Creative HEAD UK April 2018

WELLBEING
A GLANCE ACROSS a bookshop’s new releases, or about
80 per cent of your Instagram feed, will attest that there is an
enormous consumer trend towards wellness and wellbeing,
with increased interest in veganism, mindfulness and
superfoods that can improve mood and health.
Of course, it’s only natural that all things beauty follows
suit, and hair brands are now unveiling launches with
this specific trend in mind. These are products that have a
wellness angle, incorporate superfood ingredients, may even
be vegan, and encourage a more mindful approach to beauty
and life. Visit Cult Beauty, for example, and you’ll find a
dedicated ‘Wellbeing’ category to peruse, including collagen
shots, detox products and aromatic stress treatments.
It’s a huge retail and service opportunity for salons to
tap into – by talking about wellbeing and mindfulness in
the beauty sphere, you have the opportunity to capture
the attention of clients who are already concerned about
wellness, what they eat, what they use on their bodies and
how the items they use impact the planet. By providing a
salon that whisks them away from their daily stresses and
gives them time to be mindful and to recharge their batteries,
using products that are responsibly crafted and packed with
ingredients that are already on their radar, the experience of
visiting you and buying from you becomes more meaningful.
The goal is to achieve a true balance of a healthy mind and
body, while being mindful of any environmental impact, too.
Healthy living has evolved into an necessity rather than
a luxury, becoming more about discovery, pleasure and
happiness, and it’s all done at a greater level of sophistication
than ever before. It’s no wonder that Google searches for
“wellbeing” over the past 12 months have increased more
than 20 per cent, with the UK second only to Australia in
terms of searches on the subject.
There is a discernible push by hair labels to illustrate their
corporate responsibility and awareness of consumer concern
regarding ingredients, artificiality and the impact of plastic.
The La Biosthétique Botanique Pure Nature range launch is
perfectly timed – it is 100 per cent vegan, 100 per cent certified
natural cosmetics and is produced “with the values of 100
per cent Global Social Responsibility”, meaning every part of
it’s production considers its ethical impact. Key ingredients
include ginseng, aloe vera and macadamia nut oil.
“Hippy stereotypes have become a cliché of the past as
the everyday consumer is now outwardly conscious of the
products that they choose in their diet and beauty regimes,”
argues Lena Zurloh, educator at La Biosthétique. She points
to celebrities such as Rihanna, Miranda Kerr and Jessica Alba
actively promoting vegan and environmentally-conscious
lifestyle and product ranges. Even TV programmes such as
Blue Planet have raised awareness of the impact of plastics
and formaldehyde in products.
A shift in thinking on the professional side will also
be visible from L’Oréal Professionnel, which unveils two
important new brands next month. Source Essentielle is
its new vegan haircare collection, formulated with 80 to 100
per cent naturally derived ingredients and with packaging
designed with a sustainable approach to innovation. It’s
intentionally square to hold the maximum amount of product
in the minimum amount of recycled plastic, and means it
stacks better when transported. Clients can also take bottles
back to the salon to be refilled.
Botanéa will be L’Oréal Professionnel’s first wholly plantbased
colour. Made from three herbal ingredients – henna,
cassia and indigo – that have each been sustainably sourced
from India, colourists using Botanéa will be able to create
colour recipes bespoke to each client, from warm to cool
tones, or simply add a gloss to natural
hair bases. “Botanéa is going to
be great for those clients that
are interested in natural
alternatives for colour,”
says Kelli Brookes,
L’Oréal Professionnel
education manager.
Added to an interest
in all things eco and
recycling is now a greater
push for it all to be more
holistic. ‘‘It is such an
important time for salons to
be talking about ingredients
with clients as the wellness
trend has transformed
our approach to the
hair and beauty
industry,” says
Chris Nicholas,
UK managing
director at
Insight, a
boutique Italian
brand that’s just
launched in
the UK.
La Biosthétique
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