It’s Your Skin…You Do What You Want to Do

Editor’s Note:

We are pleased to present you the 2nd editin of Alison’s  column Symphony Be-Beauty™. This column deals with the topics of health, well-being, wellness and beauty from within. Alison also provides a wealth of information on the integration of cosmetics and personal care products and practices in wellness systems and SPAs.”

EURO COSMETICS Magazine • It’s Your Skin…You Do What You Want to Do • Alison O’Neil, Biotechnology Business Solutions • Alison O’Neil, Biotechnology Business Solutions
SEPTEMBER 2024

Introduction:

In a world where we are encouraged to do our own thing in mostly any area of our life, the beauty and wellness arena is being driven by consumers unlike ever before. The drive is to answer their ‘unique’ needs both physical and mental in guarding the total wellness of the consumer.  Naturally the idea of being unique, standing out from the crowd, or being the best on the market becomes more and more difficult as the field of players grows. When new becomes old and the consumer becomes bored even with the latest something new, long-time experts in the field, like Evelyn Kirton, Marie Ardita and Vince Spinnato of Beauty Board Consultants, have learned the value in the ability to pivot as they discover new ingredients and develop never before seen products. The end results are brands that people know, love and trust.

EURO COSMETICS Magazine • It’s Your Skin…You Do What You Want to Do • Alison O’Neil, Biotechnology Business Solutions • Alison O’Neil, Biotechnology Business Solutions

“Drive through” mentality

In days gone by the key consumer characteristics of brand loyalty, dedication, trust in the product and the company who produced it led to steady increases in product growth and development. All these features are part of a cognitive and behavioral sense of trust in the brand. The recent age of the” drive through “mentality conditioned us to expect products to be quick, easy, effective, accessible, and affordable. Today these expectations are raised, and the same high standards of performance are demanded from common brands as is expected from luxury brands. Higher consumer demands reflect their wellness expectations. They expect positive outcomes of how their body features look and how they feel about themselves overall.

The changing consumer market Exclusive or luxury brand markets remain constant. This constancy is based on psychological and emotional attachment on product and package familiarity, results reliability and lack of change to products that have changed their followers’ lives. Packaging and product ingredients equal increased pricing and higher income buyer markets but also influence the buyers’ feelings that they are special, unique and even important. Mid-market consumers are greater in number, and low-cost market consumers continue to grow yet low cost has now reached mid-cost parameters. The gauntlet has been laid down. Consumers now direct the industry as if “the customer knows best”. Now, their demands of products that not only make them look and feel better have been pushed to a new limit. The limit of personal physical and mental wellness that is self-defined.

Wellness Industry and consumer demands

Although it is common to see the words “health & beauty “splashed all over product labels and marketing campaigns, at one point they were only allowed to be seen together on the aisle directional signs in the drug store. As the self-care focused, Wellness Industry expands, the terms health and beauty have now become the parkway for personal care products. It has never been a secret to the beauty industry that in order to have positive beauty outcomes even the most basic cosmetic science was always based on measurable health outcomes first. Moisturizers have always been designed to support the skins moisturizing barrier if not repair it. Marketers were just prohibited from blurting it out in their alluring words. The consumer today is better educated than ever before. They understand that what they do for their overall health effects the health and therefore appearance of their skin, hair and nails as well as their oral health. They also know they feel happier when these align. And so, they are not asking but demanding that products perform efficiently and effectively.

With the target on total wellness, products are expected to provide not only a healthy appearance overall but improved mental health, too. It is due to these expectations that we see specialty markets evolving. These markets cater to the changing bodily conditions that reside with illnesses like diabetes, cancer treatments and the more common disorders of the skin like eczema, acne, psoriasis and other auto immune disorders. The environmental influences on the skin are driving the markets from sun damage prevention, correction to protection from insects, plants and other contactable agents. Barrier agents have become the rage for protection and preventing the signs of aging.

Oral health is the latest in important wellness trends.

The Hype of the “New”

Catch words with meaning like sustainable, unique technology, hair care, oral care, skin health, and nail health, indigenous, natural plant life, are tossed around by influencers, entertainers, and influencers supported by science formulators. Like chasing urticaria, there are now new ideas in how formulators, and distributors are approaching the industry. With everyone itching to find the next top trend, it feels like the industry has a case of the hives. Reacting not responding to the consumers every wish. Trying to differentiate the same products with hype. Searching desperately for NEW technology, only to find it and shortly after find that the excitement of the new has already burned out and the consumer asks for still more, better, different.

There is always good in the push for more, better, different. Yet there is also bad. It’s like the parent who refuses to be the adult and who continues to buy the new toy for their child to match their whine in hopes to relieve it but instead offers fuel for the fire. There’s a good in seeking new technology as improvements are often made. However, old is new again as we look at the continued benefits of what indigenous peoples have always known. How to best apply the power of the plants they have available to them. New and old are offering a blend of options to satisfy the out-cry of consumers. This is like the creative parent who finds the pot and the wooden spoon as a reliable replacement for the expensive drum set that the toddler will soon lose interest in. In the case of the industry, this is where creativity meets knowledge and the ability to shift as needed to maintain the interest of the wily consumer is born.

Conclusion:

More and more studies now show that there is a natural tie between looking good and feeling good as together they both impact our mental attitudes and encourage practices that enhance our bodies functions. We have long been working on the theory that this was true but, today the empirical evidence shows that there is validity in the concept of Aesthetic Health. The link between mind and body is strengthened as the focus on the pos­itive asthete leads to healthier thinking overall. Healthier thinking overall leads to positive changes in behaviors and so effects a valuable jump in personal care practices. With wiser more moti­vated consumers, this way of life promises to continue. Now, the industry must be ready to shift with the next wave of consumer wisdom.

Euro Cosmetics Magazine Alison O`Neil
Alison O’Neil, Biotechnology Business Solutions
Co-CEO

Alison O’Neil, B.S., M.E. A.R.S. is an Aesthetic Health and Mental Health Specialist and is considered a pioneer in the field of Medical Esthetics and Aesthetic Rehabilitation. Alison developed the first Dermatological Rehabilitation Clinic in the country at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia in 1982 and was selected as one of 10 out of over 6300 women to receive the L’Oreal Paris Woman of Worth Top 10 Honoree 2015.

Zeen is a next generation WordPress theme. It’s powerful, beautifully designed and comes with everything you need to engage your visitors and increase conversions.

Cookie Consent with Real Cookie Banner