Self Activement
Trend description During the pandemic, the do-it-yourself approach has emerged, with customers looking for products that both improve their well-being and that are entertaining. Consumers want to be more involved in formulating their products. Self-care is becoming a process where the customers are actively involved in improving their wellness and beauty. Consumers long to have more control over the products they are purchasing and are starting to become their own experts.
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Trend drivers
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Skincare hacks like facial oils, clean beauty, and DIY procedures are trending in 2022. During the pandemic, the do-it-yourself approach has emerged, with customers looking for products that both improve their well-being and that are entertaining. With people wanting authenticity and trust, creating something from scratch is very appealing. According to Good Light Egert, consumers research five to 10 ingredients before purchasing a beauty product. Consumers are becoming more educated around ingredients, and therefore more aware of what they put on their skin and into their body. A DIY approach to beauty has started to emerge as consumers are longing for more control over the products they are purchasing.
TikTok has changed the perception of wellness and beauty, with DIY wellness and beauty gaining popularity, allowing complete control over the products. New skincare and smart-makeup hacks go viral every month on TikTok. "There's a new wave of Gen-Z's experimenting with DIY skincare, allowing full control over the products and knowing what's in them. It's never been more crucial to prolong the shelf life of their favorite ingredients, natural products, and DIY recipes," says Jess Sery, co-founder of British Beauty Brand KINDD.
At-home wellness and self-care boomed during the pandemic when spas and salons were closed. When beauty salons and spas were closed, consumers learned how to take matters into their own hands and perform similar treatments at home. With consumers educating themselves on becoming "beauty professionals," the do-it-yourself wellness movement has accelerated.
Furthermore, with sustainable living a big priority, modern wellness consumers are looking into ways to limit their water usage. With Gen Z consumers being the most concerned with the environment and water set to become scarce by 2025, brands are starting to re-evaluate their water usage and look into new innovative methods to reduce their water use with methods that involve the customer being actively involved in the process. This has allowed the waterless wellness trend to emerge, that is centered around creating wellness and beauty products without adding water, but having the consumers add the water to the product themselves.
Furthermore, health and wellness have become a demarcation of status. Mindfulness, healthy nutrition, and a balanced lifestyle are increasingly areas where consumers can flex their consciousness and outperform each other. And as awareness of burnout and depression grows, self-care will become even more critical. In the summer of 2021, the wellness tech platform and app Mindbody found that over 75% of United States consumers surveyed feel that wellness is more important than ever. 50% plan to spend more on self-care over the next six months, such as activities, services, and treatments.
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Make-it yourself
The Spanish skincare tech startup Lesielle has created an at-home skin device that takes personalization a step further by empowering customers to develop their own adaptive skincare cream. Customers choose the base they wish for their cream, including options for sun protection and sensitive skin. The machine instantly creates the optimal amount of the personalized cream by putting the base and up to four activities into the Lesielle S Skin care device. With the assistance of a test and preference quiz, the customers choose between the activities that are believed to work best for their skin. By using their app, customers can get recommendations throughout their skincare journey.
The K-beauty giant Amorepacific also tapped into that trend by launching its Base Picker, a customized foundations service available in-store and online. Customers can choose from 100 colors, two textures, and two product types to create their own tailored foundation.
With harsh deodorant ingredients causing a disruption in the pH balance of the skin and irritation, consumers are getting more ingredients conscious and, therefore, aware of what they put on their bodies. This is why they will turn to making their own solution from scratch. Make this Universe has produced a variety of kits to make your own deodorant. The Make This Universe DIY kit includes options for sensitive skin and extra absorption.
Picture: Amorepacific
Picture: Make This Universe
At-home wellness
At home wellness treatment has been popularized during to the pandemic, and is here to stay. With consumers now having the experience of doing it themselves during the pandemic, it changed people's behavior even after the pandemic, with many consumers preferring self-care at home. 47% of Americans reported in 2021 that their preferred form of self-care is at-home spa treatments, according to a study conducted by Onepoll.
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Glow Recipe has made it possible for customers to bring the spa experience into the comfort of their homes with their at-home spa kit. The kit consists of everything consumers need for a DIY spa day. The kit contains a hair turban, an application brush, and Glow Recipe's own skin favorites, including their Pineapple-C Bright Serum, Watermelon Glow Sleeping Mask and Banana Souffle Moisture Cream. Another company tapping into at-home solutions is Trilogy Laboratories's Botanical Home facial kit with a four-step treatment approach. The kit consists of a green tea cleanser, an AHA peel with mandelic acid and enzymes, an application tool, a hydrating mask, a hairband, and more.
While nail salons have re-opened, many consumers dived into DIY manicures and learned how to do their nails themselves, which is more cost and time-efficient. Expert Manicure Set by The Tweezerman x Tom Bachik shares six essential tools curated by celebrity nail expert Tom Bachik for keeping nails in healthy shape at home. The set consists of information around how the customers can make the most of the tool, so they can educate themselves more on their journey towards becoming their own nail expert.
Picture: Glow Recipe
Picture: The Tweezerman X Tom Bachik
Waterless wellness
Spas are looking to incorporate waterless treatments into their facilities to benefit the customer, the spa, and the environment. Spas are starting to offer treatments that are performed without water or only a minimal amount of water. These treatments can be done from the beginning to the end without spraying or wetting water over the skin. However, water-based products are often still included in the treatments.
The Spa at Curtain Bluff in Antigua, West Indies, has incorporated waterless treatments as an eco-friendly way of conserving water during their spa service. Their most popular waterless treatment is the Ultimate De-Stressor Massage, 60-90 minutes, similar to a Swedish massage. The salon uses warm towels to prepare the hands and feet to make the clients ready to experience a waterless service. Nail salons have also tapped into waterless treatments, offering the service done without soaking the nails. In Brooklyn, Lili and Cata Nail Saloon started to offer waterless manicures and pedicures. All of their services are now waterless, using antibacterial sprays containing essential oils instead of water.
Waterless beauty includes alternatives such as higher concentration oils, powders, or tabs activated by the water the customer already has from their home tap. Therefore, the customer is not paying for water from the brand. This new innovative wellness trend means that products will both be more cost-efficient for customers while lasting longer. Powders that turn into a paste or melting tablets that encourage customers to engage in a more mindful self-care ritual is the future.
The Australian beauty brand Green + Bare has developed a range of innovative waterless products from natural sources designed to create simple routines and self-deserving moments. Their product line includes a tightened and brightening pink clay mask. It’s a waterless powder intended to whisk away dirt, environmental pollutants, and blackheads. There is no need to add water to this mask when using it. Another innovative product is their coco-pow powder cleanser. This gentle cleansing powder is water-activated and is packed with skin-loving botanicals like butterfly pea flower and hibiscus extract.
VOESH New York has made a waterless manicure at-home set that takes a sustainable approach to the spa experience. Their mani in a box comes in different scents: lavender levi, vitamin recharge, or green tea detox. It has a three-step waterless approach, with the kit containing a sugar scrub, a mud masque, and hydrating massage butter for conditioning hand care. The company has also created its pedi in a box with various scents, with some bundles taking an up to six-step approach.
Another company that has taken a waterless approach to personal care is the Japanese company Kao Corporation. They have recently launched their 3D space shampoo sheet, which, thanks to its non-woven fabric, doesn’t need water. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency selected the waterless products to be used onboard the International Space Station in 2022. The company tries to shift people’s mindsets and rituals regarding washing with water. It will continue to research ways to achieve sustainable washing without using water.
The company YouBodyCare has introduced its first-of-the-kind waterless body wash, where users can customize their body wash scent by mixing different scented essence packets. Users can subscribe to the service after taking a quiz and choosing their preferred scents.
Picture: Green + Bare
Picture: Green + Bare
Picture: Youbodycare
DIY Bath rituals
In an age where mental well-being is more important than ever, consumers want rituals and practices that are familiar, comforting, and relaxing. Drawing inspiration from religious bath rituals, brands have started offering customers bath ritual kits to perform their bath rituals.
The Canadian wellness brand SELV Rituel is creating immersive bath ritual kits to provide costumers with a calming and aesthetically pleasing experience. Customers can choose a different variety of bath kits, ranging from a turnkey bath ritual with lilacs and lilies of the valley, which generates feelings of freedom and renewal. The set contains strawflowers, lavender flowers, gomphrena flowers, jasmine flowers, himalayan pink salt, rose flowers, a paper lantern, a packet of incense matches, and rituel blomst botanical oil. Furthmore it contains Epsom salts that contribute to muscle relaxation, Japanese Camphor Oil that contributes to relaxation, and the Wintergreen Herb that accommodates pain relief. Another company tapping into bath rituals is the company Kaia Naturals which has drawn inspiration from Japanese wellness practice to deliver a luxurious bathing experience that "mimics the healing properties of 'onsen' hot springs.
Picture: SELV Rituel
Action Steps
01
Consider how you can have consumers be involved in the creation of the product. Think of entertaining ways to engage them in the process.
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DESIGN
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CONSULTING
´Consider how you use the DIY trend to formulate more sustainable products. Consider delivering the product without the packaging or water. How could you make the product as sustainable as possible with the help of the customer?
Consider innovating products that bring the professional wellness experience to the comfort of the customers' homes while educating them on becoming their experts.
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