with a woody heart at its core to complement the nourishing feeling of moisture on skin, but with peaks of citrus and lavender to add interesting pops of surprise and delight. Aesthetics are a key part of our product development philosophy, so we invest in not only working with the most skilled fragrance houses, but also in quality materials that allow us to create complexity in scent to take you on an elevated product experience. The best product is the one you use, and the on you will bring you the most joy.
 |
Helen Sung is the Director of Research & Development at Flamingo. Helen started her career in beauty as a formulation chemist, then moving into various Product Development roles at Estee Lauder and L'Oreal, where she focused on skincare and dermatologist solutions. Helen holds a BS in Biochemistry from SUNY Stonybrook and a MBA from Dowling College. |
