Kiehl’S Iconic Ultra Facial Cream Just Got More Epic

KIEHL’S ICONIC ULTRA FACIAL CREAM JUST GOT MORE EPIC

Kiehl’s relaunches its #1 best seller, now ultra clean with improved hydration testing

May 2019, India – Kiehl’s #1 best seller globally, Ultra Facial Cream, became an instant cult product when it first launched in 2006.Inspired by the adventure-testing heritage of Kiehl’s, from the first ascent of Greenland’s peaks and the scaling of Mount Everest to the individual adventures of Kiehl’s loyal customers around the world, the “ultra hydrator” provides needed replenishment throughout the day by absorbing moisture from the air for continuous comfort and moisture-balanced skin.

Legendary for providing 24 hour hydration in a lightweight and non-greasy texture that is perfect for everyday use, it’s no surprise that the cream has won over 70 international beauty awards, garnered over 200,000 online reviews from Kiehl’s customers, and that 10 jars are sold globally per minute.Today, the brand is proud to launch the newly revamped, ultra clean version of Ultra Facial Cream- now formulated without parabens, carbamides and T.E.A. Kiehl’s chemists also took the opportunity to improve hydration testing on the new formula. After just one application, facial skin is 2.3x more hydrated—even in the driest areas[1]. Skin is softer, smoother, and visibly healthier looking. The new formula was tested on panels of multiple ethnicities and sensitive skins, and was clinically demonstrated to hydrate all skin types—even sensitive.

THE MAKING OF ULTRA FACIAL CREAM 2.0

Since the original Ultra Facial Cream launchedover 13 years ago, customer preferences around certain ingredients have changed. Though extensive research spanning decades has confirmed that the preservatives in Kiehl’s portfolio are safe at the concentrations used, Kiehl’s chemists are aware of the growing concern around parabens and other ingredients that could be considered sensitizing.Based on the growing demand for products that do not include parabens, in the mid-2000s, Kiehl’s made the choice to develop all new formulas without parabens. By the end of 2019, Kiehl’s entire portfolio will be paraben-free.

Given the global popularity of Ultra Facial Cream, this was Kiehl’s most challenging reformulation to tackle. Kiehl’s chemists take extra care with product reformulations to ensure that users of the existing formula do not feel like that application experience is compromised. It can take dozens of trials over multiple years to create a formula that matches the experience, performance and safety of the original product.

“Reformulating a product that is already incredibly beloved by Kiehl’s customers worldwide is one of the hardest things we do in Product Innovation,” shares Roberta Weiss, Head of Product Innovation for Kiehl’s. “It’s an enormous challenge to match the customer’s experience when reformulating an existing product. To achieve this, it took 114 formulations over 5 years to achieve parity in texture, application, experience, and performance.”

ULTRA CLEAN INGREDIENTS& IMPROVED HYDRATION TESTING

Though most consumers have drier areas on their faces that need to be balanced to ensure even, comfortable hydration, standard clinical testing typically only measures one location on the face, providing an incomplete picture of a consumer’s hydration needs. Introducing Kiehl’s new customer- centric testing platform—a comprehensive hydration test that demonstrates improved quality of hydration across every zone of the face.

Clinical Testing Protocol:

• Corneometer study run in extreme low humidity settings.
• The hydration measurements are taken both before and after Ultra Facial Cream is applied.
• The 60 points of measurements are then used to bring the results to life in a 3-D facial map to show improved hydration results and even coverage.

Result: Ultra Facial Cream is now clinically proven to leave skin 2.3x more hydrated—even in your driest areas.

[1]Based on Clinical Results. Corneometer study run in extreme low humidity settings. 25 subjects