Trends shaping skincare and aesthetics - Part 1

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Witnessing how this industry has grown over the last 10 years since we opened the very first Laser Beautique, has been inspiring to say the least. From skincare, cosmetics and fragrances, to hair, skin, nails, ingredients and technology.

Less invasive procedures that replace surgical treatments have been trending for a while now and will only continue to trend as technology improves. I am pro-technology when it comes to aesthetics. Our industry is changing as the rest of the world's demands change. Customers are demanding results. Instant results. We can all agree that we are living in the age of instant gratification and this is filtering through to all industries.

Customers are no fools. They will try the treatment or product, if it worked quickly enough, they will return for more. If the treatment has not worked or has not worked quickly enough, they either won't return or they will complain and request a refund. It's as simple as that. Longevity relies on the honesty of the promise on the label.

Portable tech or home devices

Portable and homecare devices are everywhere. To be blunt, I am not a huge fan and find most of them to be gimmicks. The marketing of these gadgets is usually more sophisticated than the actual product. If you scratch the surface, you will notice that these little devices can't possibly have the tech of larger devices. Good technology costs money. The best technology is almost unaffordable.

When a treatment or product is too cheap, you have to ask, why? It could be your lucky day and you may stumble on a cheap pearl, but let's not kid ourselves, what's the chances of that?

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Potions, lotions and packaging

I'm not anti-potions and lotions but, how many lotions or serums have ever lived up to their promise to the extent that you have been wowed? I am all about wowing customers. Under-promise and over-deliver. Remember, instant gratification means one has to feel the “wow it works” factor. I’ve never come across a topical cream, serum or ointment that has got rid of pigmentation or ironed out a fine line or wrinkle for longer than a couple of hours.

I have also never seen a cream that can get rid of eye bags or dark circles, cellulite or even-tone successfully. I do think that in time when science has caught up to demand, these sorts of potions and lotions will become available. Regardless, I am seeing lots of masks, patches, serums and ampules out there that promise to get rid of ones crowfeet or claim to have self-dissolving micro-needles.

Environmentally-friendly products and packaging are big. Customers are demanding corporate responsibility and so they should. When I see natural or environmentally-friendly products, I’m proud of our industry. Our world is so fragile. We have to be responsible in business.

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Skincare supplements

Collagen supplements can be viewed in the same light as multivitamins. Some believe that every adult should take a multivitamin daily as a safe and inexpensive way to optimise health and others don’t believe in taking any. Collagen supplements promise that you can now take a pill or a shake and turn back the clock, not just to plump fine lines for a few hours or days but to stimulate your own body to rebuild its collagen from within.

I believe in working from the inside out and the outside in when it comes to skin. Our skin has many layers and to target all those different layers, we have to treat each layer differently. This is also why I am a strong believer in combination treatments. Shock your skin all the time, keep changing up your skincare regime and home care product. Have a different technology facial every 3 to 4 weeks. There is no point in having the same facial month in, month out. Your skin gets immune and doesn't react in the way we want. We want to shock the skin to produce collagen and rebuild elastin fibres.

But back to supplements: new clinical research seems to indicate that there's truth to collagen supplement claims. In a large double-blind, placebo-controlled study published in early 2014, women took 2.5 g of a particular hydrolysed collagen peptide once a day; after 8 weeks, researchers measured a 20% reduction in wrinkle depth around the women's eyes.

Even more significant, levels of the body's own procollagen were significantly elevated, with production up by an impressive 65%. It seems that, however improbably, the pills in this study could make a woman's skin behave like a younger version of itself.

As expected, not everyone is convinced by this study. But something in this study triggered the skin's collagen matrix and all signs indicate it's collagen peptides. In short, collagen supplements is a new science. For every skeptic, there is an optimist, and in my opinion, a product with strong clinical result is worth a shot.

I'm currently trying out a local brand called iSkin Super collagen +C. that includes ingredients such as Vitamin C, Glutathione, Magnesium and Co-enzyme Q10, which promise to promote healthy ageing, healthy joints, improved strength and density, in addition to reducing inflammation and speeding up recovery of connective tissues.