QUESTION: We are entering an age of ‘skintellectualism,’ whereby consumers are adopting a much more investigative approach to their routines and educating themselves about the best ingredients for every stage. How are brands responding to this challenge?

LEARNING: Education is key when it comes to both therapists and clients. Each client needs to be assessed individually and treated accordingly.

Eddie said education was key within the DMK network of clinics and therapists.

Olivier said consumers were a lot savvier than they used to be and was the job of the beauty industry professional to educate them a bit more .

Michelle said one size doesn’t fit all and as beauty therapists, it was important to find out what was going on with the customer and their lifestyle, their habits and their changing needs, rather than just a skin analysis.

Karen said as a clinic owner it was important to have a heightened awareness with the public to gain the client’s trust.

Robyn said her job was being “very hands on with clients” and as a skin expert it was important to raise the bar on a level of learning and do a great job because education had become the forefront of a product.

Simone said as an industry we needed to be very aware of the education coming from our website and the distributor’s websites to make sure they were not just about marketing hype and trying to sell the next trend or fad. She said we needed to have “good, credible information that is there to be utilised, especially when it comes to social media”.

Watch the video at the top of the page for the full discussion.

FULL ROUNDTABLE 6 VIDEO LIST:
Responding to ‘Skintellectualism’
The Impact of Green Beauty
Technology and Delivery Concerns
Marketing to Men
The Age Factor
The Next Big Skin Care Trend

QUESTION: One viewpoint is that the future of cosmetic dermatology, anti-aging, and wellness is reliant on advancements in technology, as it’s really about how we’re going to get these ingredients into the skin. What are your thoughts on this view?

LEARNING: With great technology comes great responsibility. We have to ensure we don’t damage the skin long-term with new treatments available.

Simone said for more than 22 years dermaviduals had been working with a delivery system that worked with the skin’s barrier and not against it.

Eddie said he’d like to see more research on the long-term effects of needling, further ablation and resurfacing, as laser machines were being used too frequently and damaging people’ skin.

Karen said you had to have healthy skin, a healthy cell membrane, and a good acid mantle to get the best results.

Robyn said our skin “knows what to do” but we were the ones that keep interfering with it and that with great technology came great responsibility.

Michelle said therapists had to be mindful they we’re not doctors and not over treat the skin with resurfacing and exfoliation in high doses.

Olivier said marketing companies were promoting ingredients with high concentrations to consumers didn’t have a clear understanding of the potential damage it could do.

Watch the video at the top of the page for the full discussion.

FULL ROUNDTABLE 6 VIDEO LIST:
Responding to ‘Skintellectualism’
The Impact of Green Beauty
Technology and Delivery Concerns
Marketing to Men
The Age Factor
The Next Big Skin Care Trend

QUESTION: Considering the increased number of men’s skin care products – how do you see this market segment evolving over the coming years; both at the salon level via increased consumer demand, and the evolution of product offerings by beauty suppliers?

LEARNING: Apart from some inherent differences, all skin is the same. Treatments and homecare should be customised for each condition, regardless of gender.

Eddie said DMK was non-gender aligned, because “we find that skin is skin at the end of the day”.

However, they have done some specific male-focused advertising, including turning their enzyme into a ‘manzyme’ to create awareness.

Simone said more salons were coming up with concepts like man caves and there was an emerging trend of men-only clinics, but dermaviduals worked towards a clean packaging that was non-gender specific.

Olivier said on the global front, male skin care sales were still less than seven percent, but it was important for brands to give men cues that they were male-friendly in some ways.

Robyn said it really did come down to the marketing “because skin is skin is skin”.

Karen said men were loyal clients who didn’t follow trends, and would happily follow instructions.

Watch the video at the top of the page for the full discussion.

FULL ROUNDTABLE 6 VIDEO LIST:
Responding to ‘Skintellectualism’
The Impact of Green Beauty
Technology and Delivery Concerns
Marketing to Men
The Age Factor
The Next Big Skin Care Trend

QUESTION: The skin care industry has witnessed an expansion in demand from older consumers to a growing younger consumer base. People are beginning to use skin care at an increasingly young age in a bid to delay the signs of ageing. What actions are skin care companies taking to address these changes?

LEARNING: Prevention is starting at a younger age. But social media is normalising some alarming trends for young people.

Michelle said one of the things that Alpha-H was included more campaigns around SPF and using younger influencers to portray this.

Karen said younger clients, who usually were being treated for acne, all wanted to be “picture-perfect” because of social media influences and although it could be unrealistic, it encouraged teens to see her sooner rather than later.

Simone said it was important for parents to be as much on board as the children or teenagers they were treating so they fully understood the long-term investment in treating youngsters.

Olivier said the trend on makeup and contouring for young girls was resulting in a lot of bad skin who were applying layers of makeup everyday and were not removing it properly.

Eddie said young men didn’t have the option to cover up their skin with makeup so they were more likely to be “stuck in this psychological never-ending cycle”.

Robyn said social media had definitely “changed the game” when it came to accessing a new market in a younger generation because there was such a need for it.

Watch the video at the top of the page for the full discussion.

FULL ROUNDTABLE 6 VIDEO LIST:
Responding to ‘Skintellectualism’
The Impact of Green Beauty
Technology and Delivery Concerns
Marketing to Men
The Age Factor
The Next Big Skin Care Trend

QUESTION: Trends influencing the skin care sector in recent years have included high tech facial masks, friendly bacteria, superfood skin care, facial brushing, injectables, air-pollution defenses and plumping ingredients. What do you anticipate will be the next big trend to impact the professional skin care category?

LEARNING: Healthy skin is always going to be in fashion. A more holistic approach is being taken for long-term, lasting results.

Simone said consumers and the salon owners had to get “a bit more savvy” and not fall into the marketing hype.

Olivier identified ingestables and customisation as longer term trends that were here to stay .

Michelle said she never created products for a trend or a fad, and that a big focus for Alpha-H had been targeting blue-light ageing.

Robyn said trends will always come and go but healthy skin was always going to be in fashion

Karen said it was important to “stand back and observe and ensure” what the outcome was first.

Eddie said it was all about long-term sustainable results for a client to look their best.

Watch the video at the top of the page for the full discussion.

FULL ROUNDTABLE 6 VIDEO LIST:
Responding to ‘Skintellectualism’
The Impact of Green Beauty
Technology and Delivery Concerns
Marketing to Men
The Age Factor
The Next Big Skin Care Trend