As we’ve said before, this is not something every beauty brand can answer, but here we are again, with Tailor’s NEW Gel Cleanse. To us, each product in our range is formulated for our customer (tailored to you, ofc), if you don’t need it or it’s just ‘another bottle to store’, then we don’t provide it. It’s this simple, because we’re concise. It has to address your skin concerns, fit your routine, and make you feel good.
Gel Cleanse, how it fits into the tailor range and is tailored to you.
So where is the gap in our range? Because that’s the only reason we formulate a new product. Otherwise, that’s just not sustainable, is it? To kick start the process, we research product functionality, where it fits within the range, what our customers' feedback has been, and how it’s tailored. Deciding to introduce a second cleanser to the Tailor Range, coming off the success of our top selling cult-favourite Oil Cleanse, we thought it was only natural to create a wash-away cleanser. In staying true to a key brand message, tailored to you, we believed we needed to provide versatility to our customers, allowing them to use each cleanser individually or in combination, depending on their unique skincare needs and preferences. Now we have the product to fill this gap, we looked into the functionality of it, how it was going to be tailored to multiple skin types and skin concerns. This is where a thorough and in depth research stage is crucial.
Start researching, there’s a lot of ground to cover.
The research phase of this project was quite a journey. We thoroughly explored existing cleansers on the market, dissecting what we liked and disliked about each one. This process allowed us to identify key ingredients that not only aligned with our product's functionality but also offered tangible benefits to the skin, even during brief contact. It was a fascinating and enlightening journey of discovery, and we're excited to bring the culmination of our findings to our customers with Tailor Gel Cleanse.
Scent / Feel / Texture
We tested them all to narrow down the right style of cleanser. It had to be gentle, a big no in our books is when a cleanser strips your skin’s natural acid mantle leaving it dry and sensitive. This meant we needed to ensure the surfactants we incorporated in this formula were not harsh on the skin, that journey led us to Cocamidopropyl Betaine. A natural gentle surfactant (offers a light foam) that is perfect for all skin types including sensitive skin.
Ingredients
When we conducted our research to select the ingredients for Tailor Gel Cleanse, we focused on those that would provide immediate benefits to your skin, even when contact time is limited. Let's take Niacinamide as an example, a renowned hero ingredient often found in cleansers. Niacinamide's true potential is unlocked when it's left on the skin, allowing it to work its magic. However, cleansers are wash-off products, making it less ideal for this purpose. Instead, if you're seeking the benefits of Niacinamide, our Tailor Hydrate product contains 4% Niacinamide. This makes it the perfect addition to your skincare routine, where it can be left on the skin to deliver the results you're looking for.
The first of two key ingredients we discovered that had immediate benefit with limited contact time was Aloe Vera, an ingredient we know helps ease sunburn, but it’s calming and soothing properties can translate in the skincare space, to calm and soothe redness and irritation, while also hydrating the skin. The second of the two key ingredients is Oat Protein, which aims to strengthen the skin’s outer barrier, retain skin moisture, reduce itchiness, and has anti-inflammatory properties. Another hero is green tea extract which visibly brightens skin, reduces hyperpigmentation and has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to soothe and protect your skin. We have also included some hero Tailor ingredients found in the rest of our range, Glycerin (humectant) which binds water to the skin, leaving it hydrated and soft. As well as Milk Thistle Esther (natural alternative to silicone) to enhance skin barrier protection. The reason these ingredients have been chosen, is because with a gel cleanser we need to give back to the skin in the same process of removing daily build up.
There is no I in team, so not only do we need our hero ingredients to support our cleanser’s goal, but we need other key properties and ingredients to help turn this formulation into a gel-foam texture. Starting strong with a carrier, which is aqua (water) we then need functional ingredients e.g., humectants, emollients, skin-conditioning ingredients, because these act as a transmitter for the delivery of our hero ingredients. Finally, we have our stabilisers e.g., preservatives, chelating and texture agents, and these ensure our product stability, making sure the product remains at it’s best throughout its lifespan, no bacteria growing around here thanks.
Natural % Content & functionality
We meticulously considered the percentage of natural ingredients when crafting Tailor Gel Cleanse, ultimately achieving a 96.6% natural composition, and here's why. During our extensive formulation process, we explored various natural percentage levels, always pushing for higher ratios. However, we encountered a challenge: as the natural content increased, the product's functionality suffered. It struggled to effectively remove makeup and left the skin feeling less clean and refreshed.
After numerous iterations and much back-and-forth, we honed in on the perfect, simplified formula that not only met our functionality goals but also ensured that every ingredient used delivered tangible benefits to your skin. We're proud to say that our product isn't about washing marketing fluff down the drain – it's formulated to provide your skin with real, noticeable benefits in the short time it’s on your skin, while maintaining a high level of natural ingredients.
Where we landed
Our gel formula effortlessly glides onto your skin, eliminating the need for immediate water usage, sparing you from those annoying drips down your arms. Plus, it's versatile! You can apply it to your skin, massage, and when you add water, it transforms into a foam for a thorough second cleanse. We believe in multi-purpose products that leave your skin feeling fresh, soft, and balanced, without that uncomfortable tightness often associated with a compromised acid mantle.
Sustainable Packaging Research plus what colour:
Not only do we live and breathe skin, we also live and breathe the environment, so it’s safe to say we’re pretty committed to doing our best to lend it a hand. It’s definitely a lot harder, but we choose the no cutting corner path, to deliver our products, in this case Gel Cleanse, in the form of sustainable and clean packaging. With this product’s gel consistency, we head to the drawing board to look into how the customer would use this product, ensuring it’s in line with our sustainability KPI’s. So, once we decided it was best dispensed from a tube, due to how the customer would be using it (most likely in the shower), it was obvious to go with our current tube packaging.
For our tubes we use PCR, post-consumer resin, plastic which comes from recycled milk bottles. We use 50%, this is the maximum before the plastic becomes too rigid for the customer to use (i.e you can’t even squeeze the tube). This is how we landed on 50% plus its kerbside recyclable. Sustainable inner packaging option, check.
It comes in Tailor’s compostable and recyclable cardboard box. This cardboard is sourced locally in Whakatane and is ‘well-managed forests’ certified, you can see this stamp at the bottom of your box. It isn’t printed with a plastic film coating, which most are btw, but it is printed with vegetable inks (It’s natural!) in Petone, Wellington which makes it able to be placed into your at-home compost or with your kerbside recycling. Our box supply chain is completely localised to NZ, cool right? (yes we’re bragging). Learn more about our box supply chain here.
Now how did we land on the bright green? Easy! We wanted the colour to represent how you use it and how it makes your skin feel. Cool, calm, fresh and a bit of fun. Plus it has to look cute next to Tailor Polish in the shower.
Check product stability:
Our products undergo stability testing to ensure that they are shelf stable and to measure its shelf life. Here at Tailor we set out to achieve a 3 year shelf-life as a minimum. We use a combination of accelerated and real-time to determine this. Accelerated stability is when the product is exposed to high temperatures to speed the time along and is observed weekly for noticeable changes that could indicate the product is not stable. These physicochemical properties that we observe are changes in colour, PH, viscosity, odour. We use accelerated testing so that we can quickly determine if a formulation is stable and if not we can quickly review what ingredients are causing this and make adjustments. So, passing product stability is a time for celebration!
Challenge testing:
The primary reason to put our products through challenge testing is to determine whether the preservative system is holding across different stages of the products shelf life. Not only does the product need to be stable it also needs to be safe for customer use. In order for a water-based product to be safe it requires a preservative to be present. The preservative that we use in all our water-based products is a combination of a Dehydroacetic Acid (anti-fungal) and Benzyl Alcohol (anti-bacterial). These two combined create a strong system to stop the growth of bacteria, moulds or yeasts ensuring the product sits on shelf for an extended period of time and is still safe for use. But how do we test it?
We make a large sample of products for challenge testing. We send our product freshly made (time-zero) to the lab to be Challenge tested, this is where they inject our product with high levels of bacteria, moulds or yeast and observe it over a 28-day period to see if the preservative system works by reducing the count of the added microbes. This is our base report and the same sample is put into an oven in the lab to age and then is sent to be challenge tested under the same conditions to see if the aged sample works as well as it did when it was first made at time-zero. If it does, then that is a pass! A preservative will ensure microbes don’t make their way into a product, because we don’t want any living organisms living in our skincare thanks. But don’t worry, our preservative is safe and EcoCert for safe use in natural skincare.
Dermatesting:
We welcome consumer testing, because we need to actually make sure that this product is what our customers are looking for and because we want our skincare to actually work. We invite our family and friends to try this product and tell us, no filter required, about what they truly think and this feedback is crucial, because we don’t launch products that are less than their potential.
Once our formula has been finalised we send it to be dermatologically tested. The test was carried out with 30 subjects, aged 18 and above. All subjects recruited had (very) dry, normal, combination or oily skin, as well as some with sensitive skin. The compiled lab report for Tailor Gel Cleanse confirmed that 100% of all participants reported no relevant skin reactions were detected and was awarded with a dermatological rating of excellent including for sensitive skin.
Launch time:
Ok, we think it’s about time you two met. Meet Gel Cleanse, our newest fascination and latest addition to your routine, tailored to you (ofc). We created Tailor Gel Cleanse for those who crave convenience and a gentle yet effective cleansing experience.
P.S. Tailor Gel Cleanse, because skincare should be simple and tailored to you.