What does the future hold for the beauty and aesthetics industries? See what experts say is trending
The beauty industry is big – in fact it’s estimated to be $675 billion big by 2021. By comparison the aesthetics component is a drop in the ocean, coming it at around $17bn by 2023. But where will we be spending our money?
According to research done by Safety in Beauty founder, Antonia Mariconda, there are significant changes afoot. She surveyed 100 industry leaders to get their opinions of where these closely related industries are heading, and here’s what she found.
Top 5 Beauty Trends
1 It’s in your genes darling!
Safety in Beauty’s research showed that consumers will be looking for a more personalised approach to their skin care. There is already a small number of companies offering DNA tests for skin care but it is expected to become much more mainstream.
DNA test looks at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs or ‘snips’) which can indicate how someone metabolises medications, how they might react to environmental factors and also their risk of certain diseases. When it comes to skin it could give information on how your body forms collagen, protects itself from the sun and how likely it is to become inflamed.
Currently general DNA tests are relatively affordable but the cost of specific skin tests jumps up to around £495. Then comes the bespoke skin care packages which can cost anywhere from £200-£1800.
Critics of the DNA skin care approach say looking at your parents will give you a fairly good idea of how you’re going to age or react or environmental stressors – like the sun, so there may be more very little benefit from such costly tests. That aside… it’s a trend.
2. breaking stereotypes
We can expect to see a more inclusive approach to beauty marketing. There will be more diversity when it comes to race, skin conditions, age and gender portrayed in the industry.
Driven by generation z and millennials, brands will seek to showcase their products in a way that embraces the a broader representation of society.
3. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Instagram has announced it will ban filters that predict changes to people’s faces with plastic surgery, but experts believe this will be an inevitable part of the future. (Working out how to deal with it will be the difficult bit!)
Virtual reality is already helping shoppers buy products online with smart mirrors, but there will be an increase in AI technology delivering virtual make overs and face and body changing technologies that will reinvent the retail space.
The challenge here will be to keep mental health issues in mind. With filters on social media and endless photo-shopped celebrity pictures presenting an unrealistic images, any additions to this realm will have to be handled very carefully.
4. Back to Nature
This has been a growing trend and it doesn’t look like it’s coming to an end. The Safety in Beauty survey showed that experts say savvy shoppers are wanting more organic products and products that are sustainably produced.
The experts predict that brands that ‘nature hack’ for new and innovative ingredients and use technologies to support clean living will reap the benefits.
As Antonia Mariconda says: “As technology and mother mature join forces to meet the needs of an increasingly socially-conscious consumer our beauty habits are predicted to become all the more holistic and personal come 2020.”
On the other hand, there may need to be an education program for influencers so they understand that certain preservatives are in products for a reason (to stop the product from going off), and that a product that calls itself ‘organic’ may only have one or two organic ingredients in them. The industry will have to be more transparent about this as well
5. The informed consumer
Technology, social media and the rise of the influencer – this is a trend that is expected to continue and brands are taking notice. Shoppers are expected to become savvier, more safety conscious and influential. Those survey expect brands will start to take more notice of what they’re saying and will adapt their message (and products) more inline with consumer demands.
Mariconda says: “Now more than ever the informed consumer will drive competition, influence the safety and ethical aspect of beauty and shape the future of beauty.”
Aesthetic trends?
But what about aesthetics you ask? What’s trending there?
Well the industry experts believe the top ten aesthetics procedures heading into the next decade will be:
1. anti-wrinkle treatments with toxins… a perennial, but used these days in more than just wrinkle reduction. If use well, like fillers they can help shape and define features.
2. Fillers – a mainstay of cosmetic practices with lips and tear troughs among the more common procedures
3. Skin booster – these are treatments that help improve skin quality, tone and texture
4. Laser skin rejuvenation – used to tighten and improve skin quality
5. Skin tightening – treatments that use energy from for example radiofrequency, ultrasound or heat to tighten skin and improve skin quality
6. Non-surgical nose jobs or rhinoplasty – filler used to reshape the nose
7. Liquid face lift – or the non-surgical facelift where fillers are used to boost the skin and also to reshape and redefine the face
8. Jaw sculpting – using filler to reshape the jawline
9. microinfusions or mesotherpay
10. non-surgical eye rejuvenation – such as plasma, tixel or cool laser treatments (see the treatments section).
And the body?
- Fat transfer – extracting fat from one part of the body and transplanting it somewhere else.
- Body sculpting – using heat, cold or vibration techniques to break down fat or re-shape an area
- Compressive microvibration to help shape and tighten skin (see Endospheres Therapy)
- Injectable lipolysis – fat dissolving injections like Aqualyx
- Sexual rejuvenation – using energy based treatments or PRP to help improve vaginal symptoms or menopause or stress incontinence and laxity after pregnancy and childbirth for women, or PRP for men with erectile dysfunction or Peyronies disease.
This information was presented at a press conference sponsored by Endospheres Therapy
