Cosmeceuticals Seek Inspiration from the Beauty Services Industry

The pursuit of anti-aging goes beyond the face. To treat hands with age spots, some spas are offering hand photo rejuvenation that uses Intense Pulse Light (IPL) to reduce red and brown pigmentation. Americans are also concerned with their smile and are in pursuit of bright white, flawless teeth. The U.S. cosmetic dentistry market is estimated at $2.75 billion in 2006, up 5 percent from 2005, according to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. When you add in other services such as hair styling, manicures and tanning, you’re looking at a multi-billion dollar beauty services industry.

Inspired by the success of spas and dermatologists, retailers are working with cosmeceuticals manufacturers to add spa services in an effort to differentiate themselves from the competition. Increased competition from emerging channels, such as QVC, HSN, infomercials, club stores and the Internet means department stores and beauty specialists must offer more than just product. They need to offer expertise and service to satisfy today’s informed consumer. Department store chain Nordstrom has made strong efforts to reach out to the busy female consumer seeking to pamper herself with their Elemis Spa Pod. Several Nordstrom stores are offering UK-based Elemis spa line facials in an Intelligent Massage Chair that measures the length of the spine and weighs the body to deliver a customised, heated massage. The 30 minute facials are delivered after an aesthetician analyzes the consumer’s skin using Visia technology. Nordstrom also offers LED photo rejuvenation treatments from cosmeceuticals line Osmotics. Osmotics was the first manufacturer to bring the benefits of photo rejuvenation—reducing fine lines, wrinkles and age spots along with firming and tightening skin—directly to the consumer. Clarins and Shiseido, among other premium skin care companies, also regularly offer facials events where consumers are taken behind a tent or to a private room to be given complimentary facials, with the understanding that the recipient will purchase product and become loyal to the brand.

To better compete against dermatological procedures, the ingredients and claimed beauty benefits for cosmeceuticals are becoming increasingly more complex. This has, however, made it more difficult for consumers to navigate their way through the products and their claims. The cosmeceutical industry has evolved from alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs), which act as an exfoliant to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, to peptides that act as chemical messengers—signals to tell receptors on skin cells how they are to perform. Manufacturers and the media are now touting growth factors as the latest must-have ingredient, though the benefits of growth factors are mostly unproven.