Beauty services and selfcare rituals are evolving to incorporate elements of healthcare for elevated personal protection.
We charted in Beauty Tech Futures how new technologies are helping consumers stay in tune with their health thanks to the use of hi-fi devices that replicate the services of the doctor’s office, from DNA analysis to fertility tracking. Now, beauty and wellness brands are looking beyond technology to offer health management services—and are redefining selfcare in the process.
Spas are adding COVID-19 testing to their list of services, expanding their offerings beyond pampering. On May 22, airport spa chain XpresSpa—whose menu included pre-flight massages and manicures—announced that it will launch a pilot program offering COVID-19 testing at JFK Airport in New York City. To accomplish this, the company plans to launch a new brand, XpresCheck, which would operate under the subsidiary XpresTest.
Alongside relaxation, Sha Wellness Clinic in Spain is offering peace of mind with free COVID-19 antibody testing for guests. At the end of May, Lanserhof at the Arts Club, a luxury spa-meets-gym in London, and CosmetiCare, an award-winning cosmetic plastic surgery center and medspa in California, both began offering COVID-19 antibody tests. Local spas across the US are following suit, including Senara Health and Healing Center & Spa in Illinois, Avé Medical Laser Spa in Iowa, Jiva Med Spa in Ohio and Emerge Medical Spa in Oklahoma.
A range of beauty and wellness brands are borrowing from the back aisle, adding elevated hand sanitizers to their product portfolios. Big name brands such as LVMH, L’Oréal, Estée Lauder and Coty have all begun producing hand sanitizer, as have indie brands including Saie, Clark’s Botanicals and Megababe.
Luxury beauty boutique Shen Beauty created its own formulation of hand sanitizer, marking the first proprietary product from the retailer. In April, design-forward eco-friendly personal care brand By Humankind launched a moisturizing hand sanitizer—and sold out in 24 hours. Niche perfume house D.S. and Durga recently introduced a hand sanitizer spray, while vegan skincare brand Herbivore Botanicals released a hand sanitizer in May.
“We are in the middle of a reframe of what a hand sanitizer is, what it looks like and what it feels like,” Megababe founder Katie Sturino told Glossy. “For me, it is definitely something that will become a new part of our daily routine.”
Sanitization and protection from COVID-19 is becoming a key aspect of selfcare practices, and beauty and wellness brands are adopting elements from the medical realm to cater to these expanding parameters of personal care.
Source: Wunderman Thompson
