Jacqueline Clarke, Diagonal Reports01.29.15
Women worldwide are falling out of love with, and moving away from, the cosmetic beauty model. They are willing to experiment with alternatives which, they believe, can deliver dramatic improvements to their skin condition and appearance. This change happened under the radar as both wellness and technological beauty were popularized by spas which tapped into a rich seam of consumer demand and market opportunities.
Wellness has been competing for beauty spending for many years. It was early 2000 when we first noted that salon professionals were providing wellness or “beauty from within” services. Beauty spas were the platform which rolled out new treatments based on reducing stress or increasing energy to deliver a younger looking skin. Since then we have been documenting how changes in buyer behaviour created a wellness sector worth billions.
More recently, and at the other end of the spectrum, it is beauty technology which is transforming the inherited (cosmetic) beauty culture. Here, devices and tools (cleansing brush, IPL) are being incorporated into daily skincare regimes because they deliver effective and efficient results. The era of the superfacial has arrived. But as long ago as 2006, we identified that devices were being added to spa treatment protocols because of dissatisfaction with traditional products. Demand for new solutions was so widespread that we called it the “Botox effect.”
Changes in spending will transform companies’ fortunes because skincare accounts for up to 50% of all beauty product sales in key markets. Wellness and technological beauty are already impacting on what people want from their beauty products, making even the most conservative cosmetic beauty buyer more open than ever to new skincare formulations and concepts. Our research shows that buyers in mature markets are adopting new products while their counterparts in developing markets are taking their own traditions with them.
Scientific skincare has been both the engine and beneficiary of this market change. It is displacing cosmetic products traditionally used for facial care (especially cleansing and moisturizing). Scientific products developed under the radar remain somewhat misunderstood by the industry. This is really an umbrella category which melds cosmetic, medical and also natural skincare. In consequence, the value of scientific skincare sales has been seriously underestimated because so many small players account, in aggregate, for a significant market share.
Contact Diagonal for more information on their Scientific Skincare, Wellness and Technological Beauty reports or their Compilation of Skincare Trends 2014.