In The News: skincare brand funds dermatology center, more whole-body deo launches

ELC's Clinque brand puts $5m behind Mount Sinai dermatology center, P&G launches whole-body deo for women, Unilever launches whole-body deo for men

Photo by Fabrice Villard on Unsplash

🏥💋Health & Wellness & Skincare

“With Clinique’s support, we will continue to actively explore targeted approaches to reversing eczematous and allergic skin conditions with the goal of creating and sustaining healthy skin,” says Emma Guttman, MD, PhD, Waldman Professor and System Chair of the Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine; Director of the Occupational Dermatitis Clinic; Director of the Laboratory of Inflammatory Skin Diseases at Icahn Mount Sinai; and Co-Founder of the International Eczema Council (IEC)—among many other credentials.

Dr. Guttman made a statement to the press upon the announcement of a philanthropic partnership between the Estée Lauder brand and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. And she also noted that, “In turn, we want to use this understanding to address and prevent the process of age-related inflammation or ‘inflammaging’ in the first place.”

Clinique has committed $5m over a seven-year period “for the advancement and evolution of allergy science,” according to this month’s media release. Funding will support recruitment (and presumably salary) of scientists, physicians, and support staff as well as for lab space and equipment at what will be the Mount Sinai-Clinique Healthy Skin Dermatology Center.

It’s an initiative that is incredibly practical from a skin health and branding perspective as well as being an initiative that further blurs the line between medicine and beauty.

“Research conducted under the Mount Sinai-Clinique Healthy Skin Dermatology Center aims to uncover scientific findings to accelerate the creation of new topical and systemic treatments that help alleviate allergic skin conditions,” explains the media release, which also states that “Insights from this research aim to spur advances in the field of dermatology and skin health. Additionally, they will inform and inspire Clinique in future product innovation to offer further solutions for people with allergic or sensitive skin.”

❗️Smell This

P&G is the latest beauty maker to get in on the whole-body deo trend. Just last month, Unilever’s Shea Moisture brand launched a deodorant brand with products for the whole body and underarm (that line is designed especially for “rich melanin skin”). And of course Lume, the brand Dr Shannon Klingman launched in 2017 and Harry’s acquired in 2021, has been building consumer familiarity with the product concept for the past seven years.

The P&G launch is targeting women only. “Body odor outside of the armpits is normal and something many women notice at some point in their lives, but is not often discussed,” says Kate DiCarlo, Senior Communications Director of the P&G Personal Care Portfolio, in a press release issued this past Wednesday. “The Secret Whole Body Deodorant collection is built on over 50 years of experience in formulating products especially designed for women," adds DiCarlo.

The new line is three products deep, comprising a stick, a cream, and spray; and there are three scents: unscented, peach & vanilla blossom, and fresh lilac & water lily.

According to this month’s press release, the new Secret deodorants are “recommended by four out of five gynecologists and dermatologists; [and] Secret Whole Body Deodorant is made with superior skincare ingredients and is free of aluminum, baking soda, dyes, phthalates, and parabens for 24/7 freshness with daily use.”

🕺& now a men’s version

Whole-Body Deo is the personal care product du jour. This is the third item I’ve written about it in recent weeks. Above, I shared news of whole-body deo for women from P&G’s Secret brand. And in January, there was the launch from Unilever's Shea Moisture brand.

Today, it’s news of the whole-body deo launch from Unilever’s Dove Men+Care brand. According to this month’s press release, there is demonstrated demand: “Proprietary research finds 17% of men are already using underarm deodorant on the soles of their feet and 44% are using it on their private area.”

The whole-body deo collection (stick, spray, and cream—like we saw from P&G) is meant for use on several sites. As Pranav Chandan, Category Head of US Deodorants at Unilever tells the press, “Men want solutions for other areas. It's time for a product that men can use everywhere anytime – from pits, to privates, to feet. Our new Whole Body Deo is the singular solution to the multifaceted needs men have.”

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