Inclusive wellness
According to Susie Ellis, President of SpaFinder® Wellness, there are over 20000 spas in the US alone — more than there are Starbucks — and 87000 spas globally. Ellis cites the importance of how the spa industry is fully embracing its role in helping people find wellness modalities that can transform their lives, from healthier hotel offerings, diet and fitness, to facials and massages.
‘Consumers are beginning to understand that skincare isn’t just a once-in-a-while pampering experience; it is a lifestyle choice which requires a whole spectrum of healthy living,’ she says.
In the SpaFinder Wellness 2013 Trend Report, genomic testing was highlighted as a new science-based foundation for more precise preventative medicine to offer a genetically grounded roadmap for living better and longer.
[pull_quote align=”right” ]Consumers are beginning to understand that skin care isn’t just a once-in-a-while pampering experience.[/pull_quote]
Dr Daniel Friedland, President Elect of The American Board Of Integrative Holistic Medicine, is an expert in the new science of epigenetics: ‘Genes are not the whole story; they are only your blueprint. The caps of your genes are called telomeres, which are responsible for cellular ageing, and protect the DNA from getting frayed and sticking together. Every time the DNA gets replicated, our telomeres shorten. Telomeres are like the fuse on a bomb as it is going down.
‘Your epigenetics can determine your health, vitality and longevity by controlling which genes get expressed and which genes stay dormant. In that way, epigenetics can determine whether you stay healthy or become sick with disease. What determines how epigenetic switches turn on or off is your external and internal environment, including your diet, exercise and the amount of stress in your life.’
Spas and medispas have always been a destination in which these offerings are available. As this trend emerges, there is an opportunity to become educated about how to incorporate some component of the inclusive wellness theme into your clinic.
5-star reviews
Beauty brands, as well as practitioners and skincare professionals, are focused on meeting the needs of knowledgeable consumers who crave products with active ingredients that deliver results, and increasingly rely on expert advice and online reviews to make purchasing decisions. Just as consumers will check out a restaurant or hotel, they are likely to research doctors and clinics before they make a decision. The same holds true for purchasing skincare or having a peel, laser treatment or wrinkle filler.
Online forums and shopping sites are loaded with user reviews, and despite the fact that these posts and threads are often anonymous, they do carry some weight. Before you add a new brand or treatment to your clinic, you might be well advised to look at what consumers are saying about the products online.
Ingredient-obsessed consumers
Peptides, hydroxy acids, enzymes, antioxidants, retinols and every other active ingredient are catching the eyes and ears of consumers who are determined to stay ahead of the curve.
Although consumers are readily drawn in by new and exciting ingredients touting impressive claims, most over-the-counter products can get to market with small and limited studies. It’s not all about the ingredient on the label, which varies in potency from brand to brand anyway.
According to Lisa Donofrio, MD, New York Dermatologist, ‘We try to choose products that have controlled studies and solid clinical data to back up their claims of efficacy. As a dermatologist, my patients rely on me to do a proper evaluation of a product before I can recommend it. I have to test and try every product myself so I know that it really works and won’t cause irritation.’
Conclusions
Skincare consumers are continually looking for the ‘next big thing’ that will erase wrinkles, obliterate acne scars, or break up brown spots. This voracious appetite for what’s new will continue to drive the development of sophisticated new ingredients in the future.
