Spa+Clinic Team “
Part Two Spa Industry Changes by 2020
Prosper in the Future
Last week we looked at the first 12 changes that the spa industry could face as we move towards 2020. This week we look at the final 13 changes that have been predicated and remember they are best approached, if nothing else, to stimulate your planning for the coming decade.
13. Mass-market retailers will continue adding skin care store-within-a-store concepts that are staffed by estheticians. Treatment rooms will start to appear with greater frequency in mass-market retail locations, just as on-demand medical services are popping up now. Professional treatments and products will become universally acknowledged.
14. There will be an entirely new family of topical formulations that will push the boundaries between what is a cosmetic and what is a drug. Contention will develop about nanoparticles, because the technology will exist to reduce molecular size to infinitesimal levels. Products will focus on working from within rather than the ablative formulations now in use by many companies. This, coupled with the natural ageing process, will exacerbate extrinsic aging. A movement to ensure and document the safety of penetrating products will take place.
15. Government regulators will clamp down on unsubstantiated claims and, with the help of physician lobbyists, will begin moving products to over-the-counter or prescription classifications as opposed to cosmetic designations.
16. There will be more pressure by governmental agencies to limit what a spa professional can and cannot do as physicians attempt to limit what can be done without their direct supervision. Spa professionals will face more competition from physicians for consumers’ cosmetic dollars, and will have to establish meaningful relationships with licensed medical practitioners because estheticians may find that their scope of practice will become even more limited than it is today.
17. Stem cell-based products will gain a larger share of the market. The current popularity of fruit stem cells will be complemented by advances in genomics, some of which will only be available from physicians
18. At-home devices will enhance professional treatments. An array of new at-home devices will be available to consumers for home use that will actually work. These will address hair removal, hair growth, enhanced product penetration, stimulated collagen production, as well as a brigade of light-based equipment to address pigmentation, rosacea, acne, fine lines and wrinkles, and micro current facial stimulation. The only question will be how strong these new modalities can be and how a line can be drawn between home use and in-office strength limits.
19. Hair removal and hair enhancement systems will be the norm. Recent advances in science have, for the first time, raised the realistic probability of addressing hair loss in women and men.
20. One of the holy grails in skin care is treating hyperpigmentation. A combination of bioavailable, genetically engineered fruit acids coupled with stem cells will be common. The debate about hydroquinone will end only when a highly potent skin-brightening cocktail is created. A new generation of tyrosinase-inhibitors coupled with organic ingredients is fast-approaching, so expect to see new products offering a cocktail of natural, organic and bioengineered products.
21. There will be better at-home products and the movement to push high-end, efficacious products into the retail and mass market channels will continue. For example, currently many manufacturers are making their lines available to large retail merchants. Retail merchants are hiring spa professionals to work in their stores and are placing high-end skin care on the aisles that lead directly to the prescription counter.
22. The consumer will wake up to the importance of packaging to protect and enhance ingredients. A new type of airless delivery system is on the horizon, and wide-mouth jars will lose traction. Spa professionals must learn why, in many cases, packaging can be as important to efficacy as ingredients
23. The debate about preservatives will take a new turn as manufacturers embrace new formulations. The perennial issues of media scare tactics versus objective scientific information will remain a thorn in the side of scientists and manufacturers. Combined with a new generation of airless packaging, the role of preservatives will change.
24. A new generation of nutraceuticals is on the horizon. The treatment and prevention of a myriad of skin conditions will be enhanced with condition-specific oral supplements, drinks and food to accompany tonpicals. Kline & Company reports that beauty-from-within products will grow from $1.5 billion in 2007 to $2.5 billion in 2012. Watch out for growing regulation on the part of governmental agencies as they increase efforts to try to temper claims in this realm. This is already a fact of life in the European Union and the United Kingdom.
25. Look for more regulation on the issue of organic and natural skin care; presently, manufacturers are playing fast and loose with their own definitions. Although many consumers are seeking green and safe products, fast results will trump all other concerns.
Article by: Carol and Robert Trow
Carol Trow, RN, began her career as a nurse and transitioned into marketing as the director of marketing for a Fortune 1,000 company. She went on to start a marketing firm that specializes in practice enhancement for plastic surgeons, cosmetic dermatologists, lawyers and CPAs. Carol has more than 15 years of experience in the medical skin care field, and together with her husband Rob, owns DermaConcepts USA, distributors in the Eastern United States for Environ Skin Care.
Robert Trow is an authority in the business of skin care, regularly has articles included in professional publications and maintains an active consulting practice. He speaks frequently on current and emerging topics of interest at national and international meetings, as well as to medical spas, estheticians and physicians.
