Alberto Culver, manufacturer of drugstore favorite beauty brands like as Alberto VO5, Noxzema, St. Ives and Tressemé, announced today that it will soon acquire UK skincare brand Simple Health & Beauty Limited.

It's a seemingly smart move for Alberto Culver.

Simple has a huge following on the mass level -- their Cleansing Facial Wipes are the number one selling facial skincare item in the UK -- which is on par with Alberto Culver's current brand portfolio.

It's also a chance for Alberto Culver to get into the sensitive skin game. Simple has a long heritage of pure, irritation-free skincare products, and in fact they were the first company to introduce a fragrance- and color-free soap in the UK back in 1960.

Currently, Simple offers 140 products in face, body, bath and shower, hair, men's, baby, and suncare, all consistently recommended by dermatologists in the UK.

We wonder if this means we'll start seeing Simple on shelves here in the US? That would sure give Cetaphil a run for their money -- they've had the lockdown on dermatologist-recommended skincare here in the states for years.

Here's to hoping we'll be able to get our hands on those wipes in 2010.