In our weekly "Consumer Pulse" social media report, "Kalme Skin Care" took the top-trending Google search slot. In fact, it was rated by Google Trends as a "breakout" search, meaning it had a "tremendous" increase over the period of Jan. 18 to Jan. 24, 2023. Why?
Making Headlines
We dug a little deeper. This product line has been making headlines in the past month mainly through user success stories. In the U.S. Sun, a dermatologist recommended it for the skin in winter (which for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, is happening now). There also were two stories, in PA Real Life and the Independent, about a former Met police officer using the product as a “miracle cure” for stress-triggered skin flares. The Daily Mail additionally profiled a woman whose rosacea was so bad that she was teased and told she needed plastic surgery. There were several other headlines.
See related: Fractional RF Microneedling for Difficult-to-treat Rosacea
So what are special about these products? The Kalme line is for red and reactive skin care. It comes from the Skin Shop company, which was previously owned by L’Oréal and sold to Natura in 2017. The products are designed for rosacea, redness and sensitivity, reportedly “to reduce reactivity, redness, bumpiness and dryness.”
The range includes: a day cream with SPF 25; a night repair cream; a water-free cream cleanser (because according to the company, water evaporating on skin makes it dry out faster); a “chameleon” concealer; a TEQ serum; an “undercoat” (featuring a de-sensitizing tetra-peptide); and then the basic skin care and full skin care kits.
While the news stories didn’t say which products in particular were providing the effects, there were a few with interesting ingredients worth noting.
See related: Charlotte Mae Skincare Launches
Caper Extract, Idinyl, Perilla Seed and NDGA
The Kalme Day Cream with SPF 25 is a mineral sunscreen featuring the caper extract Derma Sensitive, which appears to be the Gatuline Derma-Sensitive ingredient (INCI: Octyldodecyl Myristate (and) Capparis Spinosa Fruit Extract) from Gattefossé. According to the supplier, this oily extract of caper buds is designed to reduce inflammation and soothe sensitive skin. It is created using gemmotherapy to capture “highly energetic substances in embryonic plant tissues and seeds.”
Notably, the caper extract is also in the Kalme night repair cream, which additionally features the moisturizer idinyl and the antibacterial/anti-inflammatory perilla seed, and the "chameleon" concealer, which also employs a skin tone-matching technology to conceal redness. The product is claimed to apply green in color but change to the skin’s natural tone.
Going back to the Kalme Day Cream with SPF 25, the product additionally incorporates the patented antioxidant nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA), which we searched and found described in Medical Science Monitor by researchers at the Bayor College of Medicine, Houston, as being derived from creosote bush, also known as Larrea tridentata, chaparral or greasewood, which is said to be 100x more effective than vitamin C, E or grapeseed in reducing inflammation, bumps and spots.
From the archives: From Caper to Prickly Pear for Dermatitis to Dual Phase Mouthwash; Literature Review
Agave, Inulin and Plant-derived Squalane
The Kalme TeQ Serum is designed as a hydrating and repairing formula with two agave extracts. One is Mexican agave, which is used to make tequila (presumably from where the TeQ in the product name is derived). This ingredient is described as a potent prebiotic used to repel Bacillus oleronius bacteria, which is associated with rosacea.
The product also incorporates the ingredient PreBIULIN AGA (INCI: Inulin), which is apparently from Ultra Chemical and said to be more moisturizing than hyaluronic acid. Blue agave also is included to reinforce the inulin, as well as plant-based squalene.
Wrap-up and Ingredient Disclosures
So as this week's Google Trends search reveals, the top trending search on Kalme Skin Care indicates consumer interest in rosacea and sensitive skin care. Stay tuned for next week's report, here and on social media.
Ingredients: Kalme Day Defense Cream SPF 25: Aqua, Zinc Oxide (nano), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glycerin, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Squalane, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, Octyldodecanol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Perilla Ocymoides (Perilla) Seed Oil, Dimethicone, Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid, Cassia Angustifolia Extract, Glycyrrhetinic Acid (Licorice Extract), Capparis Spinosa (Caper) Bud Extract, Xanthan Gum, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexyl Glycerin, Citric Acid, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-Diol. (Ret US $30.73)
Ingredients: Kalme Night Repair Cream: Aqua, Dicaprylyl Carbonate Glyceryl Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Cetearyl Alcohol, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Capparis Spinosa Fruit Extract, Perilla Ocymoides (Perilla) Seed Oil, Cetearyl Isononanoate, Myristyl Myristate, Ceteareth-20, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Flower Water, Cera Alba (Beeswax), Dimethicone, Ethylhexylglycerin, Ceteareth-12, Cetyl Palmitate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Allantoin, Panthanol, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1, 3-Diol. (Ret US $30.73)
Ingredients: Kalme Cream Cleanser: Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Prunus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Dimethicone, Phenoxyethanol, Panthenol (Pro-Vitamin B5), Sodium Polyacrylate, Xanthan Gum, Ethylhexylgerine, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1, 3-Diol. (Ret US $22.33)
Ingredients: Kalme Chameleon Concealer: Aqua (Water), Cyclopentasiloxane, Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Butylene Glycol, Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate Copolymer, Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Diphenylsiloxy Phenyl Trimethicone, Aluminum Hydroxide, Dimethicone, Octyldodecyl Myristate, Hydrogen Dimethicone, Sodium Chloride, Phenoxyethanol, Mannitol, Silica, Inulin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Helianthus Annuus Seed Oil Unsaponifiables, Capparis Spinosa (Caper) Fruit Extract, Hexyl Laurate, Polyglyceryl-4 Isostearate, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Shellac, Alpha-Glucan Oligosaccharide, Mica, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tetrasodium EDTA, CI 77891, CI 77492, CI 77491, CI 77120, CI 19140, CI 77499, CI 42090. (Ret US $ 30.73)
Ingredients: Kalme TEQ Serum: Squalane, Inulin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Agave Tequilana Stem Extract, Tocopherol. (Ret US $25.13)
Ingredients: Kalme Undercoat: Aqua (Water), Dicaprylyl Carbonate, Betaine, Butylene Glycol, Ceteareth-20, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glyceryl Stearate, Sodium Polyacrylate, Phenoxyethanol, Mannitol, 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1, 3-Diol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Citrate, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-15. (Ret US $15.33)
