Skin Wellbeing

WITH THE PANDEMIC ENSURING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH WILL CONTINUE TO BE MAIN PRIORITIES FOR CONSUMER IN 2021, WE ARE SEEING THE CONSUMER DEMAND MORE FROM THEIR BEAUTY PRODUCTS; NOT ONLY MUST THEY MAKE YOU LOOK GOOD, THEY NEED TO MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD TOO- IT’S ABOUT THE TOTAL 360 EXPERIENCE. THE FIRST EVER LARGE SCALE STUDY EXAMINING THE LINK BETWEEN STRESS AND BEAUTY, FOUND THAT 75% OF WOMEN SAY STRESS AFFECTS THEIR SENSE OF FEELING BEAUTIFUL.

THIS MEANS THE LINK BETWEEN WELLNESS AND BEAUTY IS GROWING, WITH CONSUMERS SEARCHING FOR TRENDS WHICH SHOW A HOLISTIC APPROACH TOWARDS SKINCARE.

THE MARKET TREND DRIVERS

• As a result of the skincare market pivoting towards healthcare, the Skin Microbiome market will grow to $2.97bn by 2030.

• Messages that encourage confidence and naturalness will have greater appeal, particularly as body positivity continues to gain traction. For example, several brands and retailers have embraced skin imperfections and challenged the notion that healthy skin needs to be flawless in 2021, including Cult Beauty with its #UpCloseOnSkincare campaign.

• 13 to 26 years old see skincare as the Holy Grail of beauty routines. It’s now about nurturing and caring for skin, as the notion of health takes a growing place in the world of cosmetics.

The 4 consumer trends we are seeing are:

• Sensitive skin & scarring

  In the UK 32% of women claim to have sensitive skin, and 70% of people have skin conditions or scars that directly affect their confidence.

  We know that stress can trigger flare-ups of eczema, rosacea, and psoriasis, hives, cold sores, fever blisters, and other skin rashes. With the ongoing impact of the pandemic on mental health (in December 2020 a US census found 42% of US adults were experiencing stress or depression) this explains why we’ve seen a surge in brand launches starring quintessential calming ingredients.

• Natural Skin health

  The demand for skincare to provide more than just aesthetic benefits is accelerating. 65% of beauty consumers link the beauty and wellness categories together.

  Skincare for health is emerging in tandem with global consumer interest in overall health as well as the need to communicate and educate skincare's health benefits for future success.

• Seasonal Skin

  Hot weather, cold and dry climates as well as changing seasons means consumers are looking for products which meet seasonal demands. Air con and central heating can impact skin, such as dehydrating and causing breakouts.

  39% of UK female facial skincare product users agree cold weather impacts the appearance of their skin.

• Skin Protection

  COVID-19 has renewed consumers focus on what's polluting skin. Stylight noted a 136% increase in Google searches for “blue light skincare” since the beginning of 2019, peaking at a 336% increase in May 2020. There is also an increased brand focus on protection and barrier repair ingredient call outs.

Hot Beauty trends for Beauty NPD

• Focus

  The pandemic has opened up new skin considerations whether its increased cleanliness, masks, or using skincare to de-stress. As a result, brands need to focus on skin wellness, not just aesthetics.

  Consumers are also looking for skincare that will help protect skin coming out of the pandemic, such as skin barrier and linking into overall wellness.

• Education

  As consumers are increasingly aware of external factors on skin, adaptive beauty products that can be customised to the user's changing skin needs willgain traction and brands should help educate on factors that can influence skin changes

  The conversation around the impact of hormonal changes is also opening up, presenting opportunities for targeted innovations.

• Packaging

  Packaging which tailors to 'freshness' or 'sealed' similar to probiotics. Consumers are even using 'beauty fridges' to keep skincare fresh, so this is something that would lend well to this trend.

• Ingredients

  "Natural" and  “clean” ingredient labelling has experienced  backlash as consumers education themselves on issues like ingredient safety and depletion of natural resources. Brands have the opportunity to instead focus on validating how ingredients promote skin health, sourced using transparent and sustainable  practices.

  Use of wellness focused ingredients continues to grow e.g. microbiome and 'fermented' ingredients- linking into the live ingredient trend.

Within our latest trends report, we explore the consumer insights shaping this trend and we can reach out to consumers through exciting and innovation NPD.

There is so much to uncover about this trend so please get in touch to discover more and find out how we can bring ideas to a commercial reality

THE BEAUTY BRAND COACH