Time to face the future!

By Ashima Sethi

AT-HOME SPA PRODUCTS

Now that the pandemic has grounded everyone, many people have turned to transforming their homes into makeshift spas complete with the products necessary to really treat yourself. These range from two-part peels that use professional-grade spa ingredients to heal the skin, to hydrating sheet masks and light therapy masks to rejuvenate the skin (pictured above).

MADE-TO-ORDER BEAUTY PRODUCTS

The pandemic had a substantial impact on supply chains, therefore more brands are avoiding overstock by embracing ‘grown-to-order’ items that integrate aspects like personalisation, 3D design and printing, and pre-ordering. Examples include custom lipstick creation and using facial-mapping software and biometrics to customise makeup to your features and skin pigment.

BIOTECH

As sustainability is a major factor in the evolution of many industries, many beauty brands are turning to biotech ingredients as a means of creating safer products with less waste. ‘Biotech beauty, ’ a recent buzzword, refers to the process of fusing natural ingredients with synthetic materials using processes like DNA editing to create improved ingredients.

SKINIMALISM

The industry is moving away from overindulging your skin with products and exfoliants and instead, focusing on the skin’s microbiome health. The new skincare trend is a less-is-more philosophy that involves rehydrating and soothing stressed skin using probiotics and fermented ingredients to maintain the skin’s microbiome.

A SURGE IN NEW INGREDIENTS

Trends include cannabinoid layering that combines compounds of CBN, CBD, and THC; incorporating polyglutamic acid that can trap four times as much moisture as the more commonly used hyaluronic acid; different types of mushrooms; and bakuchiol, a plant extract that’s been used in Indian herbal medicine for years that works as a natural alternative to retinol.

SCALP CARE

As important as skincare, professionals claim that the scalp has massive wellness potential because of how scalp skin can easily absorb essential oils. Therefore, the industry has seen a rise in technology like LED hair masks, scalp scrubs, scalp-specific serums, and ‘hair tea infusions’ that contain the benefits of natural tea elixirs.

BLUE LIGHT PROTECTION

The pandemic has increased our screen time significantly, which has thus increased our exposure to blue light, which has damaging effects on skin. Many beauty brands are now working on innovative means to minimise this impact, some of which use ingredients from the sea, such as sea plasma, marine collagen, and forms of algae.